Plasma assisted Cu-Mn mixed oxide catalysts for trichloroethylene abatement in moist air.

The removal of dilute trichloroethylene (TCE) in moist air by post-plasma catalysis (PPC) using Cu-Mn mixed oxides heated at 150 °C was investigated. Cu-Mn mixed oxides were prepared by redox- and co-precipitation method. In comparison to the catalytic oxidation and non-thermal plasma (NTP) process, PPC was found to be the best process to convert TCE into CO2, in particular when Cu-Mn oxide was synthetized by redox precipitation method. The highest TCE conversion efficiency of more than 80% was obtained at the energy density of 60 J.L-1 using the catalyst prepared by redox-precipitation process in PPC configuration. The performance of Cu-Mn oxide prepared by redox-precipitation method did not show increase in TCE conversion with energy density which is attributed to the changes on the catalyst surface (such as reduction in SBET, chlorine poisoning and Mn enrichment). Although, Cu-Mn oxide prepared by co-precipitation method showed a lower TCE conversion, it exhibited a better stability in the PPC process for TCE abatement.