Photocatalytic Degradation of Trichloroethylene in the Gas-Phase : Contribution of Photochemical Reactions

Photocatalytic degradation of trichloroethylene(TCE) in the gas-phase was studied by using a batch reactor with TiO₂ photocatalyst. When the degradation reaction of TCE was repeated in a same reactor, reaction rates changed much depending on the reaction conditions for the repeated reactions. The facts indicated that the reaction intermediates and products would give much effect on the following reaction. As a result, photochemical reaction was found to have a large contribution to the photocatalytic degradation of TCE. When phosgene and/or chlorine were once produced Photocatalytically, photochemical reaction, which Progress very fast, was thought to dominate the reaction rates of the degradation of TCE