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

Highlights: • Efficiency towards TCE abatement: Cu-Mn oxide (PPC) > Cu-Mn oxide (Catalysis) > NTP. • Impact of the catalyst synthesis route (Redox versus Co-precipitation) in PPC. • NTP assisted Cu-Mn oxide prepared by Redox route shows the highest CO₂ yield. -- Abstract: 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 S_BET, 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.