[Plasma catalytic purification of the spacecraft air from hydrocarbons].

A process of plasmocatalytic purification of the air from hydrocarbon (toluene, ethylene, methane) vapours and their mixture with oxygen-bearing organic trace contaminants (ethanol, acetate aldehyde, ethylformiate). In "mild" conditions, i.e. 60-65 degrees C and the atmospheric pressure, the plasmocatalytic method was found to effectively clean the air from toluene by 100%, ethylene by 60%, and to lower methane concentrations by 10-12%. Noxious contaminants of other classes of compounds do not inhibit the process of hydrocarbon removal. With combined concentration of the air-borne organics 113.8 mg/m3 including 15.6 mg/m3 of toluene, 43.2 mg/m3 of acetate aldehyde, 16.2 mg/m3 of ethanol, and 2.6 mg/m3 of ethylformiate, the removal effectiveness made up 85.5% and allowed to reduce concentrations of these compounds to the levels lower than the maximum permissible concentrations.