Influence of applied voltage waveforms on the performance of surface dielectric barrier discharge reactor for decomposition of naphthalene

This paper is aimed at investigating the effect of applied voltage waveform on the surface dielectric barrier discharge (SDBD) in order to improve its capability in decomposing naphthalene in air. Five symmetric waveforms (sine, sinc, square, pulse and triangle) are used in this study in addition to two asymmetric waveforms (positive-and negative-ramp). The results show that the discharge activity is strongly affected by the applied voltage waveform, where the SDBD in case of the sine and triangle waveforms is more filamentary when compared with the other waveforms. Although the discharge period of the sine and triangle waveforms is high, the rms value of its current is lower than that in the case of the square and pulse waveforms. The SDBD reactor is more efficient to decompose the naphthalene when it operates in filamentary mode than that in diffuse-like mode. This is why the highest decomposition efficiency and energy efficiency are achieved in sine and triangle waveforms. Furthermore, the positive-and the negative-ramp applied-voltage waveforms have a similar effect on the decomposition process.