Decomposition of chloromethanes in gliding discharges

Gliding discharge plasma was used for decomposition of tetrachloromethane and trichloromethane. Air containing 8000 ppm or 20 ppm of water vapor was the carrier gas. The course and yield of the process were studied as a function of initial concentration of tetrachloromethane and trichloromethane, gas flow rate, and water vapor content. The conversion was high in all cases-it reached 90% for tetrachloromethane and 100% for trichloromethane. The conversion rate of the chloromethane compounds increased with increasing initial concentration of these compounds in the reaction mixture. Changing the water vapor content in the reaction mixture from 20 ppm to 8000 ppm increased the conversion rate of chloromethanes.