Potsdam researchers receive $ 1 million from the United States Air Force for the purification process of groundwater

Potsdam - Two researchers receive $ 1 million in the United States Air Force to develop a method that groundwater using a plasma electric discharge cleans dirty.

Thomas Holsen and Selma Mededovic Thagard, Professor Wallace H. Coulter School of Engineering at Clarkson University and Stephen Richardson, chief engineer at GSI Environmental Inc., working with RHE grant.

Constructed a device called a plasma reactor electric discharge improved contact, the metallic electrodes, the current through a layer of gas (argon) transmitted. to form a high energy plasma current flow at the tips of the electrodes.

"The plasma acts as the fire. If you are on the water surface, which "destroys the contaminants in the remaining gas and water interface, so Thagard in a press release from the institution. The reactor used only current plasma to produce. It requires no additional chemicals and produce no waste.

Impurities of interest are poly and perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), a group of artificial chemicals historically for a variety of residential, commercial and industrial fabrics, including anti-stick cookware, stubborn stains and carpets, some food and container commercial and military foam. PFAS is a growing concern because of their persistence in the environment.

Measurements of groundwater at many sites launch foam fire fighting military show is substantially higher arrest, which is allowed in drinking water at the current level of the health authorities. The most common approach to remove these contaminants from the water, the use of activated carbon filters (GAC). The disadvantage of this approach is PFAS transfer medium (water) to another (GAC). One of the goals of the Air Force is to find a technology that are PFAS or at least less toxic compounds broken completely destroyed. The plasma reactor can solve these potential problems.

The argon plasma in the reactor is to provide for a variety of oxidizing species and reduction. Reductive species and destroy PFAS in less toxic products either decomposed remain in the water or released as harmless gases into the atmosphere.

The researchers predict that plasma technology cleaning costs are reduced 50 to 80 percent.

Mededovic Thagard and Holsen work also to change the system so that a wide range of contaminants in small amounts can remove water, to increase efficiency and reduce costs.

"We are pleased to work with the Air Force, our processes to test at one of their sites," Holsen said in the statement. "With many places PFAS included disinfected, we hope that our process can be a game changer in the form of lower processing costs and improved efficiency."

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