Modelling of Nonthermal Dielectric Barrier Discharge Plasma at Atmospheric Pressure and Role of Produced Reactive Species in Surface Polymer Microbial Purification

Abstract

A nonthermal atmospheric plasma reactor was used to sterilize polymer surfaces and satisfy safety constraints in a biological medium. A 1D fluid model was developed using COMSOL Multiphysics software® 5.4 with a helium–oxygen mixture at low temperature for the decontamination of bacteria on polymer surfaces. An analysis of the evolution of the homogeneous dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) was carried out through studying the dynamic behavior of the discharge parameters including the discharge current, the consumed power, the gas gap voltage, and transport charges. In addition, the electrical characteristics of a homogeneous DBD under different operating conditions were studied. The results shown that increasing voltage or frequency caused higher ionization levels and maximum increase of metastable species’ density and expanded the sterilization area. On the other hand, it was possible to operate plasma discharges at a low voltage and a high density of plasma using higher values of the secondary emission coefficient or permittivity of the dielectric barrier materials. When the discharge gas pressure increased, the current discharges declined, which indicated a lower sterilization efficiency under high pressure. A short gap width and the admixture of oxygen were needed for sufficient bio-decontamination. Plasma-based pollutant degradation devices could therefore benefit from these results.