Degradation of Aniline Wastewater Using Dielectric Barrier Discharges at Atmospheric Pressure

Aniline is a toxic water pollutant detected in drinking water and surface water, and this chemical is harmful to both human and aquatic life. A dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) reactor was designed in this study to investigate the treatment of aniline in aqueous solution. Discharge characteristics were assessed by measuring voltage and current waveforms, capturing light emission images, and obtaining optical emission spectra. The effects of several parameters were analyzed, including treatment distance, discharge power, DBD treatment time, initial pH of aniline solutions, and addition of sodium carbonate and hydrogen peroxide to the treatment. Aniline degradation increased with increasing discharge power. Under the same conditions, higher degradation was obtained at a treatment distance of 0 mm than at other treatment distances. At a discharge power of 21.5 W, 84.32% of aniline was removed after 10 min of DBD treatment. Initial pH significantly influenced aniline degradation. Adding a certain dosage of sodium carbonate and hydrogen peroxide to the wastewater can accelerate the degradation rate of aniline. Possible degradation pathways of aniline by DBD plasmas were proposed based on the analytical data of GC/MS and TOC.