Safe removal of volatile, oxidizable compounds from particles, in particular polymer particles

A method of safely removing at least one volatile oxidizable compound which can form an explosive mixture with oxygen from particles (2) present in a container (1), in which a gas stream is introduced into the container (1), the gas stream takes up the oxidizable compounds from the particles (2) and a gas stream laden with the volatile oxidizable compounds is discharged from the container (1), wherein

• (i) oxygen is added to the gas stream which has been discharged and the volatile oxidizable compounds present in the discharged gas stream are at least partly catalytically oxidized by means of the oxygen, thereby forming an oxidized gas stream;
• and
• (ii) the oxidized gas stream forms at least part of the gas stream introduced into the container (1), so that the gas stream is circulated in a circuit,
• and wherein the concentration of oxygen in the container (1) is below the explosive limit of about 7% by volume, the oxidation is carried out with the aid of a catalyst whose active component comprises at least one noble metal selected from the group consisting of platinum, palladium and rhodium, and the catalyst is operated in a temperature range of from about 180 to 950° C.