Decomposing VOCs with an electron-beam plasma reactor

Several emerging technologies are being tested for decomposing VOCs. Among these are bioreactors, catalytic oxidation, photoinduced decomposition, thermal plasma processes, and nonequilibrium plasma processes. For a new technology to be successfully offered for commercial use, it must be reliable, economically competitive, and ready for use on an industrial scale. The authors have been working on an electron-beam-generated plasma reactor that now meets these prerequisites. The reactor can decompose halogenated organic compounds in dilute concentrations 1--3,000 ppm in airstreams at atmospheric pressure. The technology is more energy efficient than thermal technologies and thus represents lower electricity costs for the overall process. The reactor can easily be scaled to industrial needs and was tested successfully in Hanford, WA, to treat the offgas from the remediation of soils contaminated with CCl4