Reactor for plasma assisted treatment of gaseous

1. A silent discharge or dielectric barrier reactor for plasma assisted treatment of a gaseous medium, which reactor comprises at least one pair of electrodes between which is an intervening dielectric barrier layer defining between at least one of the electrodes and the dielectric barrier layer at least one gas flow path through which gaseous medium may pass, such that, in use, a plasma discharge is generated in the gaseous medium by application of an appropriate electrical potential across the or each electrode pair, a layer of material between the electrodes, which layer may comprise said dielectric barrier layer or may be separate therefrom, and which provides a surface over which the gaseous medium flows, means for causing entrapment on said surface of selected species or particulate matter in the gaseous medium, and said surface extends along at least part of the length of said gas flow path characterised in that the electrodes are so arranged as to promote surface discharge to take place along said surface on which the selected species or particulate matter is entrapped and an array of discrete electrodes is positioned close to said surface in pairs, each discrete electrode being electrically insulated by a dielectric barrier from neighbouring electrodes, whereby application across each successive pair of said discrete electrodes of a high voltage alternating or pulsed or direct electrical potential for generating plasma in gaseous medium adjacent said surface causes surface discharge across said surface between the electrode pairs.

2. A reactor as claimed in claim 1 , further characterised in that the gas flow path extends over and through the full extent of the surface acted upon by said array of electrodes and a further continuous electrode is positioned spaced apart from the surface on the side thereof remote from said array of electrodes, so that said gas flow path passes between said continuous electrode and said surface, said continuous electrode in use being held at ground or at a fixed potential relative to ground, and the pulsed or alternating or direct potential applied across neighboring pairs of the electrodes in the array being respectively above and below that of the continuous electrode, whereby, in addition to surface discharge across said surface between neighboring pairs of electrodes in the array there is a volume plasma discharge between said continuous electrode and said array of electrodes.

3. A reactor as claimed in claim 2 , further characterised in that a stacked arrangement of components provides a plurality of gas flow paths in parallel, each component in the stacked arrangement comprising a gas flow path defined between a said continuous electrode, a said surface and a said array of discrete electrodes positioned close to said surface, the gas flow path extending over and through the full extent of the surface acted upon by said array of discrete electrodes.