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Microwave-Induced In-Liquid Plasma for Chemical and Environmental Applications: Investigation of Wastewater Treatment Contaminated by Microplastics and Toxic Metal Ions

Journal of Oleo Science 2025 Score: 38 ? 0–100 AI score estimating relevance to the microplastics field. Papers below 30 are filtered from public browse.
Satoshi Horikoshi, Takeru Matsumoto, Megumi Nakamura, Nick Serpone

Summary

Researchers used a microwave-induced in-liquid plasma device to degrade microplastics and toxic metal ions in contaminated water, demonstrating that polyethylene particles were degraded under continuous circulation treatment and that the method outperformed conventional batch treatments when assessed using rhodamine-B dye as a model contaminant.

Polymers
Study Type Environmental

This study utilized a microwave-induced in-liquid plasma (MILP) device to treat water contaminated with microplastics (MPs) and metal ions. The performance of the device was initially assessed using a rhodamine-B (RhB) aqueous dye solution in a circulation-type reactor, yielding a greater degradation efficiency compared to conventional batch treatments. Polyethylene (PE) particles (diameter, 20 μm; average molecular weight, 1.8 million) served as a model for MPs to evaluate their disposal and degradation under continuous circulation treatment. A plasma-induced polymer gel synthesis method was employed to remove metal ions, achieving over 80% removal of copper, tin, lead, and mercury within 5 minutes. These findings highlight the significant potential of MILP technology for innovative advanced water treatment applications.

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