Conversion of PH3 and
H2S and simultaneous
removal of dust by corona discharge were studied in a wire-cylinder
corona discharge reactor. Under the corona discharge, the removal
efficiencies of PH3, H2S, and dust reached 99.5,
99.0, and 99.9%, respectively. The results of this study indicated
that high conversion of PH3 and H2S was achieved
under high SIE (specific input energy). The required SIE for PH3 was lower than that for H2S to achieve the same
conversion efficiency, partially because the chemical bond energy
of PH3 is lower than that of H2S. Low content
of O2 was favorable for removing PH3 and H2S due to the energy consumption of O2 in the electric
field. PH3 was converted to elemental phosphorus, H2, and H3PO4, and H2S was
converted to elemental sulfur, H2, and SO2 or
SO4
2– when PH3 only or H2S only gas was treated with corona discharge under very low
O2 content condition (0.1 vol %). The gas mixture of PH3 and H2S under low O2 content condition
generated H2, H3PO4, P4S10, elemental sulfur, and SO2 or SO4
2–. However, H2, elemental phosphorus,
or elemental sulfur was not generated when the O2 content
was more than 0.1 vol %. Moreover, this study demonstrated that dust
had a positive effect on H2S conversion but inhibited the
generation of SO2. The conversion of PH3 and
H2S proceeded through the cleavage of chemical bonds by
electron collision with the corona discharge, in which the distribution
of products depended on the species of coexisting gases.