Flow-mode water treatment under simultaneous hydrodynamic cavitation and plasma

• Published in: Ultrasonics sonochemistry 2021-01, Vol.70, p.105323-105323, Article 105323
• Main Authors: Abramov, Vladimir O., Abramova, Anna V., Cravotto, Giancarlo, Nikonov, Roman V., Fedulov, Igor S., Ivanov, Vladimir K.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Disinfection; Hydrodynamic Cavitation; Original; Plasma discharge; Radicals; Wastewater treatment
• ISSN: 1350-4177; 1873-2828
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ultsonch.2020.105323

[Display omitted] •Water disinfection by simultaneous treatment with hydrodynamic cavitation and plasma discharge.•Decomposition of organic pollutants in water under hydrodynamic cavitation and plasma.•Easily scalable hybrid technology combining cavitation and plasma.•Intense generation of radicals, UV light, shock waves and charged particles.•Prolonged oxidation takes place in the solution/suspension after the end of the treatment. Over the last two decades, the scientific community and industry have made huge efforts to develop environmental protection technologies. In particular, the scarcity of drinking water has prompted the investigation of several physico-chemical treatments, and synergistic effects have been observed in hyphenated techniques. Herein, we report the first example of water treatment under simultaneous hydrodynamic cavitation and plasma discharge with the intense generation of radicals, UV light, shock waves and charged particles. This highly reactive environment is well suited to the bulk treatment of polluted water (i.e. E. coli disinfection and organic pollutant degradation). We have developed a new prototype and have efficiently applied this hybrid technology to water disinfection and the complete degradation of methanol in water with the aim of demonstrating its scalability. We have analyzed the mechanisms of water disinfection under the abovementioned conditions and verified them by measuring cavitation noise spectra and plasma emission spectra. We have also used the degradation of textile dyes and methanol solutions as an indicator for the formation of radicals.