Study on the Reaction of CC l 2 F 2 with CH 4 in a Dielectric Barrier Discharge Nonequilibrium Plasma

The reaction of CCl 2 F 2 (CFC‐12) with methane (in an argon bath gas) in a dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) non‐thermal plasma reactor at atmospheric pressure has been investigated. The reaction (where oxygen and nitrogen are excluded from the feed gas) produced a range of gas phase products, including H 2 , HCl, HF, CHF 3 , CF 3 CH 2 F, CHClF 2 , CH 3 Cl, CH 2 ClF, CH 2 Cl 2 , CHCl 2 F and CHCl 3 as well as solid products which were primarily non‐crosslinked polymers. The conversion of CCl 2 F 2 increased, from 44 to 71%, when the input energy density of the plasma was raised from 3 to 13 kJ · L −1 (applied voltage range is 13.4–14.8 kV, peak‐peak). The relatively low input feed concentration of CCl 2 F 2 and methane in the argon bath gas modifies the strong filamentary appearance of the pure argon discharge to a more diffuse appearance.