Catalytic Decomposition of CFC-12 over Solid Super Acid Mo2 O3 / ZrO2

Catalytic decomposition of dichlorodifluoromethane (CFC-12) in the presence of water vapor and oxygen was studied over a series of solid super acids Mo2 O3 / ZrO2 that had different ZrO2 content by using a fixed-bed reactor. CO2 and CClF3 were the main products and no CO was detected as by-product. The decomposition activity of solid super acid largely depended on the content of ZrO2 and the calcination temperatures of Mo2 O3 / ZrO2 . The optimal calcination temperature and content of ZrO2 for preparing Mo2 O3 / ZrO2 with the highest activity for catalytic decomposition of CFC-12 were 450°C and 20–40 wt %, respectively. Adopting a low concentration of oxygen and CFC-12 together with a high concentration of water vapor was preferable for having the high conversion efficiency of CFC-12 and the selectivity for CO2 . The catalytic activity of Mo2 O3 / ZrO2 remained steady for 100 h in continuous operation.