ABSTRACT
The highly energetic electrons in non-thermal plasma generated by gas phase pulsed corona discharge (PCD) produce hydroxyl (OH) radicals via collision reactions with water molecules. Previous work has established that OH radicals are formed at the plasma-liquid interface, making it an important location for the oxidation of aqueous pollutants. Here, by contacting water as aerosol with PCD plasma, it is shown that OH radicals are produced on the gas side of the interface, and not in the liquid phase. It is also demonstrated that the gas-liquid interfacial boundary poses a barrier for the OH radicals, one they need to cross for reactive affinity with dissolved components, and that this process requires a gaseous atomic H scavenger. For gaseous oxidation, a scavenger, oxygen in common cases, is an advantage but not a requirement. OH radical efficiency in liquid phase reactions is strongly temperature dependent as radical termination reaction rates increase with temperature.
ABSTRACT
The anti-epileptic drug carbamazepine (CBZ) receives growing attention due to slow biodegradation and inherent accumulation in the aquatic environment. The application of a gas-phase pulsed corona discharge (PCD) was investigated to remove CBZ from synthetic solutions and spiked wastewater effluent from a municipal wastewater treatment facility. The treated water was showered between high voltage (HV) wires and grounded plate electrodes, to which ultra-short HV pulses were applied. CBZ was readily oxidized and 1-(2-benzaldehyde)-4-hydroquinazoline-2-one (BQM) and 1-(2-benzaldehyde)-4-hydro-quinazoline-2,4-dione (BQD) were identified as the most abundant primary transformation products, which, contrary to CBZ ozonation data available in the literature, were further easily oxidized with PCD: BQM and BQD attributed to only a minor portion of the target compound oxidized. In concentrations commonly found in wastewater treatment plant effluents (around 5â µgâ L(-1)), up to 97% reduction in CBZ concentration was achieved at mere 0.3â kWâ hâ m(-3) energy consumption, and over 99.9% was removed at 1â kWâ hâ m(-3). The PCD application proved to be efficient in the removal of both the parent substance and its known transformation products, even with the competing reactions in the complex composition of wastewater.
