Abatement of SF6 and CF4 using an enhanced kerosene microwave plasma burner

Abstract

A kerosene microwave plasma burner was presented as a tool for abatement of SF6 and CF4 gases, which cause global warming. The plasma burner operates by injecting kerosene as a liquid hydrocarbon fuel into a microwave plasma torch and by mixing the resultant gaseous hydrogen and carbon compounds with air or oxygen (O2) gas. The abatement of SF6 and CF4, by making use of the kerosene plasma burner, was conducted in terms of nitrogen (N2) flow rates. The destruction and removal efficiency of the burner were achieved up to 99.9999% for 0.1 liters per minute (lpm) SF6 in 120 lpm N2 and 99.3% for 0.05 lpm CF4 in 60 lpm N2, revealing that the microwave plasma burner can effectively eliminate perfluorocompounds emitted from the semiconductor industries. © 2006 American Institute of Physics.