The removal of dichloromethane from atmospheric pressure air streams using plasma-assisted catalysis

Plasma-assisted catalysis was used for the destruction of ∼500 ppm of dichloromethane, CH2Cl2 (DCM), in gas streams of air using a non-thermal, atmospheric pressure plasma utilising a dielectric packed bed. The combination of plasma and catalyst gave improved destruction of DCM. Eight catalysts which including alumina, TiO2 and various zeolites were investigated with the finding that alumina in a one-stage reactor configuration and TiO2 and HZSM-5 in two-stage configurations gave the best DCM destructions. The sodium zeolites are capable of reducing by ∼50% the unwanted NOx by-products, formed by plasma processing in air. The nature of the catalyst is important in terms of the destruction efficiency, end-product selectivity and NOx reduction.