Apparatus for reducing the translucence or opacity caused by smoke within a closed environment includes a fibrous substrate comprising non-conductive fibers. The apparatus further includes elongated, substantially parallel electrodes disposed on the substrate arranged as one or more pairs of adjacent electrodes, wherein a discharge gap is defined between each pair. The apparatus additionally includes a component configured for applying a voltage between each pair to generate a non-thermal microplasma in a corresponding discharge gap to collect or bind one or more airborne particulate combustion byproducts.