Low energy electron beam treatment of VOCs

Research on electron beam decomposition of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in air was carried out to establish an advanced treatment technology for industrial off-gases. Benzene, toluene and o-xylene were selected as aromatic VOCs and dichloro-, trichloro- and tetrachloro-ethylene as chloroethenes. The experimental results showed that G-values of decomposition ranged from 1.0-2.2 in aromatic compounds and 30-60% of decomposed compounds were converted into aerosols. On the other hand, G-values of decomposition of chloroethenes increased with the initial concentration and number of chlorine atoms in a molecule, for example, the G-value at 180 and 1580 ppm of tetrachloroethylene were 22 and 172, respectively. The formation of aerosol was not observed in the decomposition of chloroethenes. An application of low energy electron accelerator for treatment of exhaust gases containing VOCs was,also discussed. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.