The removal of isovaleric acid (NA) and trimethylamine (TMA) using nonthermal plasma (NTP) in a continuous surface discharge reactor is investigated. The influence of the energy density shows that its increment is accompanied by the increase of the removal rate. At flowrate equal to 2 ma(3)h(-1), when energy density extends three times, the removal rates of NA and TMA are increased from 5 to 15 mmol m(-2)h(-1) and from 4 to 11 mmol m(-2)h(-1), respectively. The impact of relative humidity (RH) is also studied. An increase in % RH (up to 20%) leads to a decrease of the removal rate. Additionally, the formation of by-products in the surface discharge reactor and the plausible reaction mechanism of the two VOC were also detected and discussed. Moreover, a kinetic model taking into account the mass transfer step is developed in order to represent the experimental results. The model shows a good agreement with experimental results. (C) 2014 The Institution of Chemical Engineers. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.