Decomposition of methylene chloride in non-thermal plasmas

Summary form only given, as follows. Identification of the mechanism and plasma species responsible for methylene chloride decomposition is important for choosing the most energy efficient type of non-thermal plasma reactor. The paper presents the first experimental evidence showing that the decomposition of methylene chloride in a non-thermal plasma at ambient gas temperature proceeds via reaction with nitrogen atoms. The data is also the first comparison of the energy efficiency of electron beam and pulsed corona processing of methylene chloride under identical gas conditions. We observe that electron beam processing is more energy efficient because of its higher rate for electron-impact dissociation of N/sub 2/. In dry air mixtures, the decomposition of methylene chloride is degraded substantially because the nitrogen atoms are consumed in the production of nitrogen oxides. At higher gas temperatures (300/spl deg/C), the decomposition of methylene chloride in dry air is shown to proceed via reaction with oxygen atoms. The main products of methylene chloride decomposition in dry air mixtures are CO, CO/sub 2/, HCl, and Cl/sub 2/.