Continuous flow removal of acid fuchsine by dielectric barrier discharge plasma water bed enhanced by activated carbon adsorption

Continuous processes which allow for large amount of wastewater to be treated to meet drainage standards while reducing treatment time and energy consumption are urgently needed. In this study, a dielectric barrier discharge plasma water bed system was designed and then coupled with granular activated carbon (GAC) adsorption to rapidly remove acid fuchsine (AF) with high efficiency. Effects of feeding gases, treatment time and initial concentration of AF on removal efficiency were investigated. Results showed that compared to the N₂ and air plasmas treatments, O₂ plasma processing was most effective for AF degradation due to the strong oxidation ability of generated activated species, especially the OH radicals. The addition of GAC significantly enhanced the removal efficiency of AF in aqueous solution and shorten the required time by 50%. The effect was attributed to the ability of porous carbon to trap and concentrate the dye, increasing the time dye molecules were exposed to the plasma discharge zone, and to enhance the production of OH radicals on/in GAC to boost the degradation of dyes by plasma as well as in situ regenerate the exhausted GAC. The study offers a new opportunity for continuous effective remediation of wastewater contaminated with organic dyes using plasma technologies.