The effect of the application of plasma-activated water (PAW) on the quality and preservation of fresh-cut lettuce is reported in this article. PAW was produced by using a liquid-cathode air discharge. The average (bulk) water temperature was kept at $\sim$ 22 $^{\circ}$ C during the activation procedure and stored at 4 $^{\circ}$ C for up to five days. The pH value, electrical conductivity, and concentrations of H $_{2}$ O $_{2}$ and NO $_{3}^{-}$ in liquid at day 1 were 2.81, 1492 $\mu$ S/cm, and 77.8 and 223.4 mg/L, respectively, with slight variations over the whole storage time. No measurable amounts of NO $_{2}^{-}$ were found. Twenty pieces of lettuce leaves were washed for 1 and 5 min in 1 L of PAW and stored for one and five days. PAW treatments were compared to tap water treatments. The lettuce samples were stored at 4 $^{\circ}$ C and analyzed on days 1, 3, and 7. The chromatic parameter results suggest that PAW treatments significantly reduce the degradation of lettuce chlorophyll from day 3 of refrigerated storage. The lettuce firmness was not significantly modified. The microbiological results of aerobic mesophilic (RAM), enterobacteriaceae, and psychrotrophs populations have shown that lettuce treated with PAW after three days of storage exhibited the strongest inactivation efficiency. Psychrotrophs counts were maintained for up to seven days. Similar inactivation efficiencies were found regardless of the PAW storage time. PAW treatments also favored both the antioxidant capacity FRAP, ABTS, and DPPH, and the total phenolic contents of lettuce at day 7 of storage.

A quantitative interpretation of the schlieren technique applied to an atmospheric pressure, vortex-stabilized nitrogen thermal plasma jet generated in a direct-current nontransferred arc plasma torch (nitrogen gas flow rate of 25 NL/min, power level of 15 kW), discharging into ambient air is reported. A $Z$-type, two-mirror schlieren system was used in the research. The technique allowed inferring the temporally averaged values of the temperatures and densities of different species present in the plasma jet in a wide range of radial and axial distances. Deviations from kinetic equilibrium in the calculation of the plasma refractive index were accounted for, but maintaining the assumption of the local chemistry equilibrium. The influence of several assumptions on the accuracy of the measurements was considered. The results have shown that for a distance of 3.5-mm downstream from the nozzle exit, the kinetic equilibrium is realized (being both electron and gas temperatures values around 11,000 K), but noticeable deviation from kinetic equilibrium appears toward the jet border. On the other hand, a marked deviation from the kinetic equilibrium was found in the whole far field of the plasma jet, where the electron temperature remains still quite high (about 10,000 K at 30-mm downstream of the nozzle exit), well decoupled from the gas temperature (about 7000 K at the same distance). The obtained results are in reasonable good agreement with those previously reported by some of the authors by using a double floating probe method in the same plasma torch.

In recent years, one of the fastest growing technological applications in the field of nonthermal plasmas is the degradation of organic contaminants of water. In this work, the degradation of indigo carmine (IC) in water induced by a pulsed positive corona discharge operating in ambient air is reported. Degradation levels in different volumes of IC in solution with distilled water treated with different plasma exposure times immediately after discharge (0 h), and in the postdischarge up to 24 h were examined. To explain the IC discoloration in the postdischarge phase, a chemical model was developed. The stability of the reactive species in solution nitrate (NO₃⁻), nitrite (NO₂⁻) and hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂), as well as the properties of the solution (electrical conductivity, pH) were also measured. The results suggest that the hydroxyl radical (OH˙) as well as ozone (O₃) are the main oxidizing species during the discharge phase, being primarily formed in the gas phase through plasma-mediated reactions and then transferred to the liquid by diffusion, while the OH˙ production in the bulk liquid through the decomposition of peroxinitrous acid (O=NOOH) plays a major role in the IC degradation during the postdischarge. These results are associated with a noticeably increase in the energy-yield values observed at 24 h post-treatment.

An experimental investigation of heat propagation in the case of plasma cutting of concrete is reported. The experiments were carried out by using a high-enthalpy nitrogen plasma jet generated in a dc vortex-stabilized nontransferred arc torch. Concrete plates of different thicknesses up to 52 mm and with and without steel reinforcement were used. The plates were placed horizontally while cutting. The heat conduction losses inside the material were estimated by comparing thermocouple measurements and theoretical temperatures obtained with an analytical model of the heat propagation in the material. The influence of the molten concrete layer that separates the plasma to the solid material due to the high viscosity of the liquid concrete was accounted for. The power losses below the material in the extinguishing plasma have also been determined from calorimetric measurements. For different plate thicknesses and cutting velocities, a complete power balance of the process is performed with the calculation of the cutting efficiency on the basis of various relevant power terms. In addition, the hydrodynamics of the molten concrete layer in the kerf is analyzed. For a mean power level of 11.2 kW and a nitrogen gas flow rate of 25 Nl/min, the torch is able to cut a concrete plate of 52 mm in thickness with a speed of 20 mm/min and a whole efficiency of about 30%. The viscosity force is the main limiting factor on the cutting velocity in thick plates.

The cathode-sheath region of a discharge in atmospheric pressure air with a flat copper cathode is numerically investigated by using a simple fluid model that takes into account non-local ionization. The effects of the cathode temperature are considered. Results are obtained in a wide current density range of 1–10² A/cm², which spans from normal glow discharge, through abnormal glow discharge, up to the early stages of the arcing transition. It is shown that the glow-to-arc transition arises from a field-emission instability at the cathode when the current density is larger than ∼10 A/cm², i.e., when the cathode field exceeds a critical value of about 45 V/μm for the conditions considered. It is also shown that the cathode temperature significantly influences the cathode-sheath region. The proposed model is validated by comparing the numerical results with available experimental data.