Degradation of Anionic Dye Eosin by Glow Discharge Electrolysis Plasma

This paper describes a novel method for the degradation of eosin by using glow discharge electrolysis （GDE）. The effects of various parameters on the removal efficiency were studied. It was found that the eosin degradation could be raised considerably by increasing the applied voltage and the initial concentration, or by decreasing pH of the aqueous solution. Fe^2＋ ion had an evident accelerating effect on the eosin degradation. The degradation process of eosin obeyed a pseudo-first-order reaction. The relationship between the degradation rate constant k and the reaction temperature T could be expressed by Arrhenius equation with which the apparent activation energy Ea of 14.110 kJ· mol^-1 and the pre-exponential factor k0 of 2.065× 10^-1 min^-1 were obtained, too. The determination of hydroxyl radical was carried out by using N, N-dimethyl -p-nitrosoaniline （RNO） as a scavenger. The results showed that the hydroxyl radical plays an important role in the degradation process.     

Degradation of Methyl Orange in Water by Contact Glow Discharge Electrolysis

The degradation of methyl orange in a neutral phosphate buffer solution was investigated by means of contact glow discharge electrolysis （CGDE）. The methyl oranges were degraded and eventually decomposed into inorganic carbon when CGDE was conducted under the applied DC voltage of 480 V and current of ca. 80 mA. As the intermediate products, some phenolic compounds were detected as well as carboxylic acids. Experimental results showed that the oxidation process followed the first-order reaction law. Based on the analysis of the ultraviolet （UV） spectra of the solution and the intermediate products from High Pressure Liquid Chromatography-Mass Spectrum （HPLC-MS）, the reaction pathway was proposed. The attack of hydroxyl radicals was considered to be a key step to start the whole oxidation process.     

A Study on Water Treatment Induced by Plasma with Contact Glow Discharge Electrolysis

1. IntroductionContact glow discharge electrolysis (CGDE) isa novel type of electrochemical process in whichplasma is sustained by d.c. glow discharges be-tween an electrode and the surfase of the electrolytel1~4]. The conventional normal electrolysis has beenevolved into CGDE when the aPplied voltage is sufficiently high in aqueous media. In a full glow dis-charge, the novel chemical yields of anodic CGDEoriginate from the primary reaction zone j which con-sists of the plasma around the …     

Plasma Discharge Process in a Pulsed Diaphragm Discharge System

As one of the most important steps in wastewater treatment, limited study on plasma discharge process is a key challenge in the development of plasma applications. In this study, we focus on the plasma discharge process of a pulsed diaphragm discharge system. According to the analysis, the pulsed diaphragm discharge proceeds in seven stages： （1） Joule heating and heat exchange stage; （2） nucleated site formation; （3） plasma generation （initiation of the breakdown stage）; （4） avalanche growth and plasma expansion; （5） plasma contraction; （6） termination of the plasma discharge; and （7） heat exchange stage. From this analysis, a critical voltage criterion for breakdown is obtained. We anticipate this finding will provide guidance for a better application of plasma discharges, especially diaphragm plasma discharges.     

Performance of Dielectric Barrier Discharge Reactors on Elemental Mercury Oxidation in the Coal-Fired Flue Gas

The oxidation of elemental mercury （Hg~） by dielectric barrier discharge reactors was studied at room temperature, where concentric cylinder discharge reactor （CCDR） and surface discharge plasma reactor （SDPR） were employed. The parameters （e.g. Hg^0 oxidation efficiency, energy constant, energy yield, energy consumption, and O3 concentration） were discussed. From comparison of the two reactors, higher Hg^0 oxidation efficiency and energy constant in the SDPR system were obtained by using lower specific energy density. At the same applied voltage, energy yield in the SDPR system was larger than that in the CCDR system, and energy consumption in the SDPR system was much less. Additionally, more 03 was generated in the SDPR system. The experimental results showed that 98% of Hg^0 oxidation efficiency, 0.6 J·L^-1 of energy constant, 13.7 μg·J^-1 of energy yield, 15.1 eV·molecule^-1 of energy consumption, and 12.7 μg·J^-1 of O3 concentration were achieved in the SDPR system. The study reveals an alternative and economical technology for Hg^0 oxidation in the coal-fired flue gas.     

Achieving Better NOx Removal in Discharge Plasma Reactor by Field Enhancement

Application of plasma chemistry for gas cleaning is gaining prominence in recent years, mainly from an energy efficiency point of view. In this paper we conducted a comparative study of NO/NOx removal using two different types of dielectric barrier discharge electrodes, wire- cylinder reactor, pipe-cylinder reactor. Investigations were first carried out with synthetic gases to obtain the baseline information on the NO/NOx removal with respect to the two geometries studied. Further, experiments were carried out with raw diesel exhaust under loaded condition. A high NOx removal efficiency of 90% was observed for the pipe-cylinder reactor as compared to that of 53.4% for the wire-cylinder reactor. Furthermore, for the same energy consumed per NO molecule （about 73 eV/NO molecule）, the removal efficiency increased from 67% for the wire- cylinder to about 98% for the pipe-cylinder which was quite appreciable.     

Investigation of Anode Striation in 34＂ VGA Shadow Mask PDP

A macro-cell was used to study the phenomenon of anode striation on a 34 VGA Shadow Mask Plasma Display Panel （SMPDP）. The breakdown process in the sustaining period of the macro-cell was taken by an Intensified Charge Coupled Device（ICCD） with narrow band filters. The mechanism of formation and evolution of the anode striation on SMPDP were investigated. The influence of the width of the electrode, the sustaining voltage, sustaining frequency and the voltage of the shadow mask on the anode striation was also studied. The results showed that the width of the electrodes, the sustaining voltage and frequency had a strong influence on the anode striation. The voltage of the shadow mask, however, hardly affected the anode striation, the firing voltage or the sustaining voltage.     

Inactivation of Escherichia Coli Using Remote Low Temperature Glow Discharge Plasma

Low-temperature plasma is distinguished as a developing approach for sterilization which can deal with and overcome those problems such as thermal sensitivity and destruction by heat, formation of toxic by-products, higher costs and inefficiency in performances, caused by conventional methods. In this study, an experimental investigation was undertaken to characterize the effects of the operational parameters, such as treating time, discharge power and gas flow rate, of remote glow discharge air plasma. The results show that the inactivation of Escherichia coli can reach above 99.99% in less than 60 seconds and the optimal operational conditions for treating time, discharge power and gas flow rate were： 40 s, 80 W and 60 cm^3/min, respectively. The contribution of UV radiation during plasma germ deactivation is very limited.     

Discharge Plasma Assisted Adsorbents for Exhaust Treatment： A Comparative Analysis on Enhancing NOx Removal

An analysis has been made on the discharge plasma coupled with an adsorbent system for NOx removal. The cascaded plasma-adsorbent system may be perceived as a better alternative for the existing adsorbent-based abatement system in the industry. In this study the exhaust is sourced from a diesel generator set. It was observed that better NO removal in a plasma reactor can be made possible by achieving higher average fields and subsequent NO2 removal can be improved using an adsorbent system connected in cascade with the plasma system. The paper describes various findings pertaining to these comparative analyses.     

Experimental Study of Diagnosis Neutral Beam for HT-7 Tokamak

Parametrical effect on plasma discharge and beam extraction in the diagnosis neutral beam （DNB） system for HT-7 tokamak was studied experimentally. Useful results with an improved beam quality were obtained.     

Simulation Studies of Rib Structure Effect on Discharge Characteristics of Plasma Display Panel

To investigate the effect of the rib structure on the discharge characteristics of the plasma display panel, the potential distribution, particles density distribution and ions incident angle distribution were examined by simulation of a two-dimensional particle-in-cell/Monte Carlo collision, with two kinds of rib structure： the stripe rib structure and the Waffle rib structure. The results showed that the distribution of electric potential at the corner of the discharge cell was almost the same for these two rib structures while in the centre there was a difference between these two rib structures. The striation phenomenon could be observed in both cases. The distribution of density also indicated that the striation phenomenon was accompanied by the firing of discharge, and the Waffle rib structure might reduce the density humps. In the cell with a stripe rib structure, the profiles of the surface charge density along the sustained dielectric layer presented a better fluctuating distribution than that in the cell with a Waffle rib structure. The spatial potential and particle density in the discharge bulk showed that the Waffle ribs could weaken the striation phenomenon, which could be explained by the decrease in the particle numbers in the discharge cell. The simulation results of the ion incident angle showed that most ions impacted the sustained dielectric layer in the normal stripe rib cell with an incident angle in the range of 6° to 19° while with the Waffle rib structure the incident angle of most ions was in the range of 4° to 19°. The Waffle rib structure did not affect the angle distribution of incident ions significantly.     

Yield of H2O2in Gas-Liquid Phase with Pulsed DBD简

Electric discharge in water can generate a large number of oxidants such as ozone, hydrogen peroxide and hydroxyl radicals. In this paper, a non-thermal plasma processing system was established by means of pulsed dielectric barrier discharge in gas-liquid phase. The electrodes of discharge reactor were staggered. The yield of H2O2 was enhanced after discharge. The effects of discharge time, discharge voltage, frequency, initial pH value, and feed gas were investigated. The concentration of hydrogen peroxide and ozone was measured after discharge. The experimental results were fully analyzed. The chemical reaction equations in water were given as much as possible. At last, the water containing Rhodamine B was tested in this system. The degradation rate came to 94.22% in 30 min.     

Temperature and Nitric Oxide Generation in a Pulsed Arc Discharge Plasma

Nitric oxide （NO） is increasingly being used in medical treatments of high blood pressure, acute respiratory distress syndrome and other illnesses related to the lungs. Currently a NO inhalation system consists of a gas cylinder of N2 mixed with a high concentration of NO. This arrangement is potentially risky due to the possibility of an accidental leak of NO from the cylinder. The presence of NO in the air leads to the formation of nitric dioxide （NO2）, which is toxic to the lungs. Therefore, an on-site generator of NO would be highly desirable for medical doctors to use with patients with lung disease.
To develop the NO inhalation system without a gas cylinder, which would include a high concentration of NO, NAMIHIRA et al have recently reported on the production of NO from room air using a pulsed arc discharge. In the present work, the temperature of the pulsed arc discharge plasma used to generate NO was measured to optimize the discharge condition. The results of the temperature measurements showed the temperature of the pulsed arc discharge plasma reached about 10,000 K immediately after discharge initiation and gradually decreased over tens of microseconds. In addition, it was found that NO was formed in a discharge plasma having temperatures higher than 9,000 K and a smaller input energy into the discharge plasma generates NO more efficiently than a larger one.     

Improving Hydrophobicity of Glass Surface Using Dielectric Barrier Discharge Treatment in Atmospheric Air

Non-thermal plasmas under atmospheric pressure are of great interest in industrial applications, especially in material surface treatment. In this paper, the treatment of a glass surface for improving hydrophobicity using the non-thermal plasma generated by dielectric barrier discharge （DBD） at atmospheric pressure in ambient air is conducted, and the surface properties of the glass before and after the DBD treatment are studied by using contact angle measurement, surface resistance measurement and wet flashover voltage tests. The effects of the applied voltage and time duration of DBD on the surface modification are studied, and the optimal conditions for the treatment are obtained. It is found that a layer of hydrophobic coating is formed on the glass surface after spraying a thin layer of silicone oil and undergoing the DBD treatment, and the improvement of hydrophobicity depends on DBD voltage and treating time. It seems that there exists an optimum treating time for a certain applied voltage of DBD during the surface treatment, The test results of thermal aging and chemical aging show that the hydrophobic layer has quite stable characteristics. The interaction mechanism between the DBD plasma and the glass surface is discussed. It is concluded that CHa and large molecule radicals can react with the radicals in the glass surface to replace OH, and the hydrophobicity of the glass surface is improved accordingly.     

Grafting Silane onto Silicate Glass Surface Treated by DBD in Air

Dielectric barrier discharge plasma in air was used to modify glass surface to induce the graft of silane onto the treated surface to increase the possibility of biomolecule immobilization. The plasma treated glass had been characterized by scanning electron microscopy （SEM）, Fourier transform infrared attenuated total reflection spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy （XPS） and surface water contact angle measurement. The validity of grafting silane onto glass surface was approved by the analysis of water contact angle measurement, SEM and XPS. The grafted silane content was measured by visible absorption spectroscopy using acid Orange-7. It is shown that the grafting density of silane for glass samples increases significantly after plasma treatment.     

Catalytic Decomposition of Toluene Using Various Dielectric Barrier Discharge Reactors

Decomposition of toluene was experimentally investigated with various dielectric barrier discharge （DBD） reactors, such as wire-cylinder, wire-plate and plate-to-plate, combined with multi-metal oxides catalyst （Mn-Ni-Co-Cu-Ox/Al2O3） loaded on the cordierite honeycomb and nickel foam, respectively. The effects of some factors including the residence time, reactor configuration and catalyst, upon the toluene destruction were studied. Results revealed that the use of in-plasma catalysis was more helpful to enhancing the DRE （destruction and removal efficiency） and reducing the O3 formation than that of either post-plasma catalysis or plasma alone. It was demonstrated that the wire-plate reactor was favorable for the oxidation reaction of toluene and the nickel foam-supported catalysts exhibited good activity.     

Simulation to Predict Target Erosion of Planar DC Magnetron

Plasma properties in a planar DC magnetron system are simulated by a non-self- consistent particle method in two dimensions. Through tracing the trajectories of the energetic electrons in the specified electric field and the magnetic field, and treating the collision process by Monte Carlo method, the spatial profile of ionization events can be obtained conveniently. Assuming that the ions speed up from the ionization points and bombard the target with the energy at these points, and according to the Yamamura/Tawara method, the target erosion can be predicted. The magnetic field is calculated by the finite element method, and the electric field is estimated according to the self-consistent simulation and measured results. The influence of the time step size on the target erosion profile is analysed first to find a proper step size. Then the influence of electric field estimated on the erosion profile is discussed. The erosion profile may become narrower if the sheath thickness is increased. Finally, considering the dynamic erosion process, the erosion profile may get wider over time for the magnetron with shunt bar.     

Preparation of Copper Nanoparticles Using Dielectric Barrier Discharge at Atmospheric Pressure and its Mechanism简

Dielectric barrier discharge （DBD） cold plasma at atmospheric pressure was used for preparation of copper nanoparticles by reduction of copper oxide （CuO）. Power X-ray diffraction （XRD） was used to characterize the structure of the copper oxide samples treated by DBD plasma. Influences of H2 content and the treating time on the reduction of copper oxide by DBD plasma were investigated. The results show that the reduction ratio of copper oxide was increased initially and then decreased with increasing H2 content, and the highest reduction ratio was achieved at 20% H2 content. Moreover, the copper oxide samples were gradually reduced by DBD plasma into copper nanoparticles with the increase in treating time. However, the average reduction rate was decreased as a result of the diffusion of the active hydrogen species. Optical emission spectra （OES） were observed during the reduction of the copper oxide samples by DBD plasma, and the reduction mechanism was explored accordingly. Instead of high-energy electrons, atomic hydrogen （H） radicals, and the heating effect, excited-state hydrogen molecules are suspected to be one kind of important reducing agents. Atmospheric-pressure DBD cold plasma is proved to be an efficient method for preparing copper nanoparticles.     

Study on the Generation Characteristics of Dielectric Barrier Discharge Plasmas on Water Surface简

A new contact glow discharge electrode employed in this study. Because of the strong field the electrode and the water surface, glow discharge on the surface of water was designed and strength in the small air gap formed by plasmas were generated and used to treat waste water. The electric field distribution of the designed electrode model was simulated by MAXWELL 3D~ simulation software, and the discharge parameters were measured. Through a series of experiments, we investigated the impact of optimal designs, such as the dielectric of the electrode, immersion depths, and curvature radii of the electrode on the generation characteristics of plasmas. In addition, we designed an equipotential multi-electrode configuration to treat a Methyl Violet solution and observe the discoloration effect. The experimental and simulation results indicate that the designed electrodes can realize glow discharge with a relative low voltage, and the generated plasmas covered a large area and were in stable state. The efficiency of water treatment is improved and optimized with the designed electrodes.     

Atmospheric Pressure Plasma Jet in Organic Solution: Spectra,Degradation Effects of Solution Flow Rate and Initial pH Value

The organic compounds of p-nitrophenol （PNP） solution was treated by the active species generated in a stirred reactor by an atmospheric pressure plasma jet （APPJ）. The emission intensities of hydroxyl （OH）, oxygen （O）, nitric oxide （NO）, hydrogen （H） and molecular （N2） were measured by optical emission spectroscopy （OES）. The relations between the flow rates of the PNP solution and degradation, the degradation effects and initial pH value of the solution were also investigated. Experimental results show that there exist intense emissions of O （777.1 nm）, N（337.1 nm）, OH （306-310 nm） and NO band （200-290 nm） in the region of plasma. Given the treatment time and gas flow rate, the degradation increased as a function of discharge energy and solution flow rate, respectively. The solution flow rate for the most efficient degradation ranged from 1.414 m/s to 1.702 m/s, and contributed very little when it exceeded 2.199 m/s. This indicates the existence of diffusion-controlled reactions at a low solution flow rate and activation- controlled reactions at a high solution flow rate. Moreover, increasing or decreasing the initial pH value of neutral PNP solution （pH=5.95） could improve the degradation efficiency. Treated by APPJ, the PNP solutions with different initial pH values of 5.95, 7.47 and 2.78 turned more acidic in the end, while the neutral solution had the lowest degradation efficiency. This work clearly demonstrates the close coupling of active species, photolysis of ultraviolet, the organic solution flow rate and the initial pH value, and thus is helpful in the study of the mechanism and application of plasma in wastewater treatment.