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Cold plasma technologies for sustainable water treatment: a state-of-the-art review
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Researchers reviewed cold plasma technology as a water treatment platform, highlighting its ability to simultaneously generate reactive oxygen and nitrogen species, UV photons, and shock waves to achieve >5–6 log microbial reduction within minutes while also oxidatively fragmenting microplastics — though scaling beyond the lab remains constrained by energy efficiency and reactor durability.
Abstract Cold plasma (CP) directly responds to this challenge by uniting disinfection, oxidation, and surface modification within a single process, enabling simultaneous remediation of diverse pollutants and microbial threats in short timeframes. The multifunctionality of CP stems from its concurrent generation of reactive oxygen and nitrogen species (RONS), ultraviolet photons, transient electric fields, and shock waves. This unique synergy enables rapid degradation of persistent organic pollutants, achieving >5–6 log 10 (CFU/mL) microbial reductions within minutes, along with efficient virus inactivation and oxidative fragmentation of microplastics. Beyond water purification, plasma-activated water (PAW) has demonstrated benefits in agriculture through enhanced germination, growth promotion, and soil detoxification, while CP applications in food systems ensure microbial safety, extend shelf life, and preserve nutritional quality. In materials science, CP enables precise surface engineering of membranes, sorbents, and nanomaterials, improving catalytic efficiency, adsorption performance, and biocompatibility. Despite these advances, translation from laboratory to large-scale deployment remains restricted by energy efficiency, reactor scalability, electrode durability, and the absence of standardized protocols. This review critically examines the state-of-the-art in CP research, benchmarks its performance against conventional advanced oxidation processes, and outlines future directions, emphasizing its role as a transformative platform technology contributing to Sustainable Development Goals 6 and 12.
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Atmospheric cold plasma as a novel approach to remediating microplastics pollution in water
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Scientists demonstrated for the first time that atmospheric cold plasma — an energy-efficient technology that generates highly reactive molecules — can break down polypropylene and polyethylene microplastics in water. The treatment degraded the microplastics by up to 11% in just 30 minutes through oxidation reactions. While still in early stages, this low-cost approach could eventually become a practical method for removing microplastics from drinking and wastewater.
Unlocking the Hidden Potential of Cold Plasma Technology for Combating Microplastic Pollution in Aqueous Environments
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Microplastics, tiny plastic bits that pollute our water and can end up in our bodies, are hard to clean up with current methods, which often waste energy or create new pollution. This review paper rounds up existing research on "cold plasma," a technology that uses charged gas particles to break down microplastics into harmless carbon dioxide and water without burning them or using harsh chemicals. While the approach shows real promise as a cleaner way to tackle plastic pollution in water, the researchers note it's still facing technical hurdles before it can be used widely in the real world.
Characteristics of low-temperature plasma for activation of plastic-degrading microorganisms
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Researchers optimized low-temperature plasma discharge conditions to activate plastic-degrading microorganisms without killing them, finding specific electrical frequency and pulse width settings that boosted microbial activity. This technique could accelerate biological plastic breakdown, offering a new tool in the fight against persistent microplastic pollution.
Environmental aspects of restoring the environment: nanotechnology for removing micro and nanoplastics from water
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Researchers developed a plasma chemical water purification method that combines modified humic substances with high-voltage electrical discharge to aggregate and magnetically remove micro- and nanoplastics from contaminated water. Tested on wastewater from a printing facility, the method outperformed conventional sorption or plasma treatment alone and showed promise for simultaneously removing plastics, heavy metals, and organic pollutants. This offers a potentially scalable technology for treating industrial wastewater sources that are currently releasing nanoplastics to the environment.
Cold plasma-induced fragmentation and surface modification of polystyrene microplastics in aqueous systems
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In lab tests, tiny polystyrene microplastic particles in water were exposed to cold plasma. The treatment broke particles into smaller pieces and changed their surface texture and shape within minutes, rather than fully breaking down the plastic chemically, suggesting potential use as a pretreatment step before further processing.
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