Transport-guided intensification of plasma activation spray for scalable and tunable water treatment
Abstract
Interaction of cold plasma with aqueous media underpins emerging technologies in water treatment, chemical conversion, and biomedicine, yet scalable plasma-liquid activation remains limited by inefficient gas-liquid mass transfer and rapid reactive-species decay. This study reports a droplet-based plasma activation spray (PAS) reactor and establishes transport-guided design principles for intensifying reactive oxygen and nitrogen species (RONS) capture. Through systematic variation in spray-nozzle size, chamber geometry, and gas flow, we identify regimes governing the magnitude and composition of plasma activation. Smaller droplets (∼342 µm) favored reactive nitrogen species uptake through increased interfacial area, whereas larger droplets (∼1.3 mm) accumulated hydrogen peroxide through bulk-phase retention. Larger chambers extended droplet flight time and enhanced bulk accumulation, while positioning electrodes near the liquid interface minimized short-lived species transport losses. Spatial repositioning of multiple needles further improved the plasma activation by covering inactive zones. These design principles, validated in scaled PAS systems, achieved peak energy yields (>1.84 mmol/MJ at liter-scale) and enabled rapid antibiotic degradation and superior ≥ 5-log microbial inactivation, bridging the gap between plasma science and large-scale environmental application. The results position PAS as a tunable and scalable platform, providing a robust engineering framework that couples plasma physics with droplet hydrodynamics for high-throughput water activation.
Related
- Predictors of guideline-concordant treatment intensification in metastatic castration-sensitive prostate cancer: an explainable machine learning study
- Transendothelial Transport of Low-Density Lipoproteins in Atherosclerosis: Mechanisms of Activation and Possible Therapeutic Targets
- CAR T cells targeting fibroblast activation protein-α for the treatment of pulmonary fibrosis
- Global registry of alopecia areata disease severity and treatment safety: findings from an international pilot and optimization of a scalable real-world registry
- Diffuse gastrointestinal hemorrhage associated with emapalumab treatment of macrophage activation syndrome: A case report
BibTeX
@misc{luk2026transportguided,
title = {{Transport-guided intensification of plasma activation spray for scalable and tunable water treatment}},
author = {Hon Man Luk and Deepak Panchal and Qiuyun Lu and Siyu Chen and Xuehua Zhang},
howpublished = {ChemRxiv},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.26434/chemrxiv.15008634/v1},
url = {https://chemrxiv.org/doi/full/10.26434/chemrxiv.15008634/v1},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Transport-guided intensification of plasma activation spray for scalable and tunable water treatment
AU - Hon Man Luk
AU - Deepak Panchal
AU - Qiuyun Lu
AU - Siyu Chen
AU - Xuehua Zhang
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/10
PB - ChemRxiv
DO - 10.26434/chemrxiv.15008634/v1
UR - https://chemrxiv.org/doi/full/10.26434/chemrxiv.15008634/v1
AB - Interaction of cold plasma with aqueous media underpins emerging technologies in water treatment, chemical conversion, and biomedicine, yet scalable plasma-liquid activation remains limited by inefficient gas-liquid mass transfer and rapid reactive-species decay. This study reports a droplet-based plasma activation spray (PAS) reactor and establishes transport-guided design principles for intensifying reactive oxygen and nitrogen species (RONS) capture. Through systematic variation in spray-nozzle size, chamber geometry, and gas flow, we identify regimes governing the magnitude and composition of plasma activation. Smaller droplets (∼342 µm) favored reactive nitrogen species uptake through increased interfacial area, whereas larger droplets (∼1.3 mm) accumulated hydrogen peroxide through bulk-phase retention. Larger chambers extended droplet flight time and enhanced bulk accumulation, while positioning electrodes near the liquid interface minimized short-lived species transport losses. Spatial repositioning of multiple needles further improved the plasma activation by covering inactive zones. These design principles, validated in scaled PAS systems, achieved peak energy yields (>1.84 mmol/MJ at liter-scale) and enabled rapid antibiotic degradation and superior ≥ 5-log microbial inactivation, bridging the gap between plasma science and large-scale environmental application. The results position PAS as a tunable and scalable platform, providing a robust engineering framework that couples plasma physics with droplet hydrodynamics for high-throughput water activation.
ER -