Energy transfer and kinetics in mechanochemistry

Mechanochemistry (MC) exerts extraordinary degradation and decomposition effects on many chlorinated, brominated, and even fluorinated persistent organic pollutants (POPs). However, its application is still limited by inadequate study of its reaction kinetic aspects. In the present work, the ball motion and energy transfer in planetary ball mill are investigated in some detail. Almost all milling parameters are summarised in a single factor—total effective impact energy. Furthermore, the MC kinetic between calcium oxide/Al and hexachlorobenzene is well established and modelled. The results indicate that total effective impact energy and reagent ratio are the two factors sufficient for describing the MC degradation degree of POPs. The reaction rate constant only depends on the chemical properties of reactants, so it could be used as an important index to appraise the quality of MC additives. This model successfully predicts the reaction rate for different operating conditions, indicating that it could be suitably applied for conducting MC reactions in other reactors.