This study investigated the processes for the destruction of phenol and its derivatives (resorcin and pyrocatechol) in aqueous solutions under the action of an oxygen dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) at atmospheric pressure in the presence or absence of catalysts in the plasma zone. It was shown that the DBD had a high decomposition efficiency for phenol and its derivatives (up to 99%). Phenol was the most stable and pyrocatechol was the least. In a plasma-catalytic hybrid process, the effective rate constants for phenol, resorcin and pyrocatechol decomposition were 11, 4 and 2.5 times higher, respectively, than those for the DBD treatment without catalysts. The process also resulted in a 1.4, 1.6 and 1.2 times higher rate of carboxylic acid formation for phenol, resorcin and pyrocatechol, respectively. The fractional conversion into the respective carboxylic acids reached 56% for phenol and 68% for resorcin and pyrocatechol.

This study examined processes of decomposing phenol and its derivatives (resorcin, pyrocatechol and hydroquinone) in aqueous solutions under the action of an atmospheric pressure oxygen dielectric barrier discharge in the presence or absence of catalysts in the plasma zone. Two types of catalysts were tested, NiO and TiO 2 . It was found that both materials exhibited catalytic properties. The action of NiO accelerated the step of phenol destruction while the action of TiO 2 catalyst resulted in a more preferable composition of decomposition products and provided a higher degree of carboxylic acid conversion into carbon dioxide than the NiO catalyst.

Decomposition of phenol and its derivatives, resorcinol and pyrocatechol, was studied in barrierdischarge plasma in the presence of substances exhibiting catalytic properties.