Plasma-Activated Water (PAW) for the Degradation of Organic Pollutants in Diluted Industrial Effluents

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates that plasma-activated water (PAW) effectively degrades various organic pollutants in industrial wastewater, offering a sustainable and scalable treatment method with high efficiency and minimal chemical use.

Contribution

It introduces a novel application of plasma-activated water for degrading organic pollutants, showing high efficiency and potential for scalable wastewater treatment.

Findings

Achieved up to 90% degradation of dyes

Demonstrated high degradation efficiencies for pesticides and pharmaceuticals

Validated pseudo first order kinetics driven by reactive radicals

Abstract

Plasma activated water (PAW) offers a sustainable, nonthermal solution for degrading persistent organic pollutants in industrial effluents. This study employed a gliding arc plasma system to generate PAW for treating diluted waste water containing dyes, pesticides, and pharmaceuticals. Experimental parameters such as exposure time, dilution ratio, and pollutant concentration were varied, with analysis conducted using UV Vis spectroscopy, HPLC, TOC, and COD. Results showed high degradation efficiencies, up to 90% for dyes, 85% for pesticides, and 80% for pharmaceuticals following pseudo first order kinetics driven by hydroxyl and nitrate or nitrite radicals. The findings demonstrate PAWs potential as a green, scalable wastewater treatment strategy that minimizes chemical use, supports water reuse, and enhances environmental safety, with future scope for pilot scale applications.