Evaluating the Effects of Silent Discharge Plasma on Remediation of Acid Scarlet GR-Contaminated Soil

Abstract

The remediation of dye-contaminated soil using silent discharge plasma in dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) reactor was reported in this study. Acid scarlet GR was selected as the representative of azo dye pollutants. Effects of applied voltage, discharge frequency, and gas flow rate on Acid scarlet GR treatment effect which were characterized by degradation efficiency and the change of chemical oxygen demand (COD) during the degradation were investigated. The decolorization rate of Acid scarlet GR in the soil increased with the applied voltage and discharge frequency, and the optimal gas flow rate was obtained at 1.0 L min−1. The energy efficiency was clearly enhanced by way of increasing the amount of contaminated soil in the DBD reactor finitely. The degradation efficiency of Acid scarlet GR and the removal of COD value were achieved 93 % and 74 % after 25-min discharge treatment, respectively. The results indicated that the DBD remediation system was able to degrade Acid scarlet GR in the soil quickly and efficiently. This study is expected to provide a possible pathway of Acid scarlet GR degradation in soil.