This study aims to inactivate Artemia sp. (Zooplankton) in ballast water through the dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) plasma process. The DBD plasma process has the advantage of enabling direct electric discharge in water and utilizing chemically active species generated by the plasma reaction. The experimental conditions for plasma reaction are as follows; high voltage of 9-22 kV, plasma reaction time of 15-600 s, and air flow rate of 0.5-5.5 L/min. The results showed that the optimal experimental conditions for Artemia sp inactivation were 16 kV, 60 s, 2.5 L/min, respectively. The concentrations of total residual oxidants and ozone generated by plasma reaction increased with an increase of in voltage and reaction time, and the concentration of generated air did not increase above a certain amount.

The International Maritime Organization (IMO) ballast water management agreement (International Convention for the Control and Management of Ship's Ballast Water and Sediments) came into force on September 8, 2017. This study evaluated the disinfection performance of electrolysis, UV treatment, and electrolysis + UV combined, to improve the treatment of zooplankton (size ≥ 50 μm), which is expected to strengthen the standards for biodegradation efficiency. Among the methods used, the disinfection time leading to 100% death was in the order: electrolysis > electrolysis + UV > UV process. For the same level of disinfection performance, the amount of electricity required for the electrolysis, UV, and electrolysis + UV processes were 1,300 W.s, 8,400 W.S, and 4,500 W.s, respectively. The combination of electrolysis + UV process for inactivation of zooplankton in ballast water did not show a synergic effect owing to the slow disinfection time and high power consumption.