Dilute trichloroethylene decomposition in air by the non-thermal plasma process combined with the manganese oxide

The non-thermal plasma is a very effective technique to decompose various kinds of gaseous organic compounds. The trichloroethylene (TCE) is one of the effective washing reagents to remove oily liquid materials or similar fatty materials from the solid surface but is harmful for human beings as the carcinogenic materials. The authors have been engaged in developing the non-thermal plasma technology to decompose that TCE efficiently. During the research on how to improve the decomposition efficiency of TCE, we found that the ozone generated in the air by the plasma can decompose TCE which is named as Indirect Process, comparing with the conventional plasma process named as Direct Process. We found that manganese oxide catalyst which can easily decompose the ozone and may generate oxygen radicals. The manganese oxide can improve the TCE decomposition efficiency, 20 or 80%, for Direct or Indirect Processes.