Atmospheric-Pressure Radio-Frequency Discharge for Degradation of Vinyl Chloride With $\hbox {Pt}/\hbox {Al}_{2}\hbox {O}_{3}$ Catalyst

This study investigates the application of a radio-frequency-powered plasma with a Pt/γ-Al₂O₃ catalyst to decompose the chlorinated volatile organic compound of vinyl chloride (VC) in air. The use of an atmospheric-pressure plasma jet is explored as an innovative technology for the treatment of VC. The effects of some major system parameters such as input power (P_WI), plasma energy density, initial concentration of VC (C₀), and space velocity (SV) of the catalyst on the plateau temperature (TP) of a reactor and conversions of VC (X_VC) are studied and elucidated. The results show that the effectiveness of the plasma-assisted catalysis is evident as indicated by the increase of X_VC and the rate constant. At a P_WI of 250 W without a catalyst, the values of X_VC were 14% and 5.4% for C₀ = 200 and 450 ppmv, respectively. In the presence of the Pt/γ-Al₂O₃ catalyst with an SV of 17 400 h^-1, the values of X_VC for C₀ = 200 and 450 ppmv increased to 49% and 39%, respectively. Note that the values of TP were 550 K and 430 K without and with the Pt/γ-Al₂O₃ catalyst at an SV of 17 400 h^-1 and a P_WI of 250 W. The proposed kinetic models describe the relationships of C/C₀ with the major parameters for the plasma and plasma-assisted catalytic degradation of VC, showing good agreement with the experimental data. The information obtained is useful for the operation, design, and analysis of plasma devices.