2019, Brandenburg, Ronny, Jahanbakhsh, Sina, Schiorlin, Milko, Schmidt, Michael

The development of microdischarges and the inception dynamics of subsequent microdischarges in an electrode arrangement consisting of a metal pin and a hemispherical dielectric-covered electrode, operated in air with a small toluene admixture, is studied. The discharge is operated with sinusoidal high voltage. A gated ICCD camera and a current probe enable the recording of images and current pulses of the single microdischarges, respectively, while the spatio-temporally resolved development is measured with a multi-dimensional time-correlated single photon counting technique. The overall discharge dynamics changes significantly if a concentration of 35 ppm toluene is added to dry air. A lower high voltage amplitude than in dry air is needed for stable discharge operation. This can be explained by the lower ionization energy of toluene compared to molecular oxygen and nitrogen. The microdischarge development is the same with or without admixture, i.e. a positive (cathode directed) streamer mechanism is observed. Lower mean power is dissipated into the discharge when toluene is admixed. The main effect caused by toluene admixture is the suppression of high-energy microdischarges in case of the cathodic pin half-cycle of the sinusoidal high voltage. The influence on the inception voltage by additional ionization mechanisms and volume memory effects, the consumption of energetic electrons for toluene decomposition reactions, and the modification of the surface by plasma treatment are discussed as possible reasons.

2020, Schnabel, Uta, Handorf, Oliver, Stachowiak, Joerg, Boehm, Daniela, Weit, Christoph, Weihe, Thomas, Schäfer, Jan, Below, Harald, Bourke, Paula, Ehlbeck, Joerg

Fresh-cut produce like lettuce may contain a very high microbial load, including human pathogens. Therefore, the need for antimicrobial agents at post-harvest stages to mitigate microbial cross-contamination and growth is evident. Sanitation based on non-thermal plasma (NTP) reveals innovative food processing possibilities by application at different points along the food chain, for production, modification, and preservation, as well as in packaging of plant- and animal-based food. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the applicability of plasma-treated water (PTW) as antimicrobial process water additives for washing in fresh-cut lettuce processing. Antibacterial activities of PTW the natural occurring microflora of lettuce were examined. Different process variants of PTW application inside the washing process were investigated. Fresh-cut lettuce were investigated regarding microbiological safety and food quality. Samples were analyzed for antimicrobial and metabolic activity as well as metabolic vitality to prove food safety. The investigations for food quality included color and texture analyses and nitrate concentration detection in fresh tissue as well as microscopic measurements by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM) for tissue surface structure and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) for cell organelle investigations. The application of PTW allowed up to 5 log10 cycle reduction, depending on the process variant and scale (lab and pilot scale). The increase of antimicrobial activity was accompanied by a reduction of metabolic activity, but not consequently by a decrease in metabolic vitality. Food quality was not affected by the use of PTW in the washing process of the fresh-cut lettuce. The promising results in color and texture were supported by the results of the microscopic assays. These promising results may lead to an industrial application of PTW as process water additive in fresh-cut produce processing to reduce the microbial load on the food surface and in addition in the process water or on food processing surfaces. © 2020, The Author(s).

2011, Brandenburg, Ronny, Horn, Stefan, Krohmann, Udo, Rackow, Kristian, Uhrlandt, Dirk, Witt, Göran, Weltmann, Klaus-Dieter

[no abstract available]