Investigation of the Induced Flow in a Point to Plane Plasma Reactor

Plasma discharges have been shown to be useful in many technical and industrial settings. They have been used in applications including wound care, cancer treatment, and water purification. Plasma discharges have been shown to be effective in eliminating many different chemical contaminants (e.g. pharmaceuticals, PFOA) that are difficult to treat with other techniques. The exact physicochemical nature of plasma systems is not well understood. A corona discharge plasma reactor where the plasma is discharged in argon gas above the solution to be treated is studied. The chemical reactions are known to take place in a thin region along the free surface. The plasma discharge induces fluid motion in the liquid phase of reactor that refreshes the fluid at the free surface. The goal of the project is to determine the relationship between the degradation rate of various chemicals and the resulting flow fields. PIV was used to quantify the induced flow of the aqueous solution. The results show different fluid motions in the liquid phase are established based on the added chemical. The flow fields are dependent on the surface characteristics of the chemical and changes in surface tension during the plasma discharge.