Patent Application
20230254963
The present disclosure is directed generally to methods and systems for treating liquid, and more specifically, for treating liquid using a plasma-based process.
Removal of dissolved organic compounds from drinking water, wastewater, and contaminated groundwater is a standard process in water treatment. Conventionally, methods for the removal of these organics include physical removal or the addition of chemical oxidants. These physical processes can be energy intensive, and the addition of chemicals can lead to undesirable byproducts.
Plasma-based process intensification is considered as a promising technology in advanced oxidation processes for the wastewater treatment. Gas-phase electrical discharge plasmas generated upon the surface of water have been shown to degrade dissolved surfactant-like organic compounds with high energy efficiency and no chemical additives because they can be transported by bubbles to the liquid surface where the plasma generated radicals are produced. However, degradation of non-surfactant compounds is slow as these chemicals tend to remain in the bulk liquid phase and are not exposed to the plasma generated radicals.
Accordingly, there is a need in the art for a reactor that more efficiently degrades non-surfactant compounds.
The present disclosure is directed to a spinning disk plasma reactor for treatment of water.
A plasma spinning disc reactor (PSDR) has the ability to create a thin film of liquid across the surface of a disc. When liquid is supplied to the center of a rotating surface, the liquid flows to the surface's edge as a film. Initially, the liquid is accelerated tangentially by the shear stress at the liquid/disc interface. As the liquid reaches its angular velocity, it moves outward as a thinning film under centrifugal force. This thinning will allow the plasma-generated radicals to penetrate the entirety of the liquid layer. Furthermore, the stresses imposed on the liquid layer as it spreads across the disc lead to mixing of the contaminant and the radicals.
According to an aspect is an electrical discharge plasma reactor system for treating a liquid, the reactor system comprising a reactor chamber configured to contain the liquid and a gas; a discharge electrode disposed within the reactor chamber, wherein the discharge electrode is disposed within the gas; an opposing electrode disposed within the reactor chamber in spaced relation to the discharge electrode and and in alignment with the liquid; at least one disc disposed within the reactor chamber, wherein the disc is configured to be rotated and induce a thin film of liquid in a plasma-contact region; and a power supply connected to one of the discharge electrode and the opposing electrode, the power supply configured to induce the discharge electrode and the opposing electrode to generate plasma in the plasma-contact region.
According to an embodiment, the discharge electrode is disposed within the gas in any one of the following configurations: single or multiple points, plate with and without an attached dielectric and jet or a jet array.
According to an embodiment, the discharge electrode is disposed within the gas in any one of the following configurations: single or multiple points, plate with and without an attached dielectric and jet or a jet array.
According to an embodiment, the plasma generation occurs by point-to-plane discharge.
According to an embodiment, the plasma generation occurs by dielectric barrier discharge.
According to an embodiment, the plasma generation occurs by a plasma jet.
These and other aspects of the invention will be apparent from the embodiments described below.
The present invention will be more fully understood and appreciated by reading the following Detailed Description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:
The present disclosure describes a spinning disk plasma reactor for treatment of water.
Referring to
As the disc 20 spins about the axis of the post 22, it has the ability to create a thin film of liquid across the surface of the disc. The water to be treated that is supplied towards the center of a rotating surface causes the liquid to flow to the surface's edge as a film. Initially, the liquid is accelerated tangentially by the shear stress at the liquid/disc interface. As the liquid reaches its angular velocity, it moves outward as a thinning film under centrifugal force. This thinning will allow the plasma-generated radicals to penetrate the entirety of the liquid layer. Furthermore, the stresses imposed on the liquid layer as it spreads across the disc lead to mixing of the contaminant and the radicals. The treated water then exits chamber 12 through an exit pipe 28
Referring to
It should be noted that discharge electrode 17, 17′ can be configured as single or multiple points, plate with and without an attached dielectric and jet or a jet array placed into contact with the disc 20/20′. Also, either of the electrodes can be grounded or serve as the high voltage electrode. In addition, there may be one or more discs 20/20′ included. There may also be multiple discharge points and their arrangement may be random, spiral or diagonal. Disc 20/20′ may also be covered with a non-conducting material to force the plasma to travel across the disk. The disc 20/20′ may be porous, solid and flat with varying degrees of roughness, brush-like, and may contain imprinted patterns.
While various embodiments have been described and illustrated herein, those of ordinary skill in the art will readily envision a variety of other means and/or structures for performing the function and/or obtaining the results and/or one or more of the advantages described herein, and each of such variations and/or modifications is deemed to be within the scope of the embodiments described herein. More generally, those skilled in the art will readily appreciate that all parameters, dimensions, materials, and configurations described herein are meant to be exemplary and that the actual parameters, dimensions, materials, and/or configurations will depend upon the specific application or applications for which the teachings is/are used. Those skilled in the art will recognize, or be able to ascertain using no more than routine experimentation, many equivalents to the specific embodiments described herein. It is, therefore, to be understood that the foregoing embodiments are presented by way of example only and that, within the scope of the appended claims and equivalents thereto, embodiments may be practiced otherwise than as specifically described and claimed. Embodiments of the present disclosure are directed to each individual feature, system, article, material, kit, and/or method described herein. In addition, any combination of two or more such features, systems, articles, materials, kits, and/or methods, if such features, systems, articles, materials, kits, and/or methods are not mutually inconsistent, is included within the scope of the present disclosure.
The above-described embodiments of the described subject matter can be implemented in any of numerous ways. For example, some embodiments may be implemented using hardware, software or a combination thereof. When any aspect of an embodiment is implemented at least in part in software, the software code can be executed on any suitable processor or collection of processors, whether provided in a single device or computer or distributed among multiple devices/computers.
This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 63/147,773, filed on Feb. 10, 2021 and entitled “A Spinning Disk Plasma Reactor for Treatment of Water,” the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.
