Enhanced decoking of a coked zeolite catalyst using a glow discharge in Ar–O2 gas mixture Original Research Article

We have recently reported decoking of a coked zeolite catalyst in a glow discharge in O2 gas. Spectroscopic monitoring of the atomization of O2 and the accompanying conversion of coke to CO, CO2 and other gaseous products was used in conjunction with X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) to determine the rate and extent of decoking. We have now investigated several different gas mixtures, including N2–O2, He–O2 and Ar–O2 mixtures with different compositions, to study possible enhancements in the decoking process. The He–O2 and Ar–O2 gas mixtures provided significantly large enhancements in the decoking process. However, the best results were from the Ar–O2 gas mixture: over 600% increase in the atomization of O2 and up to 350% increase in the CO yield, associated with the decoking process, were recorded.