Decontamination of 2-Chloroethyl Ethyl Sulfide by Pulsed Corona Plasma

Decontamination of 2-chloroethyl ethyl sulfide (2-CEES, CH ₃ CH ₂ SCH ₂ CH ₂ Cl) by pulsed corona plasma was investigated. The results show that 212.6 mg/m ³ of 2-CEES, with the gas flow rate of 2 m³ /h, can be decontaminated to 0.09 mg/m 3 . According to the variation of the inlet and outlet concentration of 2-CEES vapor with retention time, it is found that the reaction of 2-CEES in a pulsed corona plasma system follows the first order reaction, with the reaction rate constant of 0.463 s ⁻¹ . The decontamination mechanism is discussed based on an analysis of the dissociation energy of chemical bonds and decontamination products. The C-S bond adjacent to the Cl atom will be destroyed firstly to form CH ₃ CH ₂ S· and ·CH 2 CH 2 Cl radicals. CH 3 CH 2 S· can be decomposed to ·C ₂ H ₅ and ·S. ·S can be oxidized to SO ₂, while ·C 2 H 5 can be finally oxidized to CO ₂ and H ₂ O. The C-Cl bond in the ·CH 2 CH 2 Cl radical can be destroyed to form ·CH ₂ CH ₂ · and ·Cl, which can be mineralized to CO ₂, H ₂ O and HCl. The H atom in the ·CH ₂ CH ₂ Cl radical can also be substituted by ·Cl to form CHCl ₂ -CHCl ₂ .