Researchers at Lublin University of Technology together with experts from Korea, Turkey and Japan are working on the construction of a portable plasma device that can be used to clean and disinfect a variety of surfaces, soil and water.
Research into the use of plasma is carried out under the international cooperation program KORANET, whose main objective is to strengthen the scientific exchange and collaboration between universities and scientists from Europe and South Korea.
Lublin University of Technology partners in the project to build a portable plasma device are Hacettepe University in Ankara (Turkey), INHA University, Incheon (Korea) and a private research centre - Environment and Energy Laboratory in Fukuoka (Japan). The participants are scientists of various disciplines, including electrical engineering technicians, microbiologists, specialists in the study of surface structures and plasma technology.
According to the European project coordinator Prof. Henryka Stryczewska of Lublin University of Technology, research into the use of plasma in medicine and environmental protection has been carried out in the world for a long time.
"Plasma is produced by electrical discharges. It is an ionised gas. We want to build compact, portable plasma microreactors. Then we will study their effects on various surfaces" - said Prof. Stryczewska.
Researchers use the properties of the plasma, which, with various ionised particles (electrons, radicals) can, for example, remove bacteria by damaging their DNA.
In practice, plasma devices could be used to remove pollutants from exhaust gases (including sulfur oxides, nitrogen oxides) or substances generated during various industrial processes. Plasma can also be used in biomedicine, e.g. in the treatment of wounds, and to remove harmful bacteria from tissues. It can also be used to purify a variety of surfaces such as dressings, but also packaging for food products, or for the disinfection of water or soil.
Prof. Stryczewska noted that similar solutions are already used in the treatment of dental caries or removal of bacteria with ozone, which is a variety of oxygen produced by electrical discharges. "Ozone is a strong germicide" - she added.
Unlike sterilization, plasma allows for removal of selected contaminants. It can be used where contaminants are highly dispersed, diluted. "Energetic electrons of plasma can selectively remove certain pollutamts" - added Prof. Stryczewska.
The budget of the portable plasma device research project is 50 thousand euro. The money comes from the European Union and the Korean partners.
The project is expected to be completed in September 2014, but, according to Prof. Stryczewska, the research into the use of plasma will continue.
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