Environmental improvement and recycling using electrical discharges

This Digest deals with the harnessing and applications of electrical discharges for the improvement of the environment. We are becoming acutely aware of the negative impact that some of the intense industrial activities are having on the air, water and soil which are essential to the continuation of a healthy life for humans and animals. The enhanced emissions of various pollutant gases and volatile compounds are no longer tolerable because they are major causes of smog, acid rain, and global warming. Those effects are increasingly thought of as detrimental not only to health but also to the growth of vegetation and to the cleanliness of fresh water lakes. Recycling of materials has also become a major concern because of the its momentous growth in response to legislation being enacted world wide. Air pollution from a wide range of sources must be drastically and urgently reduced as mandated by recent by international agreements to protect the environment. Non-thermal plasmas and high electric fields offer many advantages when used as tools to deal effectively with some of our pollution and recycling problems.