Water Treatment Using Atmospheric Pressure Plasma: Dielectric Barrier Discharge and Corona Discharge Method, and Reactive Species Analysis

Department of Mechanical Engineering, Vishwakarma Institute of Technology, Pune, India

Abstract

This paper explores the application of atmospheric pressure plasma technology as an emerging method in the field of water treatment. Specifically, the dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) and corona discharge methods are employed for water purification, with a focus on characterizing different species present in both untreated and treated water samples. The results indicate the generation of various reactive species following the atmospheric pressure plasma processes, notably including reactive oxygen and hydrogen species such as nitrate, nitrite, hydrogen peroxide, and ozone. Throughout the experimentation, it is noted that there are no significant alterations in pH values, while there is an increase in nitrate, nitrite, hydrogen peroxide, and electrical conductivity. Here effect of various electrode materials are also studied. Three electrodes were used for experimentation which are copper, steel and brass. This augmentation of reactive species opens up diverse applications for plasma-activated water, including but not limited to agriculture, water disinfection, purification, and desalination. Notably, corona discharge generated more reactive species compared to the DBD method.