In an article, recently published in the Applied Sciences section of the Technology Networks (source: TechnologyNetworks.com), Agatha Los discussed the novel research and development efforts in bringing cold plasma to the table. This is one of the better “lay person” explanations of what is cold plasma that we have seen:

For those unfamiliar with plasma, the simplest way to think of it is as one of the four states of matter observable in everyday life, with the other three being solid, liquid, and gas. Most people interact with plasmas on a daily basis – examples include our TVs, neon lights, and plasma balls – those clear glass balls with bolts of electricity, which draw a colorful strand of light to your finger when you touch it.

Plasma can be observed in lightning, the aurora borealis, and the Sun – in fact, it is estimated that 99.9 % of the Universe is in a plasma state, however, very few natural plasmas are generated here on Earth. Based on the relative temperatures of electrons, ions, and neutral particles, plasmas are classified as “thermal” (hot) and “non-thermal” (cold). The latter has been investigated recently for applications in food processing, as it operates at low temperatures, which helps in retaining the quality of food products.

In laboratory conditions, cold plasmas are artificially generated from neutral gases, creating a cocktail of different chemical species such as positive ions, negative electrons, excited atoms, UV photons, radicals and reactive neutral species such as reactive oxygen (ROS) and nitrogen species (RNS).

Source: TechnologyNetworks.com (edited to remove references, available in the source article)

From our side, we would like to confirm that the reactive oxygen and nitrogen species (RONS), generated in plasma, do, indeed enhance food safety and promote plant growth and development (source: Current Applied Physics journal). Interestingly, cold plasmas can be generated with relatively low operating expense (OPEX) and since they only use electricity and do not require any additive chemistry, cold plasmas can be very cost-efficient, if attached to a renewable energy source such as a wind turbine or a solar farm.

Cold plasma treatment of water not only enhances plant growth but also provides additional food safety by removing pathogens. Our recent EPA project, in partnership with Drexel University, is looking at removing antibiotic-resistant bacteria (ARB) and even ARB genes from wastewater (source: AAPlasma.com). This will reduce or remove the barrier to directly use wastewater for watering plants, potentially leading to a reduction in overall water consumption. Stay tuned for more news.