A study on treatment of surface water using cold plasma for domestic water supply

Abstract

This paper presents the results of using cold plasma to treat surface water for domestic use purpose. Experimental results showed that cold plasma was an effective method for destroying bacteria in water. After treatment with cold plasma, concentration of coliform and Escherichia coli dramatically reduced. Besides, cold plasma significantly removed water odor, increased dissolved oxygen and decreased the concentration of chemical oxygen demand. However, cold plasma significantly raised the concentration of nitrite and nitrate. Other disadvantages of treating with cold plasma were conductivity increase and pH reduction. Pretreatment steps of coagulation, flocculation, sedimentation and sand filtration followed by disinfection with cold plasma exhibited a high efficiency in surface water treatment. All parameters of surface water after treatment by using the prototype satisfied with the allowance standard of domestic water quality.