Abstract
In this work, we developed a portable device with low production and operation costs for generating an ambient air low-current arc (AALCA) that is transferred to the surface of a treated liquid. It was possible to generate a stable discharge, irrespective of the conductivity of the treated liquid, as a sequence of corona, repeating spark, and low-current arc discharges. The estimated concentration of reactive oxygen and nitrogen species (RONS) in plasma-treated water (PTW) produced using AALCA treatment was two orders of magnitude higher than that of PTW produced using conventional He nonequilibrium atmospheric pressure plasma jets or dielectric barrier discharges. The strong bactericidal effect of the treatment using AALCA and the water treated using AALCA was confirmed by survival tests of Escherichia coli. Further, the possibility of treating a continuous flow of liquid using AALCA was demonstrated.
Highlights
Treatment of liquids using various atmospheric pressure plasmas has attracted much attention owing to its wide range of possible applications, such as synthesis of nanocarbons and nanoparticles, sterilization of microorganisms, growth enhancement of plants, plasma farming, cancer therapy, and water purification [1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13]
It may be possible to scale up production and reduce the cost of plasma-treated water (PTW) by applying plasmas generated in ambient air to treat a continuous flow of liquid
We found in this work that ambient air low-current arc (AALCA) is effective at generating reactive oxygen and nitrogen species (RONS) and features low production and operation costs, which helps to overcome a number of problems in existing systems for plasma treatment of liquids
Summary
Treatment of liquids using various atmospheric pressure plasmas has attracted much attention owing to its wide range of possible applications, such as synthesis of nanocarbons and nanoparticles, sterilization of microorganisms, growth enhancement of plants, plasma farming, cancer therapy, and water purification [1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13]. Low-temperature nonequilibrium atmospheric pressure plasma jets (NEAPPJs) or dielectric barrier discharges (DBDs) are used for activation of liquids by plasma [5,12,13,14,15,16] In both the case of atmospheric pressure plasma jet (APPJ) and DBD, the production rate of reactive oxygen and nitrogen species (RONS), which play key roles in bactericidal effect and plant growth promotion, is low and irradiation of the liquid takes a long time (from several minutes to hours) due to the low density of the plasma [5,12,13,14,15,16,17,18,19,20,21]. It may be possible to scale up production and reduce the cost of PTW by applying plasmas generated in ambient air to treat a continuous flow of liquid
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
