Destruction of ozone-depleting substances in a thermal plasma

The destruction of ozone-depleting substances (ODSs) using the PLASCON™ thermal plasma technology is discussed.An introduction to thermal plasmas is presented, and their application to waste destruction is reviewed.The PLASCON process is then described, and some examples of the experimental and theoretical research that has contributed to its successful commercialisation are presented.An important observation is that significant quantities of CFC-13 (CFgCl), itself £in ODS, are formed during the destruction of an input ODS.A numerical model of the fluid dynamic and chemical kinetic processes occurring in PLASCON has been used to elucidate the mechanism for the CFC-13 formation.The predictions of the model are in fair agreement with measurements of exhaust gas composition, and with laser-scattering measurements of temperatures in the reaction tube.