Ultrasonically enhanced electrohydraulic discharge for phenol removal

Abstract

We investigate the decomposition of phenol using a hybrid reactor that combines a pulsed electrohydraulic discharge plasma with ultrasound application to increase the efficiency of wastewater treatments. The discharge and grounded electrodes are a needle-type electrode and a perforated plate, respectively. Ultrasound is directly applied to the plasma reactor through water by using ultrasonic oscillators. Hybridization of the pulsed high-voltage discharge with ultrasound generates a continuous streamer discharge by cavitation bubbles. The phenol removal efficiency becomes higher than that corresponding to the sum of the efficiencies of the pulsed high-voltage discharge and ultrasonic applications.