Air filter sterilization using a one atmosphere uniform glowdischarge plasma (the volfilter)

Two characteristics of microorganisms-extremely small size (0.01 to a few micrometers) and the ability to reproduce-hinder the effective filtration of bacteria and viruses from indoor air. The microorganisms captured by a filter in spite of their small size can reproduce in situ and be released into the airstream, giving rise to the “sick building syndrome”. The application of the One Atmosphere Uniform Glow Discharge Plasma (OAUGDP) to a filter can address both these issues. At University of Tennessee at Knoxville, we have recently developed the “Volfilter”, a planar version of the OAUGDP produced by attaching strip electrodes to both sides of a sheet of dielectric filter material and energizing the electrodes with a high-voltage, low-frequency RF source. After the filter material removes microorganisms from the airstream, the OAUGD plasma kills the captured microorganisms. The combination of an appropriate filter material and periodic application of the OAUGDP results in an effective capture and sterilization device even for the smallest microorganisms and requires minimum maintenance. This paper will describe results obtained during the operation of a laboratory-scale “Volfilter” challenged by two kinds of microorganisms, S. aureus and the bacterial virus Phi X 174. An objective of this work is to demonstrate that a “Volfilter” exposed to a OAUGDP will have the number of captured microorganisms on its surface reduced by a factor of one million     

An overview of research using the one atmosphere uniform glowdischarge plasma (OAUGDP) for sterilization of surfaces and materials

The medical, food processing, and heating, ventilating, and air conditioning industries are searching for improved pasteurization, disinfection, and sterilization technologies. Candidate techniques must deal with and overcome such problems as thermal sensitivity and destruction by heat, formation of toxic by-products, costs, and inefficiency in performance. We report the results of a plasma source, the One Atmosphere Uniform Glow Discharge Plasma (OAUGDP), which operates at atmospheric pressure in air and produces antimicrobial active species at room temperature, OAUGDP exposures have reduced log numbers of Gram negative and Gram positive bacteria, bacterial endospores, yeast, and bacterial viruses on a variety of surfaces. The nature of the surface influenced the degree of lethality, with microorganisms on polypropylene being most sensitive, followed by glass, and cells embedded in agar. Experimental results showed at least a 5 log ₁₀ CFU reduction in bacteria within a range of 50-90 s of exposure. After 10-25 s of exposure, macromolecular leakage and bacterial fragmentation were observed. Vulnerability of cell membranes to reactive oxygen species (ROC) is hypothesized. Results from several novel OAUGDP configurations are presented, including a remote exposure reactor (RER) which uses transported active species to sterilize material located more than 20 cm from the plasma generation site, and a second planar electrode configuration developed for air filter sterilization. Applications of these technologies to the healthcare industry, the food industry, and decontaminating surfaces compromised by biological warfare agents are discussed     

Studies on wettability of medical poly(vinyl chloride) by remote argon plasma

The paper studies surface modification of medical poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC) by remote argon plasma and characterized surface structure, performance of treated PVC by the water contact angle measurement, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Results show that the remote argon plasma makes the surface of the PVC film higher hydrophilic than the direct argon plasma and does not give remarkable degradation on the PVC film surface. The hydrophilicity depends on sample position as well as the RF power and the plasma exposure time. The remote argon plasma contributes more effectively to the dechlorination (Cl/C = 0.01) from the PVC film than the direct argon plasmas (Cl/C = 0.03) and more effectively to the formation oxygen functionalities on the PVC film surface. These experimental results show the possibility that remote argon plasma treatment can enhance interaction reactions with argon radicals relative to those with electron and argon ions.     

有源头靠中一种分布式虚拟传声器优化方法

有源降噪头靠系统中,远程虚拟传声器技术能够解决控制点处与误差传声器处降噪量不匹配的问题。在实际应用中,多通道虚拟传声器技术存在收敛速度慢和运算复杂度高等问题。针对这个问题,本文通过重新设计远程虚拟传声技术的离线优化过程,提出一种分布式远程虚拟传声器技术优化方法。该方法将虚拟次级通路矩阵作对角化限制,同时对观测传递函数矩阵进行联合寻优,以实现一种分布式的更新算法。有源降噪头靠实验结果表明,所提算法能够有效降低远程虚拟传声器技术算法的运算复杂度,并且提升了算法的收敛速度。     

Small size plasma tools for material processing at atmospheric pressure

A small size radiofrequency plasma jet source able to produce cold plasma jets at atmospheric pressure is presented. The surface modification of polyethylene terephtalate, polyethylene and polytetrafluorethylene foils is performed by using a scanning procedure. The contact angle measurements reveal that the treatment leads to hydrophilicity increase. The roughening of surface, specific to each material is noticed. A significant improvement of adhesion is obtained as result of atmospheric plasma treatments.     

Studies on surface modification of poly(tetrafluoroethylene) film by remote and direct Ar plasma

Poly(tetrafluoroethylene) (PTFE) surfaces are modified with remote and direct Ar plasma, and the effects of the modification on the hydrophilicity of PTFE are investigated. The surface microstructures and compositions of the PTFE film were characterized with the goniometer, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Results show that the remote and direct plasma treatments modify the PTFE surface in morphology and composition, and both modifications cause surface oxidation of PTFE films, in the forming of some polar functional groups enhancing polymer wettability. When the remote and direct Ar plasma treats PTFE film, the contact angles decrease from the untreated 108-58° and 65.2°, respectively. The effect of the remote Ar plasma is more noticeable. The role of all kinds of active species, e.g. electrons, ions and free radicals involved in plasma surface modification is further evaluated. This shows that remote Ar plasma can restrain the ion and electron etching reaction and enhance radical reaction.     

Nanomorphological characteristics of the single-crystal Si(100) surface subjected to microwave plasma processing at weak adsorption

The influence of the conditions and composition of the highly ionized plasma of an electron cyclotron resonance low-pressure microwave gas discharge on the nanomorphology of the single-crystal Si(100) surface is studied. Model mechanisms of the processes controlling the main nanomorphological parameters of silicon crystals subjected to low-energy microwave plasma processing in chemically active and inactive gaseous media under the conditions of weak adsorption are considered.     

A radiative transfer model for an idealized and non-scattering atmosphere and its application for ground-based remote sensing

Inversion of tropospheric profiles from ground-based microwave measurements requires a simple and accurate model for calculating the brightness temperatures as received by the radiometer. In the first part, an analytic solution of the radiative transfer equation is derived for an exponentially decaying absorption coefficient and a linear temperature gradient. Based on the obtained analytic expressions, a discretized radiative transfer scheme is developed in the second part. The new scheme incorporates the generic behavior of the atmosphere with the effect that brightness temperatures can be modeled more accurately and with fewer grid points compared to commonly used radiative transfer schemes. The brightness temperature modeling accuracy was improved by a factor of six. The results suggest that the model could be employed for the retrieval of temperature and humidity profiles.     

A study of tunable laser techniques for remote mapping of specific gaseous constituents of the atmosphere

A comparative study has been made of three laser methods of remotely mapping three atmospheric constituents. It has been found that for NO₂, SO₂ and I₂ Differential Absorption and Scattering has a greater range and sensitivity than Laser-Induced Fluorescence, whilst for SO₂ both techniques are superior to Raman backscattering. However, the sophistication and the difficulty of interpretation associated with the former system indicates that Laser-Induced Fluorescence might be the most suitable technique in a number of situations. In particular, the Fluorescence technique appears to be well suited for mapping of localized sources of specific molecules in the 100 to 1000 m range. An analysis of the fluorescence return signal expected from a localized source has indicated that above a certain peak concentration a distortion of the returned signal could lead to a misinterpretation of both the range and concentration of the source.     

Searching for quark-gluon plasma (QGP) bubble effects at RHIC/LHC

Since the early eighties, we have shared with van Hove the following view: If a quark-gluon plasma were produced in high energy heavy ion colliders, then its hadronization products would likely come from small bubbles of plasma localized in phase space. We develop a model based on HIJING, to which we added a ring of adjoining multiple bubbles in the central rapidity region. Our simulations were designed to be tested by the forthcoming RHIC STAR detector data for 65 GeV/n Au colliding with 65 GeV/n Au. We took into account background and resonance effects to allow a direct comparison to be made with the data. Later 100 GeV/n Au colliding with 100 GeV/n Au and LHC data could also test these ideas. We used two charged particle correlations as a sensitive method to test for bubbles.Received: 18 December 2002, Revised: 17 April 2003, Published online: 1 August 2003S.J. Lindenbaum, M. Kramer: This research was supported by the U.S. Department of Energy under Contract No. DE-AC02-98CH10886 and the City College of New York Physics Department     

Identification of adsorbed species at metal surfaces by electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS)

Electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS) is a surface analysis method for measuring vibrational spectra of adsorbed species on metal surfaces. This paper summarizes recent work on the study of bonding of simple adsorbates on metal surfaces, and the identification of new chemical intermediates in reactions between two or more species in the adsorbed monolayer. The spectra of atomic oxygen, di-oxygen, water and ammonia adsorbed on platinum, copper and silver are discussed with emphasis on identification of the adsorbed species and their orientations relative to the surface plane. Surface reactions between atomic oxygen and water, methanol and formic acid yield the new surface intermediates hydroxyl (OH), methoxy (CH₃O) and formate (HCOO), respectively, on copper and silver surfaces. Each species was identified by comparison of surface spectra with known infrared spectra and through the use of deuterium isotopic shifts. The ability to identify and distinguish between chemical species at surfaces with high sensitivity will allow direct correlation of low pressure UHV surface experiments with high pressure surface reactions on catalysts and liquid-solid interfaces.     

A new methodology for processing mouthparts of hemipterans (Hemiptera) for microscopic studies

A new methodology has been developed to produce sections as thin as 5 μm of stink bug (Heteroptera: Pentatomidae) mouthparts for morphological studies. Heads of the southern green stink bug, Nezara viridula (L.) (Heteroptera: Pentatomidae) were fixed on Bouin solution, and treated with EDTA (ethylenediamine tetraacetic acid 7%) in an ice bath within a microwave oven for 0.5, 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 h. The chitin structures and labium soft parts were well preserved after 0.5 h EDTA treatment. Longer times of exposure to EDTA and microwave irradiation caused damage to mouthpart structures.     

Facile sensitizing of PbSe film for near-infrared photodetector by microwave plasma processing

High quality PbSe film was first fabricated by a thermal evaporation method, and then the effect of plasma sensitization on the PbSe film was systemically investigated. Typical detectivity and significant photosensitivity are achieved in the PbSe-based photodetector, reaching maximum values of 7.6×10⁹ cm·Hz^1/2/W and 1.723 A/W, respectively. Compared with thermal annealing, plasma sensitization makes the sensitization easier and significantly improves the performance.     

A non-equilibrium atmospheric pressure Capacitively-Coupled-Plasma (CCP) driven at VHF (162 MHz) for plasma catalysis of CO2 into CO

The design of a Very-High-Frequency (VHF) 162 MHz driven atmospheric-pressure Capacitively-Coupled-Plasma (CCP), with top and bottom electrodes operated in push-pull configuration, powered via a Power-Splitting-Transmission-Line-Driver (PSTLD), is presented. Application to the reprocessing of carbon dioxide into carbon-monoxide in this "high” VHF atmospheric plasma is presented, demonstrating some behaviour of the plasma source. rf power in the system is characterized using measured current (~ 1′s Amps peak) and voltage (~ 10′s Volts peak) waveforms at the electrode; Both are sinusoidal confirming a glow-discharge operational condition. Analysis of Optical Emission Spectra results find a highly non-equilibrium plasma, with high vibrational temperatures (from N₂) in the range ~4000 K, while gas temperature, monitored by a thermocouple at the gas outlet, remains low ~300 K, and confirmed by analysis of the N₂ rotational bands. The relative density of CO produced, as a by-product of CO₂ dissociation, is measured optically using N₂ as an actinometer. The CO density increases with rf power and longer gas residence times in the plasma volume. The high VHF atmospheric plasma is found to operate in pure CO₂ flows (no helium) with minimal gas heating for the full range of power densities (specific energy input of 0.4–2 eV per molecule) investigated.     

A recombination laser from cooled hydrogen plasma (plasma dynamic laser)

Using our time-dependent model we calculate the inversion density and gain for a visible line (6563 Å) from hydrogen as a result of rapid cooling of a plasma. A visible plasma dynamic laser is shown to be possible under certain conditions.     

A new technique for measuring radon exposure at working places

A new technique has been developed based on passive diffusion sampling and alpha track detection for monitoring radon exposure at working places. It is based on a device to be turned on and off at monitoring sites to permit accurate measurements of timed exposures. This technique is useful for radioprotection applications on personal and area monitoring of radon volume activity: timed measurement intervals and addition of sequential exposures. Additionally, the device allows accurate calibration with the application of radon reference atmospheres. Calibration facilities have been realized which allow starting detector exposure only at stationary conditions to avoid effects of varying radon concentration during exposure of passive integrating detectors. The contribution of the initial transient to the overall exposure ranged from about 3% to 10% according to calibration protocol. Experimental data evidence better performances of this new technique with respect to other measuring devices for integrating measurements based on radon diffusion samplers and polymeric nuclear track detectors (CR-39, LR-115 and polycarbonate). A better accuracy of calibration factor is obtained. The technical apparatus is presented and preliminary results described.     

Accelerator-driven sub-critical reactor system (ADS) for nuclear energy generation

In this talk we present an overview of accelerator-driven sub-critical reactor systems (ADS), and bring out their attractive features for the elimination of troublesome long-lived components of the spent fuel, as well as for nuclear energy generation utilizing thorium as fuel. In India, there is an interest in the programmes of development of high-energy and high-current accelerators due to the potential of ADS in utilizing the vast resources of thorium in the country for nuclear power generation. The accelerator related activities planned in this direction will be outlined.