Numerical analysis and experimental study for removal of copper and zinc from groundwater by dielectric barrier discharge

ABSTRACT

Conventional methods of treating zinc and copper have the disadvantages of secondary contamination and complex control processes. This paper investigates the removal characteristics of gas–liquid mixed dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) in high-concentration copper–zinc groundwater. The study combines numerical simulation and experimentation to analyze the effects of discharge power, initial pH, gas flow rate, and liquid flow rate on copper and zinc removal rates. The results show that a better gas–liquid mixing distribution can be achieved when the inlet flow rate is 40 L/min and the inlet flow rate is below 200 mL/min. The removal of Cu can be up to 98.68% and Zn up to 96.28% when the discharge power is 56 W and the initial pH is 11. The optimum treatment time for Cu2+ is 3–6 min, while the best copper removal occurs at a gas flow rate of 20–30 L/min and a liquid flow rate of 100 mL/min. It was found that the optimum treatment time for Zn2+ was different for different process parameters, mainly in the range of 9–12 min, which needs to be noted in future production applications. Therefore, DBD can efficiently eliminate copper and zinc ions from groundwater to meet environmental discharge standards.