Co-sponsored by: MIPSE

Electrical discharge plasmas formed in and in contact with liquid water are of interest for applications in chemical, biomedical, agricultural, electrical, and materials engineering. Analysis of plasmas interacting with liquids is challenging due to the complex relations among the important chemical and physical processes. In addition to the various ways (e.g., AC, DC, pulsed, RF, MW) and geometries to generate a plasma contacting a liquid, the formation of plasma at a gas‐liquid interface also depends on the gas composition, liquid properties (e.g., conductivity), and the nature of the molecular transport processes (e.g., hydrodynamics of two‐phase flow, energy transport, and mass transfer) at the interface. To address these challenges and focus on the specific case of filamentary plasma channels propagating along a gas‐liquid water interface, we have constructed a gas‐liquid plasma reactor that enables control of many of these variables. The plasma‐liquid interactions have been characterized for chemical reactions including hydrogen peroxide formation, oxidation of hydrocarbons, combined plasma degradation of organic contaminants, nitrogen oxide formation, and hydroxyl radical generation. In this presentation, we will discuss some of the key findings. Comparison will be made of OH generation by gas‐water plasma reactors with competing methods such as UV, radiation chemistry, ultrasound, and chemical oxidation methods.

Speaker(s): Prof. Bruce Locke,

Location:
Room: 1005
Bldg: EECS
1301 Beal Ave
Ann Arbor, Michigan
48109