Atmospheric pressure dielectric barrier discharge for the remediation of soil contaminated by organic pollutants

The remediation of soil, contaminated by organic pollutants, in a cylinder-to-plane dielectric barrier discharge reactor at atmospheric air pressure was reported. Two model organic pollutants were selected; a solid pollutant (2,6-dichloropyridine) and a liquid pollutant (n-dodecane). The effects of the contaminant’s initial concentration and state, the energy consumption, and the soil type on the pollutant removal efficiency were investigated. To that scope, various contaminated samples of both quartz sand and loamy sandy soil were treated by plasma for various treatment times and initial 2,6-dichloropyridine/n-dodecane concentrations. The results revealed that (1) the removal efficiency of 2,6-dichloropyridine was higher compared to that of n-dodecane at a given plasma treatment time and (2) the removal efficiency increased with the energy density increasing, but decreased as the soil heterogeneity, organic matter and pollutant concentration were enhanced. The main removal mechanism proposed is the evaporation of pollutant molecules coupled with their oxidation by plasma species in the gas and solid/liquid phase.