Zheng J. Inactivation of Staphylococcus aureus in water by pulsed spark discharge.
Sci Rep 2017;
7:10311. [PMID:
28871181 PMCID:
PMC5583338 DOI:
10.1038/s41598-017-10784-2]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/02/2017] [Accepted: 08/14/2017] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
A pulsed spark plasma discharge system was developed and tested as an energy efficient water sterilization method. A 5 log10 reduction on Staphylococcus aureus concentration of 108 CFU/ml was obtained. Complete inactivation was achieved for concentration of 106 CFU/ml. Of the various factors generated by an underwater spark discharge, ultraviolet radiation plays a major role. The inactivation was completely suppressed by the addition of 30 mg/L of a soluble sunscreen, Benzophenone-9. Results obtained using the pulsed spark plasma discharge showed that this system has several advantages, such as high energy efficiency, absence of harmful by-products and portability, over the conventional sterilization methods.
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