Time‐sharing synergy of NOx mode and O3 mode air discharges for efficient and pollution‐free disinfection

Abstract

AbstractAs an alternative disinfection technology, air plasma is limited to achieve wider application due to its restricted disinfection level and hazardous by‐products including O3 and NOx. In this work, a time‐sharing synergy strategy is proposed, where NO and NO2 are first generated by a dielectric barrier discharge reactor in NOx mode, and then the discharge is switched into O3 mode by increasing flowrate, thus producing large amounts of high‐valence NOx for efficient disinfection in sealed space. The disinfection effect of time‐sharing synergy is about 2 logs higher than using single O3 or NOx mode with the same discharge power. The concentration of high‐valence NOx is highly correlated with disinfection effect. Finally, all disinfection ingredients are removed after 2‐min gas‐washing and heating.