The Kinetics of Plasma-Induced Degradation of Organic Pollutants in Sewage Water

The processes of treatment of actual surface water and model solutions in a low-temperature dielectric-barrier discharge (DBD) plasma were studied. The general evaluation of the efficiency of the plasma treatment procedure for sewage purification was made, and a conclusion on the reasonability of its use in combination with conventional treatment methods was drawn. Schemes of conversion processes for organic compounds upon DBD treatment of surface water were proposed, and the effective rate constants of corresponding reactions were estimated (for phenol, k = 0.46 × 10^–5 s^–1). It was found that the reaction of oxidation of pollutants in solutions modeling surface runoff occurs in the diffusion region.