A strong ionization dielectric barrier discharge was used to produce a high concentration of reactive oxygen species that were then injected into a simulated flue gas in a duct to remove SO 2 by oxidation. Sulfuric acid (H 2 SO 4 ) was produced through the following two reactions: (1) O 3 oxidation of SO 2 -SO 3 , which then reacted with H 2 O to produce H 2 SO 4 ; and (2) reaction of O 2? with H 2 O to produce ÁOH radicals, which then rapidly and non-selectively oxidized SO 2 -H 2 SO 4 . When the molar ratio of reactive oxygen species to SO 2 was 4:1, the SO 2 removal efficiency was 94.6%, the energy consumption per cubic meter of flue gas was 13.3 Wh/m 3 , the concentration of recovered H 2 SO 4 was 4.53 g/l, and the H 2 SO 4 recovery efficiency was 28.8%. The H 2 O volume fraction in the simulated flue gas affected the SO 2 removal efficiency, whereas the O 2 and CO 2 volume fractions did not. These results prove that oxidation by reactive oxygen species is a feasible method for flue gas desulfurization.