Simulation of toluene decomposition in a pulse-periodic discharge operating in a mixture of molecular nitrogen and oxygen

The kinetic model of toluene decomposition in nonequilibrium low-temperature plasma generated by a pulse-periodic discharge operating in a mixture of nitrogen and oxygen is developed. The results of numerical simulation of plasma-chemical conversion of toluene are presented; the main processes responsible for C 6 H 5 CH 3 decomposition are identified; the contribution of each process to total removal of toluene is determined; and the intermediate and final products of C 6 H 5 CH 3 decomposition are identified. It was shown that toluene in pure nitrogen is mostly decomposed in its reactions with metastable N 2 (A 3 Σ u + ) and N 2 (a′ 1 Σ u − ) molecules. In the presence of oxygen, in the N 2 : O 2 gas mixture, the largest contribution to C 6 H 5 CH 3 removal is made by the hydroxyl radical OH which is generated in this mixture exclusively due to plasma-chemical reactions between toluene and oxygen decomposition products. Numerical simulation showed the existence of an optimum oxygen concentration in the mixture, at which toluene removal is maximum at a fixed energy deposition.