Kinetics of hydroquinone oxidation by a wire–cylinder dielectric barrier discharge reactor

Abstract

The effects of discharge power, voltage/Current, initial concentration, pH, and air flow rate on the oxidative degradation of hydroquinone were investigated, respectively, by a wire–cylinder dielectric barrier discharge reactor under a NaCl concentration of 10 g/L. Results indicated that the removal efficiency of hydroquinone increased from 74.6 to 88.2% when the discharge power increased from 30 to 50 W. Moreover, an enhancement from 68.5 to 85.6% was observed when the air flow rate changed from 20 to 40 L/h, at 10-min reaction time and an initial hydroquinone concentration of 40 mg/L. The observed maximum pseudo-first-order kinetic constant was about 0.3820 ± 0.0409 min⁻¹ under a discharge power of 60 W and air flow rate of 80 L/h. Compared with other factors, discharge power, pH, and air flow rate played a significant role in improving the oxidation rates of hydroquinone. This work provides new insights into our understanding of plasma-induced degradation of hydroquinone under a NaCl concentration of 10 g/L.

Keywords:

• Hydroquinone
• Plasma
• Wire–cylinder dielectric barrier discharge reactor
• Oxidative degradation
• Catalytic effect

Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 51208164) and China Scholarship Council (No. 201406695003).

Notes

Presented at the 8th International Conference on Challenges in Environmental Science & Engineering (CESE-2015) 28 September–2 October 2015, Sydney, Australia