A study of tiamulin removal by nanosecond pulsed gas–liquid discharge underwater

Abstract In this study, gas–liquid discharge plasma excited by nanosecond pulsed voltage is used to efficiently remove tiamulin (TIA) from water. The discharge produces a large number of reactive species (H 2 O 2 , OH radicals, NO 3 − , etc.) that can attack the TIA molecules. The effects of peak pulse voltage, initial TIA concentration, gas composition, and the addition of ferrous sulfate and persulfate on TIA removal were mainly investigated. The results showed that the oxygen plasma could approach 100% removal within 30 min of treatment time. The addition of the catalyst increased the TIA removal efficiency by approximately 15% during the 10‐min discharge treatment time. The toxicity of 12 intermediates was analyzed and the degradation mechanism of TIA was investigated.