An Experimental and Numerical Study of the Thermal Oxidation of Carbon Tetrachloride

ABSTRACT Thermal decomposition of CCl4 was investigated at a high temperature under oxygen-rich, isothermal conditions. The temperature ranges from 400 to 1000°C under the conditions of reaction time 2 seconds and an equivalence ratio 0.5. According to those results, CCl4 can destruct 99.99 percent at a temperature of 900°C. Products obtained from thermal oxidation are carbon dioxide, chlorine and carbon monoxide. Tetrachloroethylene is observed as an intermediate in the oxidation process, being formed to an insignificant extent only between 600°C and 850°C. No carbon-chlorine bonds are left at 900°C. A detailed mechanism describing oxidation of CCl4 is obtained and comparisons with experimental results are made. Moreover, sensitivity analysis is performed to identify major reaction equations by combining with a rate of production analysis for key species observed experimentally.