Thermal degradation of polytetrafluoroethylene in tube reactors

We have studied the thermal degradation of polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) in wet air, dry air and nitrogen gas at temperatures ranging from 310 to 520 C. The principal gas product was tetrafluoroethylene (TFE). The nitrogen experiments yielded only TFE, but experiments in dry and wet air also produced several other minor gas products. The dry air experiments produced the most smoke and the least gas products, with the nitrogen experiments giving no smoke and the highest amounts of gas products. Wet air experiments gave intermediate results for smoke and gas formation. The rate of degradation in wet air showed an apparent activation energy of 103 kca/mol. We also performed FTIR analyses of the smoke particulate, determining that the particulate formed in dry air is different than that formed in wet air.