Power studies of an underwater DBD plasma jet

Summary form only given. The production of a nonthermal plasma discharge in non-potable liquid water has shown the capacity to break down and remove contaminates, sterilizing the liquid. The plasma-water interaction creates copious amounts of short-lived radicals, electrons, excited species, ultrasound and UV photons, which react with contaminants in the liquid. All together, they have the ability to destroy microbial, bacterial and viral particles and drive the decomposition of toxic organic compounds. Key to the practical implementation of this novel water purification method is carrying out the processing at acceptable input power levels. This is to say, the electrical efficiency of the plasma-based method must be reasonably high. In general, the ideal system for point-of-use water treatment applications must also be amenable to low power operation, as is required in those regions with limited access to electrical power. Presented here are results of a detailed study of the power dissipation in an underwater DBD plasma jet currently under study for water treatment applications. Conversion and electrical efficiency is compared to conventional methods of water treatment.