The destruction of halogenated organic chemicals by plasma pyrolysis

Very high destruction efficiencies for halogenated chemicals have been achieved by plasma pyrolysis. Destruction efficiencies exceeded 99.9999999% for tests with polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). Preliminary tests with tetrachloromethane have obtained destruction efficiencies exceeding 99.99%. The plasma pyrolysis process involved the creation of a 250-kW plasma with a temperature in excess of 25 000 °C. The toxic material was injected into the plasma zone at a rate between 1 and 2 L/min. Thermochemical and photochemical dissociation of the toxic materials produced atoms and ions which recombined to form primarily H₂, CO, HCl, and particulate carbon. The HCl was neutralized by NaOH. The flaring of the H₂ and CO should destroy to a high degree any trace residuals. The application of plasma pyrolysis for the ultimate disposal of toxicological waste was also investigated. Rat carcasses containing mean lethal dosage of PCB were pyrolyzed.