Destruction of 2,4-Dichlorophenol in Water Solution Using a Combined Process of Sorption and Plasma Exposure to DBD

Abstract

The results of studies of the decomposition of 2,4-dichlorophenol (2,4-DCP) in its aqueous solution under the action of atmospheric pressure DBD in an oxygen flow are presented. A new reactor design was used in which the discharge zone was filled with a sorbent (diatomite). It was found that the kinetics of decomposition obeys a first-order kinetic equation for the concentration of 2,4-DCP. The presence of an adsorbent significantly improves the parameters of the decomposition process. Decomposition rates, rate constants and energy efficiency are doubled. So, at a specific discharge power of 1.8 W/cm3 in the presence of a sorbent, the rate constant was ~1 s−1, and without it, ~0.5 s−1. The energy efficiency was 0.031 and 0.016 molecules per 100 eV, respectively. The parameters of the treated solution are improved in terms of its potential toxicity. The concentrations of the main decomposition products (aldehydes, carboxylic acids) in the presence of a sorbent are significantly less than without it. This is due to an increase in the rate of conversion of these products into carbon dioxide molecules. It was also shown that the decomposition of one 2,4-DCP molecule leads to the formation of two chloride ions in solution, and the ozone formed in the discharge does not significantly affect the destruction process.