A molten salt copper chloride based system supported on silica is a catalyst for the total oxidation of volatile organic compounds (VOC) and chlorinated organics using air, The catalyst shows a very high activity for the total oxidation of chlorinated compounds such as CH2Cl2, CH2ClCH2Cl, CCl4 and 1,2-dichlorobenzene at mild temperatures (350-500 degrees C) and under industrially applicable conditions, No catalyst deactivation nor loss of copper and chlorine from the catalyst occurred even after 72 h reaction at 400 degrees C. Kinetic studies of CH2Cl2 oxidation showed first-order dependence on CH2Cl2 and zeroth-order on O-2 when the partial pressure of O-2 was higher than 0.15 atm. An isotope effect k(H)/k(D) of ca, 1.48 was found for the rate of formation of COx and this suggests C-H bond activation is involved in the rate determining step with an apparent activation energy of 26 kcal/mol.