Fang Shidong

Atmospheric pressure plasma jet utilizing Ar and Ar/H2O mixtures and its applications to bacteria inactivation

An atmospheric pressure plasma jet generated with Ar with H2O vapor is characterized and applied to inactivation of Bacillus subtilis spores. The emission spectra obtained from Ar/H2O plasma shows a higher intensity of OH radicals compared to pure argon at a specified H2O concentration. The gas temperature is estimated by comparing the simulated spectra of the OH band with experimental spectra. The excitation electron temperature is determined from the Boltzmanns plots and Stark broadening of the hydrogen Balmer Hβ line is applied to measure the electron density. The gas temperature, excitation electron temperature, and electron density of the plasma jet decrease with the increase of water vapor concentration at a fixed input voltage. The bacteria inactivation rate increases with the increase of OH generation reaching a maximum reduction at 2.6% (v/v) water vapor. Our results also show that the OH radicals generated by the Ar/H2O plasma jet only makes a limited contribution to spore inactivation and the shape change of the spores before and after plasma irradiation is discussed.

Characteristics of Low Power CH4/Air Atmospheric Pressure Plasma Jet

A low power atmospheric pressure plasma jet driven by a 24 kHz AC power source and operated with a CH4/air gas mixture has been investigated by optical emission spectrometer. The plasma parameters including the electron excitation temperature, vibrational temperature and rotational temperature of the plasma jet at different discharge powers are diagnosed based on the assumption that the kinetic energy of the species obeys the Boltzmann distribution. The electron density at different power is also investigated by Hβ Stark broadening. The results show that the plasma source works under non-equilibrium conditions. It is also found that the vibrational temperature and rotational temperature increase with discharge power, whereas the electron excitation temperature seems to have a downward trend. The electron density increases from 0.8 × 1021 m−3 to 1.1 × 1021 m−3 when the discharge power increases from 53 W to 94 W.

Surface Treatment of Polypropylene Powders Using a Plasma Reactor with a Stirrer

A radio frequency argon plasma reactor with a stirrer was employed for the surface treatment of polypropylene (PP) powders. The changes in the superficial contact angle and the superficial composition of the un-treated and treated PP powders were analyzed by means of water contact angle (WCA) measurement, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and attenuated total reflection Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR). The water contact angle changed from the original value of 130.2° before plasma treatment to the value of 73.6° after treatment for 5 minutes. With the increase in plasma treating time, there were a decrease in the water contact angle and an increase in the content of oxygen containing polar functional groups (i.e., C-O, C=O and O-C=O). Both XPS and ATR-FTIR results indicated that the plasma treatment led to the formation of oxygen containing polar functional groups due to oxidation on the surface of the PP powders, and the trend of variation of the water contact angle with plasma treating time was related to the concentration of oxygen atom on the treated PP powders surface. Furthermore, the aging of the plasma-treated PP powders was investigated.

Characterization of Carbon Deposits Formed During Plasma Pyrolysis of Xinjiang Candle Coal

Carbon deposits were formed on the reactor wall during plasma pyrolysis of the Xinjiang candle coal in our V-style plasma pyrolysis pilot-plant. The carbon deposits were studied using a scanning electronic microscope (SEM) and the X-ray diffraction (XRD) method. It was found that carbon deposits located at different parts in the reactor exhibited different microscopic patterns. The formation mechanism of the carbon deposits was deduced. The downward increase in the graphitization degree of the carbon deposits was found and interpreted.

Linear Plasma Sources for Large Area Film Deposition:A Brief Review

By utilization of different excitation power sources, linear plasma sources can be differentiated into DC, RF, VHF, microwave and dual frequency types. Through installing several linear plasma sources in parallel or adopting the so-called roll-to-roll (air-to-air) process, scale uniform linear plasma sources were realized and successfully applied to the deposition of large area uniform dielectric thin films. Furthermore, the magnetic field system can effectively reduce the recombination losses on the wall of the vacuum chamber and enhance the plasma density. Linear plasma sources with approximately one square meter deposition area with the plasma density of 1011 cm−3 have been developed, some of which have been used for the deposition of dielectric layers and large area plasma etching.

Numerical Study on the Acetylene Concentration in the Hydrogen-Carbon System in a Hydrogen Plasma Torch

Effects of the hydrogen/carbon mole ratio and pyrolysis gas pressure on the acetylene concentration in the hydrogen-carbon system in a plasma torch were numerically calculated by using the chemical thermodynamic equilibrium method of Gibbs free energy. The calculated results indicate that the hydrogen concentration and the pyrolysis gas pressure play crucial roles in acetylene formation. Appropriately abundant hydrogen, with a mole ratio of hydrogen to carbon about 1 or 2, and a relatively high pyrolysis gas pressure can enhance the acetylene concentration. In the experiment, a compromised project consisting of an appropriate hydrogen flow rate and a feasible high pyrolysis gas pressure needs to be carried out to increase the acetylene concentration from coal pyrolysis in the hydrogen plasma torch.