Water Content Effect on Oxides Yield in Gas and Liquid Phase Using DBD Arrays in Mist Spray

Electric discharge in and in contact with water can accompany ultraviolet (UV) radiation and electron impact, which can generate a large number of active species such as hydroxyl radicals (OH), oxygen radical (O), ozone (O₃) and hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂). In this paper, a nonthermal plasma processing system was established by means of dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) arrays in water mist spray. The relationship between droplet size and water content was examined, and the effects of the concentrations of oxides in both treated water and gas were investigated under different water content and discharge time. The relative intensity of UV spectra from DBD in water mist was a function of water content. The concentrations of both O₃ and nitrogen dioxide (NO₂) in DBD room decreased with increasing water content. Moreover, the concentrations of H₂O₂, O₃ and nitrogen oxides (NO_x) in treated water decreased with increasing water content, and all the ones enhanced after discharge. The experimental results were further analyzed by chemical reaction equations and commented by physical principles as much as possible. At last, the water containing phenol was tested in this system for the concentration from 100 mg/L to 9.8 mg/L in a period of 35 min. (paper)