Fast inactivation of microbes and degradation of organic compounds dissolved in water by thermal plasma

The multifunctionality and the advantages of thermal plasma for the fast inactivation of viable cells and degradation of organic compounds dissolved in waste water are presented.A complete bacterial inactivation process was observed and studied using a thermal plasma treatment source with very short application times,in particular for Staphylococcus aureus bundle spore survival.The survival curves and analyses of the experimental data of the initial and final densities of S.aureus bacteria show a dramatic inhibitory effect of the plasma discharge on the residual bacteria survival ratio.As the exposure time increased,the inactivation process rate increased for direct exposure more than it did for indirect exposure.The evaluation of direct and indirect exposure was based on the analysis of the ultraviolet spectrum from the absorbance spectra of the organic compound dye called benzene sulfonate（C（16）H（11）N2Na O4S）and of viable cells called S.aureus.Organic compounds were degraded and viable cells were killed in a short time by thermal plasma.Moreover,analyses of total carbon,total organic carbon,and total inorganic carbon showed a fast decrease in organically bound carbon,however,this was not as fast as the absorbance spectra revealed by the exposure time increasing more for direct exposure than indirect exposure.After 100 s of exposure to the organic compound dye the removal had a maximun of 40%for samples with indirect exposure to the plasma and a maximum of 90%for samples with the direct exposure.For both samples,where some organic contaminants still remained in treated water,four electrolytes（KCl,Na Cl,Na2SO4,and CH3COONa）were added to be effective for complete sterilization,reaching a purity of 100%.A proposal is made for an optimized thermal plasma water purification system（TPWPS）to improve fast inactivation of microbes and the degradation of organic compounds dissolved in water（especially for direct exposure rather than indirect exposure）using a hybrid plasma torch with an electrical power of 125 kW（500 V–250 A）producing a high-temperature（10 000 K–19 000 K）plasma jet with a maximum gas consumption of 28 mg s^-1.

Reducing the stray light of holographic gratings by shifting the substrate a short distance in the direction parallel or perpendicular to the exposure interference fringes

This research proposes a simple and practical method to make low-stray-light gratings, where the substrate shifts about a 1 mm distance in the direction parallel or perpendicular to the exposure interference fringes. When the substrate shifts, a reference grating next to the substrate is used to adjust in real time the phase of the exposure interference fringes relative to the substrate. Shifting eliminates the exposure defects and therefore decreases the stray light of gratings. Several gratings are successfully made by using this method, which have straighter grooves,smoother surfaces, and lower stray light than gratings made in conventional interference lithography.

Airborne transmission during short-term events: Direct route over indirect route

Numerous short-term exposure events in public spaces were reported during the COVID-19 pandemic,especially during the spread of Delta and Omicron.However,the currently used exposure risk assessment models and mitigation measures are mostly based on the assumption of steady-state and complete-mixing conditions.The present study investigates the dynamics of airborne transmission in short-term events when a steady state is not reached before the end of the events.Large-eddy simulation(LES)is performed to predict the airborne transmission in short-term events,and three representative physical distances between two occupants are examined.Both time-averaged and phase-averaged exposure indices are used to evaluate the exposure risk.The results present that the exposure index in the short-term events constantly varies over time,especially within the first 1/ACH(air changes per hour)hour of exposure between occupants in close proximity,posing high uncertainty to the spatial and temporal evolutions of the risk of cross-infection.The decoupling analysis of the direct and indirect airborne transmission routes indicates that the direct airborne transmission is the predominated route in short-term events.It suggests also that the general dilution ventilation has a relatively limited efficiency in mitigating the risk of direct airborne transmission,but determines largely the occurrence time of the indirect one.Given the randomness,discreteness,localization,and high-risk characteristics of direct airborne transmission,a localized method that has a direct interference on the respiratory flows would be better than dilution ventilation for short-term events,in terms of both efficiency and cost.