Decomposition of Trichloroethylene with Plasma-catalysis: A review

Abstract

AbstractThe aim of this paper is to give a review of the research on the decomposition of trichloroethylene (TCE), a common industrial solvent, with combined use of non-thermal plasma and heterogeneous catalysis, i.e. plasma-catalysis. This air purification technique has been investigated over the last decade in an effort to overcome the disadvantages of non-thermal plasma treatment of waste air containing volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Some examples of different plasma technologies used for plasma-catalysis are given. These include the dielectric barrier discharge, the pulsed corona discharge and the atmospheric pressure glow discharge. In a plasma-catalytic hybrid system the catalyst can either be located in the discharge region or downstream of the plasma reactor. The mechanisms that drive both configurations are briefly discussed, followed by an extended literature overview of the removal of TCE with plasma-catalysis.