Water decontamination using ozone microplasma technology

This proposal addresses the requirements of the Army outlined in the solicitation for a high flow-rate, energy efficient and portable water treatment technology to achieve optimum water reuse for field operations by reducing contaminant levels in the wash, rinse and discharge streams of the mobile sanitation center. An effective approach is the use of ozone, a powerful oxidizing gas capable of broadly neutralizing harmful species in gaseous and aqueous forms. In particular, microplasma-based ozone generation technology can be adapted for portable water-purification and the removal of toxic contaminants. Microplasmas are attractive due to the high reactivity of the excited species. The primary components of the proposed system are a microplasma ozone generator and a multichannel gas-liquid micro-reactor for ozonolysis. The microplasma ozone generator has the potential to reach 30% conversion of air to ozone and the micro-reactor offers high mass transfer and reactivity for decontamination of wastewater with low power consumption in a compact and easily scalable modular design. This system will have the potential to provide the highly efficient and adaptable decontamination technology required by the Army.