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Electron beam generated plasma decomposition of 1,1,1-trichloroethane

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Abstract

Dilute concentrations of 1,1,1-trichloroethane (TCA) in air were decomposed in an electron beam generated plasma reactor. The energy required for high levels of TCA decomposition (greater than 90%) was determined as a function of inlet concentration. For 99%, decomposition of TCA, ez300 eV/molecule at 250 ppm inlet concentration, and ε¨~100 eV/molecule at 3000 ppm. A radical reaction mechanism is proposed which accounts for the formation of the major reaction products: 1,1-dichloroethylene, HCl, chloroacetylchloride, CO2, and COCl2. A model is derived based on first-order inhibited kinetics; a fit of the data to the model shows that at high decomposition fractions, radical scavenging by reaction products is a significant inhibitor of TCA decomposition.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Plasma Fusion Center, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 02139, Cambridge, Massachusetts

    S. A. Vitale, K. Hadidi, D. R. Cohn & P. Falkos

Authors
  1. S. A. Vitale
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  2. K. Hadidi
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  3. D. R. Cohn
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  4. P. Falkos
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to K. Hadidi.

Additional information

This work was supported by the Contaminant Plume Containment and Remediation Focus Area, Office of Environmental Management, U.S. Department of Energy.

Also affiliated with the Department of Nuclear Engineering.

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Vitale, S.A., Hadidi, K., Cohn, D.R. et al. Electron beam generated plasma decomposition of 1,1,1-trichloroethane. Plasma Chem Plasma Process 16, 651–668 (1996). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01447013

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01447013

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