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 NO_x 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 NO_x reduction.