A wet plasmascrubber for use in industrial pollution control

Summary form only given, as follows. Non-thermal plasma in atmospheric pressure air is a clean source of reactive radicals that can be used for pollution control. The atmospheric pressure plasma is generated in a medium containing dielectric beads, water and gas. The discharge behaves like a partial discharge in voids. The configuration is a cross flow reactor with the water coming down and the gas moving up. It consists of a glass dielectric with the inside filled with glass pellets. The inner electrode is a stainless steel rod and the outer electrode is a conducting film on the outer surface of the dielectric. The plasma is created in the gas, liquid and solid mixture between the beads. This produces a heterogeneous medium and enhances the removal rate considerably. We have studied the removal of SO/sub 2/ from flue gas and water purification using this reactor. Results of removal of trace quantities of phenol in water are discussed. The removal efficiency of SO/sub 2/ was studied under various conditions. It was found to work better compared to dry plasma techniques. The addition of water in the reactor causes enhanced production of OH radicals, which improves the removal efficiency. In addition, the water removes H/sub 2/SO/sub 4/ from the discharge and prevents regeneration of SO/sub 2/. The exit water was found to have a pH of 2.2. Removal studies were done for no water flow and with different water flows through the reactor. With the plasma turned on, the removal efficiency falls from 84% to 40% when water flow is stopped. Results of other scaling parameters such as reactor length, gas flow, and power frequency are presented.