Ethylene removal for long term conservation of fruits and vegetables

Plasma-catalytic ethylene removal by a ZSM-5 washcoat honeycomb monolith impregnated with palladium

The effective removal of dilute ethylene in a novel honeycomb plasma reactor was investigated using a honeycomb catalyst (Pd/ZSM-5/monolith) sandwiched between two-perforated electrodes operating at ambient temperature. Herein, the dependence of catalyst performance on the binder fraction, catalyst preparation method, and catalyst loading was examined. Ethylene removal was carried out by a process comprising cycles of 30-min adsorption conjugated with 15-min plasma-catalytic oxidation. Interestingly, the performance of the cyclic process was superior to continuous plasma-catalytic oxidation and thermally activated catalyst in terms of energy conservation, i.e., ~36 compared to ~105 and ~300 J/L, respectively. Hence, the novel cyclic process can be considered advanced-oxidation technology that features room-temperature oxidation, offers low energy consumption, negligible hazardous by-products emissions such as NO_x and O₃. Moreover, the process operated under described conditions: low-pressure drop, ambient atmosphere, a mechanically stable system, and a simple reactor configuration, suggesting the practical applicability of this plasma process.

Improvement of Ethylene Removal Performance by Adsorption/Oxidation in a Pin-Type Corona Discharge Coupled with Pd/ZSM-5 Catalyst

The adsorption and plasma-catalytic oxidation of dilute ethylene were performed in a pin-type corona discharge-coupled Pd/ZSM-5 catalyst. The catalyst has an adsorption capacity of 320.6 μ mol   g cat − 1 . The catalyst was found to have two different active sites activated at around 340 and 470 °C for ethylene oxidation. The removal of ethylene in the plasma catalyst was carried out by cyclic operation consisting of repetitive steps: (1) adsorption (60 min) followed by (2) plasma-catalytic oxidation (30 min). For the purpose of comparison, the removal of ethylene in the continuous plasma-catalytic oxidation mode was also examined. The ethylene adsorption performance of the catalyst was improved by the cyclic plasma-catalytic oxidation. With at least 80% of C2H4 in the feed being adsorbed, the cyclic plasma-catalytic oxidation was carried out for the total adsorption time of 8 h, whereas it occurred within 2 h of early adsorption in the case of catalyst alone. There was a slight decrease in catalyst adsorption capability with an increased number of adsorption cycles due to the incomplete release of CO2 during the plasma-catalytic oxidation step. However, the decreased rate of adsorption capacity was negligible, which is less than one percent per cycle. Since the activation temperature of all active sites of Pd/ZSM-5 for ethylene oxidation is 470 °C, the specific input energy requirement by heating the feed gas in order to activate the catalyst is estimated to be 544 J/L. This value is higher than that of the continuous plasma-catalytic oxidation (450 J/L) for at least 86% ethylene conversion. Interestingly, the cyclic adsorption and plasma-catalytic oxidation of ethylene is not only a low-temperature oxidation process but also reduces energy consumption. Specifically, the input energy requirement was 225 J/L, which is half that of the continuous plasma-catalytic oxidation; however, the adsorption efficiency and conversion rate were maintained. To summarize, cyclic plasma treatment is an effective ethylene removal technique in terms of low-temperature oxidation and energy consumption.

Ethylene removal by a biofilter with immobilized bacteria

A biofilter which eliminated ethylene (C2H4) from the high parts-per-million range to levels near the limit for plant hormonal activity (0.01 to 0.1 ppm) was developed. Isolated ethylene-oxidizing bacteria were immobilized on peat-soil in a biofilter (687 cm3) and subjected to an atmospheric gas flow (73.3 ml min-1) with 2 or 117 ppm of C2H4. Ethylene was eliminated to a minimum level of 0.017 ppm after operation with 2.05 ppm of C2H4 for 16 days. Also, the inlet C2H4 concentration of 117 ppm was reduced to <0.04 ppm. During operation with 2 and 117 ppm of C2H4, an increase in the C2H4 removal rate was observed, which was attributed to proliferation of the immobilized bacteria, notably in the first 0- to 5-cm segment of the biofilter. The maximal C2H4 elimination capacity of the biofilter was 21 g of C2H4 m-3 day-1 during operation with 117 ppm of C2H4 in the inlet gas. However, for the first 0- to 5-cm segment of the biofilter, an elimination capacity of 146 g of C2H4 m-3 day-1 was calculated. Transition of the biofilter temperature from 21 to 10 degreesC caused a 1.6-fold reduction in the C2H4 removal rate, which was reversed during operation for 18 days. Batch experiments with inoculated peat-soil demonstrated that C2H4 removal still occurred after storage at 2, 8, and 20 degreesC for 2, 3, and 4 weeks. However, the C2H4 removal rate decreased with increasing storage time and was reduced by ca. 50% after storage for 2 weeks at all three temperatures. The biofilter could be a suitable tool for C2H4 removal in, e.g., horticultural storage facilities, since it (i) removed C2H4 to 0.017 ppm, (ii) had a good operational stability, and (iii) operated efficiently at 10 degreesC.