Reaction of CCl3F (CFC-11) with CH4 in a dielectric barrier discharge reactor

Summary form only given. The reaction of CCl₃F (CFC-11) with CH₄ in a non-equilibrium plasma has been examined. CFC-11 has the highest ozone depleting potential (ODP) among all refrigerants used commercially (ODP value of 1) and also has very high global warming potential (GWP) of 4680 and an atmospheric lifetime of 45 years. The manufacture of CFC-11 was banned by the Montreal Protocol in 1996 due to its deleterious effects on Earth´s ozone layer. It is widely recognized that significant quantities of CFC-11 remain in polyurethane foams in discarded refrigerators or refrigerators awaiting disposal. While there are several methods developed to recover CFC-11 from polyurethane foams, a suitable process is required for its disposal. In this study, a dielectric barrier discharge reactor, employing alumina dielectrics (the detail description can be founds in², ³), has been applied for the conversion of CFC-11 with the aim of synthesizing value-added materials. It has been found that polymers of non-crosslinked architecture can be synthesized from the reaction of CFC-11 and CH₄. This work is focused on structural analyses of the polymers as well as discussions on conversion of CFC-11 under various conditions and characterization of the electrical discharge.