Degradation of imidacloprid in wastewater by dielectric barrier discharge system

The degradation behavior of imidacloprid in wastewater was investigated with dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) system and the effect of several factors that could influence degradation process was explored in this study. The study showed that imidacloprid could be effectively removed by DBD system under certain conditions. The optimal removal efficiency was 75.6% when applied voltage was 75 V and 160 min was selected as the discharge time. Moreover, lower conductivity and alkaline environment were favorable for the imidacloprid degradation. The presence of Cu2+ and Fe2+ could benefit for the imidacloprid degradation, however the catalytic effect of Cu2+ was lower than that of Fe2+. Furthermore, methanol as scavenger decreased the removal efficiency of imidacloprid owing to the scavenger inhibited the generation of hydroxyl radicals during the DBD process.