Bacterial deactivation in open-air by the afterglow plume emitted from a grounded hollow slot electrode

Summary form only given. Atmospheric pressure glow discharges provide a low temperature sterilization alternative that can deactivate bacteria, reduce harmful gas emissions and operate with high rates at reduced temperature. Our research focuses on operation in open-air that potentially makes the process inexpensive and operational in more practical conditions, than a sealed chamber. We employ a grounded hollow slot in this work, whose dimensions are: 7.62 cm long, 0.02 cm wide and 0.2 cm deep. Recessed behind the grounded slot is a powered electrode employing 13.56 MHz electrical drive. A mixture of argon and oxygen gases flows from the powered electrode through the grounded slots at a flow rate of 32 liters per minute creating a plasma afterglow plume, which extends 1-8 mm past the open slot and is 7 cm long. The afterglow plume is line shaped and is visible in open-air operation. The potential of the open-air slot reactor to deactivate bacterial growth in a practical environment with a device that is hand held are demonstrated experimentally.