Efficient degradation of chlorobenzene in a non-thermal plasma catalytic reactor supported on CeO2/HZSM-5 catalysts

Chlorobenzene removal was investigated in a non-thermal plasma reactor using CeO₂/HZSM-5 catalysts. The performance of catalysts was evaluated in terms of removal and energy efficiency. The decomposition products of chlorobenzene were analyzed. The results show that CeO₂/HZSM-5 exhibited a good catalytic activity, which resulted in enhancements of chlorobenzene removal, energy efficiency, and the formation of lower amounts of by-products. With regards to CO₂ selectivity, the presence of catalysts favors the oxidation of by-products, leading to a higher CO₂ selectivity. With respect to ozone, which is considered as an unavoidable by-product in air plasma reactors, a noticeable decrease in its concentration was observed in the presence of catalysts. Furthermore, the stability of the catalyst was investigated by analyzing the evolution of conversion in time. The experiment results indicated that CeO₂/HZSM-5 catalysts have excellent stability: chlorobenzene conversion only decreased from 78% to 60% after 75 hr, which means that the CeO₂/HZSM-5 suffered a slight deactivation. Some organic compounds and chlorinated intermediates were adsorbed or deposited on the catalysts surface as shown by the results of Fourier Transform Infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, scanning electron microscope (SEM) and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) analyses of the catalyst before and after the reaction, revealing the cause of catalyst deactivation.