Studies on a non-thermal pulsed corona plasma between two parallel-plate electrodes in water

A non-thermal plasma generated between two parallel-plate electrodes submerged in water was studied in this work. The surface of one of the stainless-steel electrodes (the cathode) was coated with a ceramic layer of Al2O3. This reactor cell was connected to a water cycle and the discharge was carried out in a closed loop and therefore an equilibrium was established during discharge. The dependence of hydrogen peroxide formation as an indicator for the generation of most important oxidative species OH radicals on the pulse repetition rate, the solution conductivity and the pH of the solution was investigated. The highest yield of H2O2 (3.5 mg L-1) was obtained at 20 pps in a NaCl solution with a conductivity of 400 mu S cm(-1) and pH 7 in 90 min. The maximum energy efficiency of similar to 0.1 g kWh(-1) H2O2 was obtained. The surface of the coated electrodes, before and after applying of electrical discharges, was analysed by scanning electron microscopy. During the discharge process, the coating was destroyed and the formation of H2O2 decreased to 10% after discharging of nearly 35 h.