Turning water into plasma and back in order to purify it

[shanebird1001]

This really isn't a HW problem, but this seemed like the best place to post my question.

Imagine a modern city's water cycle. Clean water is obtained from a river or from groundwater, and this water is used for drinking, bathing and industrial uses. Afterwards the water is fouled biologically and chemically. Next this very dirty water is sealed in a chamber, and a plasma arc (temp of 25,000° C) inside heats it until all of the water and contaminants turn into plasma (all chemical bonds broken).

Question: If the plasma is allowed to cool, will the heavy atoms form a solid at the bottom of the chamber?

Question: Will the ionized Hydrogen and Oxygen atoms immediately turn back into water when cooled, or will they be separate gases?

 

[SteamKing]

There are cheaper, easier and less energy-intensive ways to purify water than heating it to 25,000 C.

 

[shanebird1001]

There are cheaper, easier and less energy-intensive ways to purify water than heating it to 25,000 C.

I didnt mean to imply that the water would be heated all the way to 25,000 C. The water would only have to be heated until it becomes plasma at 3,000 C or so.

While I am sure your right about cheaper ways to clean water, that's not the whole picture. Cleaning the water is only one benefit of this process. Another benefit is that the contaminants are destroyed. So for example, suppose that we were considering desalinization to produce clean water. The desalinization process concentrates the brine, and then dumps it back into the ocean. At such a concentrated level the contaminants are toxic to ocean life - even though they came out of the sea to begin with. So the area around the plant becomes a dead zone. Heating the dirty water into plasma eradicates all of the biological and chemical residues. Advanced Plasma Power is a company that uses a plasma arc to eradicate solid waste, their process results in a solid leftover that they term Plasmarock. This material can be used in construction. I don't know if a liquid waste process would also produce Plasmarock, that's my first question above.

Thats also not the end of the process. IF the cooling plasma results in disassociated hydrogen and oxygen gases, then they can be piped into another chamber and ignited. The explosion can be used to move a magnetic piston head, thereby producing electricity (and clean water, because burning the hydrogen and oxygen will cause them to recombine). IF the cooling plasma recombines the water and hydrogen, then the steam can be used to drive a steam turbine/steam generator, which will also produce electricity. So the overall process would look like this:

Inputs:
Dirty Water
Energy (Plasma Arc)

Outputs:
Pure Water
Plasmarock
Energy (Electricity)

Note that no wastes or contaminants are released, the Plasmarock can be sold, and the energy produced by the process will lower the overall cost. Finally, my process can use the same water indefinitely, so that the city would never run out of water.

I am interested in feedback, so please let me know if you think the whole process is feasible or not. Thanks.

 

[gneill]

There is no trivial way to separate the individual atomic species from the plasma in bulk. When the plasma cools you won't be able to control how the atomic soup recombines. Shades of the Miller-Urey experiments!

 

[paranormal]

I find this concept intriguing and potentially innovative. The idea of using plasma to purify water is not a new concept, as it has been used in various industries for decades. However, the specific method described in this scenario is unique and warrants further investigation.

To answer the first question, it is possible that some heavy atoms may form solids at the bottom of the chamber when the plasma cools. The exact composition of the solid would depend on the specific contaminants present in the water, as well as the temperature and other conditions during the plasma treatment. Further research and experimentation would be needed to determine the exact outcome.

As for the second question, it is likely that the ionized hydrogen and oxygen atoms would recombine to form water molecules when cooled. However, this process may not occur immediately and could depend on the rate of cooling and other factors. Additionally, some of the ionized atoms may also recombine to form other compounds or molecules. Again, further research and experimentation would be necessary to fully understand this process.

Overall, the concept of using plasma to purify water has potential, but it would require extensive research and testing to determine its effectiveness and feasibility on a larger scale. It is important to consider the energy requirements and potential environmental impacts of such a process. I would encourage further exploration of this idea and its potential applications in water purification.