title: Dechlorination and decomposition of chloroform induced by glow discharge plasma in an aqueous solution.
abstract: In this study, efficient dechlorination and decomposition of chloroform (CF) induced by glow discharge plasma (GDP) in contact with a sodium sulfate solution was investigated. Intermediate byproducts were determined by ionic chromatography and headspace gas chromatography, respectively. Results showed that CF can be effectively dechlorinated and decomposed under the action of GDP. Both removal and dechlorination of CF increased with increasing pH and with addition of hydroxyl radical scavengers to the solution. Addition of H2O2 to the solution slightly decreased the CF removal. Formic acid, oxalic acid and dichloromethane were determined as the major intermediate byproducts. Final products were carbon dioxide and hydrochloric acid. Hydrated electrons were the most likely active species responsible for initiation of the dechlorination, and hydroxyl radicals may be the ones for the oxidation of the organic intermediate byproducts. Hydrolyses of the chloromethyl radicals contributed much in the mineralization of the organic chlorine. Reaction mechanism was proposed based on the dechlorination kinetics and the distribution of intermediate byproducts.
authors.affiliation: College of Environmental Science & Engineering, Dalian Maritime University, Dalian 116026, PR China; Brook Byers Institute for Sustainable Systems, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta 30332, United States. Electronic address: lyjglow@sohu.com.
authors.forename: Yongjun
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Brook Byers Institute for Sustainable Systems, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta 30332, United States.
authors.forename: John C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Crittenden
authors.affiliation: College of Environmental Science & Engineering, Xiamen University of Technology, Xiamen 361024, PR China.
authors.forename: Lei
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Brook Byers Institute for Sustainable Systems, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta 30332, United States.
authors.forename: Panliang
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Liu
keywords: Chloroform; Dechlorination; Non-thermal plasma; Reaction mechanism