Investigation of non-thermal atmospheric plasma for the degradation of avermectin solution

Increasing concern with regard to food safety in the presence of pesticide residues(PRs) on the surface of agricultural products has resulted in the rapid development of practical degrading technologies for corresponding PRs. In this paper, an unconventional method of degrading pesticides, non-thermal atmospheric plasma(NTAP), was proposed to degrade the avermectin(AVM) in aqueous solution. Optical emission spectroscopy shows that NTAP, consisting of filamentary streamers, contains a variety of reactive oxygen species(ROS) that may interact with AVM. The high-performance liquid chromatography(HPLC)-MS/MS results indicate that the efficiency of AVM degradation seriously depends on multiple operation parameters of the NTAP,including the applied voltage, treatment time and gas flow rate. The maximum degradation rate of AVM was observed to be 97.47% after 240 s exposure under NTAP with an applied voltage of 18 kV and gas flow rate of 1 l min~(-1). Molecular dynamics simulation based on a reactive force field for the interaction between O(ground state atomic oxygen) and AVM was performed to analyze the underpinning mechanisms. The simulation result shows the possible pathways of the NTAPgenerated O degrading AVM by destroying the glycosyl group or fracturing the ester group.     

Degradation of Microcystin-LR by Gas-Liquid Interfacial Discharge Plasma

In this study, we report on the degradation of microcystin-LR （MC-LR） by gas- liquid interracial discharge plasma. The influences of operation parameters such as average input voltage, electrode distance and gas flow rate are investigated. Experimental results indicate that the input voltage and gas flow rate have positive influences on MC-LR degradation, while the electrode distance has a negative one. After 6 min discharge with 25 kV average input voltage and 60 L/h air aerati by discharge both in on, the degradation rate of MC-LR achieves 75.3%. distilled water and MC-LR solution are measured H202 and 03 generated Moreover, an emission spectroscopy is used as an indicator of the processes that take place on the gas-liquid boundary and inside plasma. Varied types of radicals （O, .OH, CO, 03, etc.） are proved to be present in the gas phase during gas-liquid interfacial discharge.     

Three modes of a direct-current plasma jet operated underwater to degrade methylene blue

A direct-current air plasma jet operated underwater presents three stable modes including an intermittently-pulsed discharge, a periodically-pulsed discharge and a continuous discharge with increasing the power voltage. The three discharge modes have different appearances for the plasma plumes. Moreover, gap voltage-current characteristics indicate that the continuous discharge is in a normal glow regime. Spectral lines from reactive species(OH, N_2, N_2~+, H_α,and O) have been revealed in the emission spectrum of the plasma jet operated underwater.Spectral intensities emitted from OH radical and oxygen atom increase with increasing the power voltage or the gas flow rate, indicating that reactive species are abundant. These reactive species cause the degradation of the methylene blue dye in solution. Effects of the experimental parameters such as the power voltage, the gas flow rate and the treatment time are investigated on the degradation efficiency. Results indicate that the degradation efficiency increases with increasing the power voltage, the gas flow rate or the treatment time. Compared with degradation in the intermittently-pulsed mode or the periodically-pulsed one, it is more efficient in the continuous mode, reaching 98% after 21 min treatment.     

Temporal electric field of a helium plasma jet by electric field induced second harmonic (E-FISH) method

Electric field is an important parameter of plasma,which is related to electron temperature,electron density,excited species density,and so on.In this work,the electric field of an atmospheric pressure plasma jet is diagnosed by the electric field induced second harmonic(E-FISH) method,and the time-resolved electric field under different conditions is investigated.When positive pulse voltage is applied,the electric field has a peak of about 25 kV cm^-1 at the rising edge of the voltage...     

Evaluation on a double-chamber gas-liquid phase discharge reactor for benzene degradation

A double-chamber gas-liquid phase DBD reactor (GLDR), consisting of a gas-phase discharge chamber and a gas-liquid discharge chamber in series, was designed to enhance the degradation of benzene and the emission of NOx. The performance of the GLDR on discharge characteristics, reactive species production and benzene degradation was compared to that of the single-chamber gas phase DBD reactor (GPDR). The effects of discharge gap, applied voltage, initial benzene concentration, gas flow rate and solution conductivity on the degradation and energy yield of benzene in the GLDR were investigated. The GLDR presents a higher discharge power, higher benzene degradation and higher energy yield than that of the GPDR. NO₂ emission was remarkably inhibited in the GLDR, possibly due to the dissolution of NO₂ in water. The benzene degradation efficiency increased with the applied voltage, but decreased with the initial concentration, gas flow rate, and gas discharge gap, while the solution conductivity presented less influence on benzene degradation. The benzene degradation efficiency and the energy yield reached 61.11% and 1.45 g kWh^–1 at 4 mm total gas discharge gap, 15 kV applied voltage, 200 ppm benzene concentration, 0.2 L min⁻¹ gas flow rate and 721 μS cm⁻¹ water conductivity. The intermediates and byproducts during benzene degradation were detected by FT-IR, GC-MS and LC-MS primarily, and phenols, CO_x, and other aromatic substitutes, O₃, NO_x, etc, were determined as the main intermediates. According to these detected byproducts, a possible benzene degradation mechanism was proposed.     

A comparative study on the activity of TiO2 in pulsed plasma under different discharge conditions

In the present study,a combination of pulsed discharge plasma and TiO_2(plasma/TiO_2)has been developed in order to study the activity of TiO_2by varying the discharge conditions of pulsed voltage,discharge mode,air flow rate and solution conductivity.Phenol was used as the chemical probe to characterize the activity of TiO_2in a pulsed discharge system.The experimental results showed that the phenol removal efficiency could be improved by about 10%by increasing the applied voltage.The phenol removal efficiency for three discharge modes in the plasma-discharge-alone system was found to be highest in the spark mode,followed by the spark–streamer mode and finally the streamer mode.In the plasma/TiO_2system,the highest catalytic effect of TiO_2was observed in the spark–streamer discharge mode,which may be attributed to the favorable chemical and physical effects from the spark–streamer discharge mode,such as ultraviolet light,O_3,H_2O_2,pyrolysis,shockwaves and high-energy electrons.Meanwhile,the optimal flow rate and conductivity were 0.05 m~3l~(-1)and 10μS cm~(-1),respectively.The main phenolic intermediates were hydroquinone,catechol,and p-benzoquinone during the discharge treatment process.A different phenol degradation pathway was observed in the plasma/TiO_2system as compared to plasma alone.Analysis of the reaction intermediates demonstrated that p-benzoquinone reduction was selectively catalyzed on the TiO_2surface.The effective decomposition of phenol constant(D_e)increased from 74.11%to 79.16%when TiO_2was added,indicating that higher phenol mineralization was achieved in the plasma/TiO_2system.     

The degradation of oxadiazon by non-thermal plasma with a dielectric barrier configuration

To explore the feasibility of a degradation approach by non-thermal plasma and the corresponding degradation pathways,studies on the oxadiazon removal in synthetic wastewater by a dielectric barrier discharge plasma reactor were investigated.The loss of the nitro group,dechlorination and ring cleavage is mainly involved in the non-thermal plasma degradation pathways of oxadiazon in a solution based on the OES and LC-MS analysis.Detection of EC25 and the production of the chlorine ion and nitrate ion further demonstrate the feasibility and validity of the approach.The conditions with a proper applied voltage,solution flow rate,oxygen flow rate,and solution pH contribute to the plasma degradation processes with a degradation ratio of over 94％.     

Experimental study on toluene removal by a two-stage plasma-biofilter system

Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are typical pollutants that affect air quality. Discharge plasma is thought to be a potential method that can remove VOCs from flue gas. In this experiment, pulsed corona discharge plasma combined with a biological tower was carried out to remove the benzene series, and toluene was selected as the typical VOC. The results indicated that the removal efficiency of toluene by pulsed corona plasma was slightly higher than that of direct current (DC) corona plasma, while its energy efficiency was much higher than DC corona plasma. Under the optimal experimental conditions of pulse voltage 8.5 kV, initial toluene concentration 1400 mg m−3, and toluene flow rate of 12 l h−1, the toluene removal efficiency reached 77.11% by the single method of pulsed corona discharge plasma, and the energy efficiency was up to 1.515 g/(kW·h) under the pulse voltage of 4.0 kV. The trickling biofilter was constructed by using the screened and domesticated Acinetobacter baumannii, and the highest toluene removal efficiency by the pulsed corona discharge plasma combined with the trickling biofilter rose up to 97.84%. Part of the toluene was degraded into CO2, H2O, and some intermediate products such as o-diphenol under the influence of Acinetobacter baumannii. When the remaining waste gas passed through the discharge plasma reactor, the benzene ring structure could be directly destroyed by the collision between toluene and plasma. Meanwhile, O·, OH·, and some other oxidizing radicals generated by the discharge also join into the oxidative decomposition of toluene and its intermediate products, thereby further improving the removal efficiency of toluene. Therefore, the two-stage plasma-biofilter system not only showed a high toluene removal efficiency, but also had a good energy efficiency. The results of this study will provide theoretical support and technical reference for industrial VOC treatment.     

Application of dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) plasma packed with glass and ceramic pellets for SO2 removal at ambient temperature: optimization and modeling using response surface methodology

Air pollution is a major health problem in developing countries and has adverse effects on human health and the environment. Non-thermal plasma is an effective air pollution treatment technology. In this research, the performance of a dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) plasma reactor packed with glass and ceramic pellets was evaluated in the removal of SO₂ as a major air pollutant from air in ambient temperature. The response surface methodology was used to evaluate the effect of three key parameters (concentration of gas, gas flow rate, and voltage) as well as their simultaneous effects and interactions on the SO₂ removal process. Reduced cubic models were derived to predict the SO₂ removal efficiency (RE) and energy yield (EY). Analysis of variance results showed that the packed-bed reactors (PBRs) studied were more energy efficient and had a high SO₂ RE which was at least four times more than that of the non-packed reactor. Moreover, the results showed that the performance of ceramic pellets was better than that of glass pellets in PBRs. This may be due to the porous surface of ceramic pellets which allows the formation of microdischarges in the fine cavities of a porous surface when placed in a plasma discharge zone. The maximum SO₂ RE and EY were obtained at 94% and 0.81 g kWh⁻¹, respectively under the optimal conditions of a concentration of gas of 750 ppm, a gas flow rate of 2 l min⁻¹, and a voltage of 18 kV, which were achieved by the DBD plasma packed with ceramic pellets. Finally, the results of the model's predictions and the experiments showed good agreement.     

Degradation of antibiotic contaminants from water by gas–liquid underwater discharge plasma

Antibiotic contamination adversely affects human health and ecological balance.In this study,gasliquid underwater discharge plasma was employed to simultaneously degrade three antibiotics,sulfadiazine(SDZ),tetracycline(TC),and norfloxacin(NOR),to address the growing problem of antibiotic contaminants in water.The effects of various parameters on the antibiotic degradation efficiency were evaluated,including the discharge gas type and flow rate,the initial concentration and pH of the solution,and...     

Comparison of discharge characteristics and methylene blue degradation through a direct-current excited plasma jet with air and oxygen used as working gases

Through using a direct-current driven plasma jet operated underwater, degradation of methylene blue(MB) is investigated with air and oxygen used as working gases. With a low power voltage,a plasma plume extends from the needle electrode, which is purple in air. It turns pink after it bridges the two electrodes. During the process, oxygen plasma remains white. Discharge operates in a pulsed mode or a continuous one, which depends on the magnitude of power voltage. For the pulsed mode, oxygen discharge has a shorter plume and a higher pulse frequency than air discharge under the same power voltage. For the same current of the continuous mode, both power and gap voltages of oxygen discharge are higher than those of air discharge. Moreover, MB degradation efficiency increases with increasing power voltage or initial concentration of MB solution. Compared with air discharge, oxygen discharge has a higher degradation efficiency with the same power voltage and treatment time. The pulsed oxygen discharge with power voltage of about 6.5 k V has the highest efficiency in degrading MB dye, reaching approximately 85.8% after 10 min treatment. As a comparison, after 10 min treatment in air discharge, the highest degradation efficiency is 63.7%, which appears in the continuous mode at a power voltage of 10.6 kV. Besides, optical spectra from the discharges are also compared for the two types of working gases.     

Degradation of Dye Wastewater by ns-Pulse DBD Plasma

Two plasma reactors have been developed and used to degrade dye wastewater agents.The configuration of one plasma reactor is a comb-like extendable unit module consisting of 5 electrodes covered with a quartz tube and the other one is an array reactor which is extended from the unit module.The decomposition of wastewater by ns pulse dielectric barrier discharge(DBD) plasma have been carried out by atomizing the dyeing solutions into the reactors.During experiments,the indigo carmine has been treated as the waste agent.The measurements of UV-VIS absorption spectroscopy and the chemical oxygen demand(COD) are carried out to demonstrate the decomposition efect on the wastewater.It shows that the decoloration rate of 99% and the COD degradation rate of 65% are achieved with 15 min treatment in the unit reactor.The efect of electrical parameters on degradation has been studied in detail.Results from the array reactor indicate that it has a better degradation efect than the unit one.It can not only totally remove the chromogenic bond of the indigo carmine solution,but also efectively degrade unsaturated bonds.The decoloration rate reaches 99% after 10 min treatment,the decomposition rate of the unsaturated bond reaches 83% after 60 min treatment,and the COD degradation rate is nearly 74%.     

Studies on Nitrogen Oxides Removal Using Plasma Assisted Catalytic Reactor

An electric discharge plasma reactor combined with a catalytic reactor was studied for removing nitrogen oxides. To understand the combined process thoroughly, discharge plasma and catalytic process were separately studied first, and then the two processes were combined for the study. The plasma reactor was able to oxidize NO to NO2 well although the oxidation rate decreased with temperature. The plasma reactor alone did not reduce the NOx (NO NO2) level effectively, but the increase in the ratio of NO2 to NO as a result of plasma discharge led to the enhancement of NOx removal efficiency even at lower temperatures over the catalyst surface (V2O5-WO3/TiO2). At a gas temperature of 100℃, the NOx removal efficiency obtained using the combined plasma catalytic process was 88% for an energy input of 36 eV/molecule or 30 J/L     

Activated persulfate by DBD plasma and activated carbon for the degradation of acid orange Ⅱ

In this study, the effect of activated peroxydisulfate(PDS) by dielectric barrier discharge(DBD) plasma and activated carbon(HGAC) on the removal of acid orange Ⅱ(AOⅡ) was investigated. The effects of applied voltage, PDS dosage, HGAC dosage, initial pH value, and inorganic anions on the removal rate of AOⅡ were discussed. The main free radicals degrading azo dyes during the experiment were also studied. Experimental results show that the removal rate of AOⅡ in DBD/HGAC/PDS synergistic system is much higher than that in the single system. With the applied voltage of 16 kV, HGAC dosage of 1 g l-1, PDS and AOⅡ molar ratio of 200:1, initial pH value of 5.4 and concentration of AOⅡ solution of 20 mg l-1, the removal rate of AOⅡ reached 97.6% in DBD/HGAC/PDS process after 28 min of reaction.Acidic and neutral conditions are beneficial for AOⅡ removal. Sulfate and hydroxyl radicals play an important role in the removal of AOⅡ. Inorganic anions are not conducive to the removal of AOⅡ.     

Study on purification technology of polyacrylamide wastewater by non-thermal plasma

In this work, non-thermal plasma has been applied to treat polyacrylamide (PAM) wastewater. We have investigated the influence of the rule of PAM wastewater initial pH, solution concentration and discharge time, discharge voltage on chemical oxygen demand (COD) degradation rate. At the same time, the effect of pH and discharge time on the viscosity removal rate of PAM solution was also studied. Then, the effect of pH on the viscosity removal rate of 1.0 gl ⁻¹ PAM solution was studied separately. Through orthogonal test, the factors affecting the COD degradation rate of PAM wastewater were determined as follows: discharge time>discharge voltage>solution concentration>wastewater initial pH. The COD highest removal rate of PAM wastewater reached 85.74%, when the optimal conditions are as follows: discharge voltage 40 kV, discharge time 5 h, solution concentration 1.0 gl ⁻¹, pH 1.5. This research provides some basic data and new theoretical basis for PAM wastewater purification.     

Development of low power non-thermal plasma jet and optimization of operational parameters for treating dyes and emerging contaminants

Non-thermal plasma has emerged as an effective treatment system against the latest class of highly recalcitrant and toxic environmental pollutants termed emerging contaminants (ECs). In the present work, a detailed experimental study is carried out to evaluate the efficacy of a non-thermal plasma jet with two dyes, Rd. B and Met. Blue, as model contaminants. The plasma jet provided a complete dye decoloration in 30 min with an applied voltage of 6.5 kV_p−p. ·OH, having the highest oxidation potential, acts as the main reactive species, which with direct action on contaminants also acts indirectly by getting converted into H2O2 and O3. Further, the effect of critical operational parameters viz, sample pH, applied voltage (4.5‒6.5 kV_p−p), conductivity (5‒20 mS cm⁻¹), and sample distance on plasma treatment efficacy was also examined. Out of all the assessed parameters, the applied voltage and sample conductivity was found to be the most significant operating parameters. A high voltage and low conductivity favored the dye decoloration, while the pH effect was not that significant. To understand the influence of plasma discharge gas on treatment efficacy, all the experiments are conducted with argon and helium gases under the fixed geometrical configuration. Both the gases provided a similar dye decoloration efficiency. The DBD plasma system with complete dye removal also rendered maximum mineralization of 73% for Rd. B, and 60% for Met. Blue. Finally, the system's efficiency against the actual ECs (four pharmaceutical compounds, viz, metformin, atenolol, acetaminophen, and ranitidine) and microbial contaminant (E. coli) was also tested. The system showed effectivity in the complete removal of targeted pharmaceuticals and a log2.5 E. coli reduction. The present systematic characterization of dye degradation could be of interest to large communities working towards commercializing plasma treatment systems.     

Experiment and Analysis on the Treatment of Gaseous Benzene Using Pulsed Corona Discharge Plasma

An experiment and analysis on removal of gaseous benzene by pulse corona inducedplasma is presented in this article. Important parameters effecting removal efficiency have been investigated, such as pulse peak voltage, pulse frequency, gas inlet concentration, gas flow rate and reactor temperature. The result shows that the removal efficiency increases with the increase in pulse peak voltage, pulse frequency and reactor temperature, but decreases in the rise of gas inlet concentration and gas flow rate. On the condition of Vp = 36 kV, f = 80 Hz, C = 1440 mg/m^3 and Q = 640 ml/min, the largest removal efficiency is 98%. Finally, the reacted products are qualitatively analysed and the reaction processes are deduced in combination with plasma-chemistry theory.     

1,2,4-trichlorobenzene decomposition using non-thermal plasma technology

Non-thermal plasma(NTP)is regarded as a potential application for environmental pollution control due to its ability to remove pollutants.As a major precursor of dioxins,the influence of the parameters of 1,2,4-trichlorobenzene(TCB)decomposition using NTP technology was investigated through a series of experiments,including voltage,frequency,water content,initial concentration,flow rate,and oxygen content.The experimental results show that the energy injected into the NTP system has a positive correlation to voltage and frequency.Oxygen has the greatest influence on TCB decomposition.The optimal reaction condition was at 15 kV,1000 Hz,an initial concentration of 20 mg m^?3,a flow rate of 2 l min^?1,H2O at 4%,and O2 at 0%.Under this condition,the TCB removal efficiency could reach 92%.According to the generated product backstepping,the hydroxyl radical(·OH)plays an important role in TCB decomposition due to its strong oxidation,which participates in the dechlorination and oxidation reactions as free radicals,and the possible decomposition pathway of TCB by NTP is inferred from the identified byproducts.It is of great significance to investigate the influence of the parameters of TCB decomposition using NTP technology in order to provide references for industrial application.     

Two-Phase Flow Regimes and Discharge Characteristics of a Plasma Electrohydrodynamic Atomization

Experimental investigation was conducted to study the flow regimes and discharge characteristics of plasma electrohydrodynamic atomization (EHDA) for decane (C10H22) under pulsed applied negative voltage. The experimental parameters were set as the flow rate of decane from 0 to 10 mL/min and the dc charging voltage from dc 0 to 12 V with a pulse repetition rates of 200 Hz. The flow regime of decane was observed and the volume-to-electrical charge ratio was measured. Unlike a conventional EHDA system, the results show that a corona discharge was initiated at the edge of the hollow electrode at a specific corona on-set voltage of -17 or -20 kV in the case with or without decane flow, respectively. This phenomenon was defined as plasma EHDA.     

Degradation of phenol using a combination of granular activated carbon adsorption and bipolar pulse dielectric barrier discharge plasma regeneration

A combined method of granular activated carbon (GAC) adsorption and bipolar pulse dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) plasma regeneration was employed to degrade phenol in water. After being saturated with phenol, the GAC was filled into the DBD reactor driven by bipolar pulse power for regeneration under various operating parameters. The results showed that different peak voltages, air flow rates, and GAC content can affect phenol decomposition and its major degradation intermediates, such as catechol, hydroquinone, and benzoquinone. The higher voltage and air support were conducive to the removal of phenol, and the proper water moisture of the GAC was 20％. The amount of H2O2 on the GAC was quantitatively determined, and its laws of production were similar to phenol elimination. Under the optimized conditions, the elimination of phenol on the GAC was confirmed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy,and the total removal of organic carbons achieved 50.4％. Also, a possible degradation mechanism was proposed based on the HPLC analysis. Meanwhile, the regeneration efficiency of the GAC was improved with the discharge treatment time, which attained 88.5％ after 100 min of DBD processing.