The research progress and prospects on the degradation and conversion of SF6 waste gas

The potent greenhouse gas SF 6 is widely used in the field of high-voltage power insulation due to its excellent insulating properties. Currently, over 80 % of the SF 6 produced globally each year is applied in the power industry, and thousands of tons of SF 6 gas are decommissioned annually. Therefore, the treatment of SF 6 waste gas has become an urgent issue that needs to be addressed. The harmless degradation of SF 6 can fundamentally resolve the disposal issue of SF 6 waste gas. This paper summarizes three primary degradation methods: thermal (catalytic) degradation, photocatalytic degradation, and plasma degradation, and reviews the research progress of emerging degradation and conversion technologies. In addition, this paper comprehensively discusses the advantages, disadvantages, and industrial application potential of various technologies from the perspectives of SF 6 degradation efficiency and regulation of harmless product. It also analyzes the physical and chemical properties of various SF 6 degradation products and their harmless treatment methods. A review of research shows that existing SF 6 degradation technologies cannot meet the complex and diverse waste gas disposal needs in the power industry. There are still many challenges in balancing SF 6 degradation indicators, differentiated response to degradation needs, recovery and economy of degradation products, treatment standards and evaluation mechanisms, and industry guidance policies. In the future, multi-means collaborative degradation methods, new reactor design and treatment process optimization, research on SF 6 degradation reaction mechanism, and efficient catalyst design and development will serve as potential development directions.