Abstract: Three adjustable electrodes (33a-33c) within a chamber (40) form a thermal plasma generating system (30). The electrodes (33a-33c) are positioned with a narrow gap at one portion and a wide gap at another portion to form a cone shape. The gap between the electrodes is adjusted to accommodate for wear on the electrodes (33a-33c). An electric arc is initiated at the narrowest point between two electrodes which moves over the length of the electrodes because of a magnetic field created by the arc and the forward motion of the injected stream. At the end of the electrodes, the arc is extinguished and another arc is initiated. The continuous are moving along the electrodes ionizes a working stream that is tangentially injected from three pneumatic rings (35a-35c) which provide improved mixing of the working stream for high quality thermal plasma. The thermal plasma exits through a narrow orifice (42).

Abstract: A water decontamination method and apparatus uses a series of pulsed electrical arcs across electrodes placed within a water stream which passes through a decontamination module. Sufficient energy is delivered by a pulse power unit to the electrodes whereby lethal ultraviolet radiation and mechanical shock waves are created by the arcs within the decontamination module. A plurality of modules can be operated in parallel or in series to vary the capacity of the apparatus.