Reaction Pathway Analysis for Bisphenol-A (BPA) Degradation in Water by Pulsed Streamer Arc Discharge

Bisphenol A (BPA) is a synthetic chemical widely used in plastics and epoxy resins industries all around the world. However, its extensive use and subsequent pollution of water sources have raised concerns due to its potential adverse brain and endocrine effects on human health and the environment. The degradation of BPA is crucial to mitigate its harmful impact, and the present study focuses on evaluating the BPA degradation pathway using Pulsed Streamer Arc Discharge as an effective and environmentally friendly approach. The main objective of this research is to investigate the reaction behaviour of BPA degradation and identify the optimum parameters to enhance the degradation efficiency. The methodology employed in this study includes subjecting BPA to pulsed streamer arc discharge using high-voltage engineering concepts under controlled conditions. Specifically, the discharge was conducted for 60 minutes with a discharge current of 20A and a discharge frequency of 50 pulses per second (pps). The study further explores the effects of different discharge frequencies (10, 20, and 100 pps) and the presence of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) at initial solution on the BPA degradation process. Based on the results, the reaction rate constant obtained from the discharge shows a relatively low value compared to normal arc discharge. The influence of discharge frequency and the addition of H2O2 on the degradation efficiency is elucidated, where higher frequency and the presence of H2O2 at the initial time favour the degradation process. Utilizing the Box-Behnken Design (BBD) for the design of experiments, the optimum parameters for maximum BPA degradation efficiency were identified by referring to the highest phenol yield.

Keywords: Bisphenol-A, pulsed streamer arc discharge, BPA Degradation.