Gasoline degradation and nitrogen fixation in soil by pulsed corona discharge plasma

Jiaxun Zhan; Ai Zhang; Paul Héroux; Xiang Li; Zhenyu Li; Jingyi Zhao; Ying Guo; Yanan Liu

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.01.183

Gasoline degradation and nitrogen fixation in soil by pulsed corona discharge plasma

Sci Total Environ. 2019 Apr 15:661:266-275. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.01.183. Epub 2019 Jan 15.

Authors

Jiaxun Zhan¹, Ai Zhang², Paul Héroux³, Xiang Li², Zhenyu Li², Jingyi Zhao², Ying Guo⁴, Yanan Liu⁵

Affiliations

¹ College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Donghua University, 2999 North Renmin Road, Shanghai 201620, China; Shanghai Institute of Pollution Control and Ecological Security, Shanghai 200092, China.
² College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Donghua University, 2999 North Renmin Road, Shanghai 201620, China.
³ Department of Epidemiology, Biostatistics and Occupational Health, McGill University, Montreal, Canada.
⁴ College of Science, Donghua University, 2999 North Renmin Road, Shanghai 201620, China.
⁵ College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Donghua University, 2999 North Renmin Road, Shanghai 201620, China; Shanghai Institute of Pollution Control and Ecological Security, Shanghai 200092, China. Electronic address: liuyanan@dhu.edu.cn.

PMID: 30677674
DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.01.183

Abstract

Gasoline contaminated soil poses an environmental and human health problem, which may be partially solved by the emerging non-thermal plasma technology. In this study a pulse corona discharge (PCD) reactor was employed to degrade gasoline in soil and simultaneously to fix nitrogen in soil. The gasoline removal rates were influenced by input power, electrode gap, gas flow rate, initial gasoline concentration, soil pH, and soil moisture. This technology produced no secondary pollution. Ozone, NOx, and hydroxyl radicals, generated directly on the soil surface, were identified as the primary agents responsible for gasoline degradation. The role of the major active agents was determined by ventilating different gases during the corona discharges. In addition, the concentration of nitrate and wettability of soil was increased after the treatment. Safety and fertility of treated soil were investigated by planting lettuce. Thus, soil pollution was remediated using this non-thermal plasma treatment, while simultaneously improving soil nitrogen content and physical characteristics. This process potentially enhances soil fertility and revegetation, since this environmentally-friendly method does not involve other chemicals injections.

Keywords: Degradation mechanisms; Gasoline; Nitrogen fixation; Plasma; Soil remediation.