Review of Plasma Technologies for Contribution of Environmental Purification

Since the beginning of the 20th century, plasma technology has been used in a variety of fields. In the 1980s, R&D related to arc plasma welding and waste disposal, as well as etching, painting, and gas removal equipment that used plasma technology in the processes associated with semiconductor manufacturing. In the 1990s, research on removing air pollutants using atmospheric pressure plasma technology became active. In the 2000s, research on the application of thermal/non-thermal plasma technology to air pollution, waste and water treatment became active. Electrostatic precipitators (ESP) can remove a wide variety of particles such as soot from thermal power plants, coal, and oil mist, resin powder, glass powder, dust, and iron powder generated from incinerators, boilers, and various manufacturing plants. Waste treatment aims to reduce the volume of garbage, recycle incinerated materials, and utilize waste heat from incineration, and plasma technology is used in each process. Various techniques have been used for making purified water. Water quality requirements vary according to the objective. Plasma technology uses an electrical field to encourage seed germination and growth. Due to the spread of such applied technology, plasma technology has attracted attention again in recent years.