Catalytic removal of gaseous styrene using DBD combined with NiO/Pyrite composite

Nickel oxide and pyrite (NiO/Pyr) composites were prepared by impregnation method and employed in the dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) catalytic removal of gaseous styrene. The properties of the NiO/Pyr composites were characterized systematically. The removal efficiencies of styrene and energy yields had been examined as a function of initial concentration of styrene, gas flow rates and input powers. The results showed that the NiO/Pyr composite had excellent catalytic performance in DBD removal of gaseous styrene while mass ratio of NiO and Pyr was 0.2 and calcined temperature was 500 °C. When the initial concentration of styrene was 240 mg m −3 , DBD combined with the NiO/Pyr composite could improve the removal and mineralization efficiency from 89.9% to 69%–98.6% and 78.5%, respectively, as compared with bare DBD system. The possible removal pathways were proposed based on the product identification by FTIR and GC-MS.