Characteristics of Ammonia Oxidation in a Dielectric Barrier Discharge Reactor

At present, both the scale and intension for agricultural production are being largely developed, releasing a large amount of NH
₃
which causes people with malodor and health problems. In this article, the efficiency and products of ammonia removal in a dielectric barrier discharge reactor were studied experimentally, at different energy density, relative humidity, and ammonia concentration. The results show that the removal of ammonia increases with the increase of energy density, while the increase of NH
₃
concentration or humidity inhibits the ammonia removal. The conversion products of ammonia are mainly NOx and NH
₄
NO
₃
. More importantly, we found that under optimal conditions, nearly 80% of NH
₃
can be converted into NH
₄
NO
₃
. This discovery provides a new way for ammonia treatment and resource utilization in an eutrophic environment.