Methane from benzene in argon dielectric barrier discharge.

Tomi Nath Das, G R Dey

Radiation and Photochemistry Division, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Trombay, Mumbai 400 085, India. tndas@barc.gov.in

Journal of hazardous materials 2013 Mar 15

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A first-time account of direct, on-line, instantaneous and efficient chemical conversion of gas phase benzene to methane in argon Dielectric Barrier Discharge (DBD) is presented. In the absence of another overt hydrogen-donating source, potency of analogous parents toward methane generation is found to follow the order: benzene>toluene>p-xylene. Simultaneous production of trace amounts of phenolic surface deposits suggest (a) prompt decomposition of the parent molecules, including a large fraction yielding atomic transients (H-atom), (b) continuous and appropriate recombination of such parts, and (c) trace moisture in parent contributing OH radicals and additional H-atoms, which suitably react with the unreacted fraction of the parent, and also other intermediates. Results highlight Ar DBD to be a simple and exploitable technology for transforming undesirable hazardous aromatics to usable/useful low molecular weight open-chain products following the principles of green chemistry and engineering. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.