Yui Hayashi

Decomposition of methyl orange using pulsed discharge plasma at atmospheric pressure: Effect of different electrodes

One of the new technologies for water treatment is the pulsed discharge plasma method, which utilizes high voltage pulses with a fast rise time and a very short duration. In this study, under argon atmosphere at 313 K, the decoloration of methyl orange was conducted with copper (Cu) and stainless steel #304 (SUS-304) as electrodes in the batch reactor. The performance of pulse discharge plasma generation was observed using an intensified charge coupled device (ICCD) camera. The results show that the intermediate compounds from the degradation of methyl orange consist primarily of aromatic compounds containing nitrogen functional groups. At the same number of plasma discharge times, the percentage conversion of methyl orange with Cu as the electrode is higher than that with SUS as the electrode. However, the percentage degradation of methyl orange is over 90% in both cases when the number of plasma discharge times was 20000.

Removal of Water Pollutants by Pulsed Discharge Plasma and Observation of Its Optical Emission Intensity at Atmospheric Pressure

Pulsed discharge plasma over the liquid surface was observed in the needle electrode configuration. The characteristics of streamer propagation including its optical emission intensity were investigated by using the intensified charge coupled device (ICCD) camera. The experiment was conducted at 313 K, 0.1 MPa argon in a batch-type reactor with methyl orange as a starting material. The characteristic of pulsed streamers were started from the electrode placed above the methyl orange liquid surface and then reached the methyl orange liquid surface, where they propagated on it. The propagation of pulsed streamers and their progression distance increased with the increase in peak voltage value. The optical emission intensity increased immediately after the breakdown; and it increased to its peak value when the applied voltage reached its peak value. After pulsed discharge plasma treatment, methyl orange degraded into its derived compounds with the appearance of light color. UV–vis spectrophotometer analyzed that the intermediate compounds from the degradation of methyl orange consist primarily of aromatic compounds which contain nitrogen functional groups. The degradation of methyl orange is 99% when the number of discharge plasma was 20000×. With increasing the pulse discharge numbers, the pH and the conductivity of methyl orange solution changed clearly.

Effect of fine bubbles on electric discharge in water

Ar or O2 fine bubbles of diameter <80 μm were introduced in water and a pulsed discharge plasma was generated between cylinder electrodes in water. Fine bubbles in water affected discharge ignition and caused low inception voltage and suppression of rising temperature. The contamination from electrodes was suppressed in the case of fine bubbles addition because fine bubbles assisted plasma generation. In addition, discharge with fine bubbles enhanced plasma emission with high electron density compared to the no-bubbling case. Discharge with fine bubbles at low-pH conditions generated intense plasma emission compared to neutral and high-pH conditions owing to the electric charge of the fine bubbles.

Matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometric analysis of degradation products after treatment of methylene blue aqueous solution with three-dimensionally integrated microsolution plasma

Methylene blue can be degraded in three-dimensionally integrated microsolution plasma. The degradation products have been analyzed by matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time-of-flight (MALDI TOF) mass spectrometry to understand the degradation mechanisms. The results of MALDI TOF mass spectrometry have shown that sulfoxide is formed at the first stage of the oxidation. Then, partial oxidation proceeds on the methyl groups left on the sulfoxide. The sulfoxide is subsequently separated to two benzene derivatives. Finally, weak functional groups are removed from the benzene derivatives.

Reaction mechanisms of methylene-blue degradation in three-dimensionally integrated micro-solution plasma

We have performed matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time-of-flight (MALDI-TOF) mass spectrometry (MS) on methylene-blue aqueous solutions treated with three-dimensionally integrated micro-solution plasma, in which we have acquired the time evolution of mass spectra as a function of treatment time. The time evolution of mass spectral peak intensities for major detected species has clearly indicated that the parent methylene-blue molecules are degraded through consecutive reactions. The primary reaction is the oxidation of the parent molecules. The oxidized species still have two benzene rings in the parent molecules. The secondary reactions are the separation of the oxidized species and the formation of compounds with one benzene ring. We have also performed the numerical fitting of the time evolution of the mass spectral peak intensities, the results of which have indicated that we must assume additional primary reactions before the primary oxidation for better agreement with experimental results.

Hydrogen Peroxide Formation by Electric Discharge with Fine Bubbles

Pulsed discharge plasma is typical oxidation technology for disposing organic compounds in aqueous solutions. When this electrical discharge plasma was applied in water, it may produce hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) without any catalyst or chemical agent. In order to increase H2O2 production by electrical discharge plasma in water, fine bubbles were introduced into the electrical discharge plasma in this experiment. Bipolar pulsed voltages were applied to cylindrical electrodes in the water while Ar or O2 bubbles were introduced, generating a pulsed discharge plasma. The introduction of the bubbles seemed to enhance the dissociation of water molecules and increased H2O2 formation, especially with O2 bubbling. Dissolved oxygen in the water contributed to H2O2 formation by pulsed discharge plasma with the bubbles, while dissociation of water molecules was the cause of H2O2 formation by pulsed discharge plasma without bubbles. More H2O2 was formed by pulsed discharge plasma with O2 bubbles, because the amount of dissolved oxygen in the water increased upon bubbling with O2.

Reaction of Cl− ions in electrolyte solution induced electrical discharge plasma in the presence of argon fine bubbles

Active chlorine species such as chlorine molecules and hypochlorous acid have been known as high performance sanitizers. They would act more reactive on chemical and biological substances when an electrical discharge was introduced in water containing an electrolyte substance. Here, the reaction of chloride (Cl−) ions were examined by introducing of a pulsed discharge plasma in sodium chloride (NaCl) solution as an electrolyte solution at room temperature. The results show that a large electrical current generated by the pulsed discharge plasma affected the reaction of Cl− ions to result available chlorine. The reaction pathway for available chlorine production was assumed similar with the reaction pathway as electrolysis. A pulsed discharge plasma in NaCl solution in the presence of argon (Ar) fine bubbles exhibited intense emissions and high electron density compared to when no Ar fine bubbles were introduced. At these conditions, the dissociation reaction rate of water increased drastically leads to th...

Study of signal-to-noise ratios considered human visual characteristics

The effects of imaging parameters on detectability have not yet been clarified. Therefore, we investigated the usefulness of signal-to-noise ratios (SNRs) considered as human visual characteristics, such as the visual spatial frequency response and the internal noise in the eye-brain system. We examined the amplitude model (SNRa), matched filter model (SNRm), and internal noise model (SNRi) to study the relationship between these SNRs and the visual image quality for signal detection. The test images were simulated by the superimposition of low-contrast signals on a uniform noisy background. The SNRs were obtained for 15 imaging cases with various signal sizes, signal contrasts, exposure levels, and number of acrylic plates used as breast phantoms. The SNRs were calculated by measuring the spatial frequency characteristics of the signal, modulation transfer function (MTF) of the system, display MTF, and overall Wiener spectrum (WS). In the perceptual evaluation, we applied the 16-alternative forced choice (16-AFC) method. The signal detectability was defined as the number of detected signals divided by the total number of signals. We studied the relationship between SNR and signal detectability using Spearmans rank correlation coefficient. The correlation coefficient of SNRi was 0.93, making it the highest among the three SNR types. That of SNRm was 0.91; it correlated at the same level as SNRi although it is not considered human visual characteristics. That of SNRa was 0.45. SNRi, which incorporated the visual characteristics, explained the visual image quality well.