Temperature Effect on Removal of Sulfur Dioxide and Benzene in Humid Air by DC Corona Discharge

A DC corona discharge reactor was applied to remove sulfur dioxide (SO₂) and benzene (C₆H₆) from N₂‐O₂‐H₂O mixed gas in the temperature range from room temperature to 400 °C. When SO₂ was removed, the temperature elevation caused the decrease of the removal efficiency of SO₂. On the other hand, the removal efficiency of C₆H₆ was not significantly influenced by the temperature elevation. In the simultaneous removal of SO₂ and C₆H₆ in the relatively low temperature range below 200 °C, the removal efficiency of SO₂ is significantly inhibited by coexisting C₆H₆. When the simultaneous removal was conducted in the high temperature range, the removal efficiency of SO₂ was not sensitive against the coexisting C₆H₆. On the other hand, the removal efficiency of C₆H₆ was almost independent of coexisting SO₂ at all temperatures. A hypothesis of reaction mechanism was discussed based on radical reactions with SO₂ and C₆H₆ to explain the trend observed in the experiment.