An internal combustion engine includes a fuel nozzle for injecting a fuel into a combustion chamber, and a plasma igniter for generating one or more pluralities of free radicals within the chamber, and initiating a flame to ignite the fuel. The igniter protrudes into the chamber. A method of igniting a fuel within a combustion chamber and controlling combustion phasing includes injecting a first portion of the fuel into the combustion chamber, energizing the plasma igniter to generate one or more pluralities of free radicals, each plurality having a known voltage, subsequently injecting a second portion of the fuel into the combustion chamber, and closely coupling activation of the plasma igniter with the second injection to ignite the fuel. Combustion phasing of the ignition event is controlled by controlling the number and voltage of the pluralities of free radicals generated by the plasma igniter.

The present invention relates to the technical field of ionizing a gaseous substance, in particular the ionizing or ionization of a gaseous substance in preparation for its analysis. A device is intended to make a discharge gas and a test substance ionizable in a flow-through mode without essentially destroying or fragmenting the sample substance. In order to avoid a high expenditure in terms of construction and equipment, the device is intended to be usable under ambient conditions and to ensure a high sensitivity in a possible analysis of an ionized substance. To this end, an ionizing device is used for flow-through ionization of a discharge gas and of a sample substance at an absolute pressure of more than 40 kPa in the ionizing device during ionization. The ionizing device comprises an inlet, an outlet, a first electrode, a dielectric element and a second electrode. The dielectric element is configured in the shape of a hollow body having an inner side and an outer side and it allows a flow of the discharge gas and of the sample substance therethrough in a flow direction. The first electrode is arranged outside of the outer side of the dielectric element. The second electrode is arranged, at least sectionwise, inside the dielectric element, is surrounded by the inner side of the dielectric element perpendicularly to the flow direction, and allows a flow of the discharge gas and of the sample substance therethrough or therearound. A distance in or contrary to the flow direction exists between the associated ends of the first and second electrodes and lies between -5 mm to 5 mm. A dielectric barrier discharge is establishable in a dielectric barrier discharge region by applying a voltage between the first and second electrodes so as to ionize the discharge gas or the sample substance.

The present invention discloses that a plasma aerosol device includes a gas tunnel, a dielectric barrier discharge module, and a liquid tunnel. The invention uses a mechanism similar to a dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) electrode system, thus to enable generating a plasma active water mist which riches in free radicals such as reactive nitrogen species (RNS) and reactive oxygen species (ROS). Therefore, this invention is able to be used in medical, sterilization, agriculture and preservation industries.

A method of plasma treatment of an internal and/or external surface of a hollow electrically non-conductive body. The internal surface of the body and/or its external surface acts a layer of electrical plasma of a surface dielectric barrier discharge generated in a volume of gas by alternating or pulse voltage with an amplitude higher than 100 V from a pair of liquid electrodes formed by an internal electrically conductive liquid situated inside the body and by an external electrically conductive liquid situated outside the body. The electrical plasma is generated above the surface of the electrically conductive liquid, where in the volume of the gas forms a layer of electrical plasma forming a ring copying the shape of the surface of the body wherein the electrical resistance between the liquid electrodes is greater than 10 k. The invention also is a device for carrying out the aforementioned method.

An atmospheric-pressure plasma jet generating device is disclosed, which comprises a housing, a discharge tube, an air inlet, and an outlet. The air inlet is connected to the outlet and the discharge tube. The discharge tube includes an internal electrode, a first dielectric material, and an external electrode. The first dielectric material is placed between the external electrode and the internal electrode, and there are some channels between internal electrode and first dielectric tube. An external power source is electrically connected to the internal electrode and the external electrode to generate a high electric field within the discharge tube. When the working gas flows through the discharge tube from the air inlet, the plasma is generated by the high electric field, and then flows out through the outlet. The present invention can generate non-thermal atmospheric-pressure plasma jet for biomedical processing.

A glow discharge cell includes an electrically conductive cylindrical vessel, a hollow electrode, a cylindrical screen, a first insulator, a second insulator and a non-conductive granular material. The hollow electrode is aligned with a longitudinal axis of the cylindrical vessel and extends at least from the first end to the second end of the cylindrical vessel. The hollow electrode has an inlet, an outlet, and a plurality of slots or holes. The cylindrical screen is aligned with the longitudinal axis of the cylindrical vessel and disposed between the hollow electrode and the cylindrical vessel to form a substantially equidistant gap between the cylindrical screen and the hollow electrode. The first insulator seals the first end of the cylindrical vessel around the hollow electrode. The second insulator seals the second end of the cylindrical vessel around the hollow electrode. The non-conductive granular material is disposed within the substantially equidistant gap.

This disclosure relates to stabilized anti-cancer cold atmospheric plasma (CAP)-stimulated media, to methods for preparing such media, and to methods of treatment using such media.

The present invention concerns a reactor for the conversion of carbon dioxide or carbon monoxide into hydrocarbon and/or alcohol comprising a support made from an electrically and thermally conductive material, forming the wall or walls of at least one longitudinal channel that passes through the support and also acting as the cathode of the reactor, at least one wire electrode forming an anode of the reactor, and extending within each longitudinal channel, and being arranged at a distance from the wall or walls of the longitudinal channel, each wire electrode optionally being covered with an electrically insulating layer along the part of the wire electrode extending within the longitudinal channel, a catalyst capable of catalysing a conversion reaction for the conversion of carbon dioxide or carbon monoxide into hydrocarbon and/or alcohol, the catalyst being situated between the wire electrode and the wall or walls of each longitudinal channel.

A liquid treatment apparatus includes a flow channel, first and second electrodes at least part of each of which is disposed within the flow channel, an insulator, a gas supply device, and a power supply source that applies a voltage between the first and second electrodes and generates plasma. The insulator has a tubular shape and an opening on an end surface of the insulator, and surrounds a lateral surface of the first electrode with a space interposed between the insulator and the first electrode. The gas supply device supplies and ejects a gas into the liquid via the opening. At least part of the flow channel extends in a first direction which is inclined with respect to a horizontal direction so that the liquid flows obliquely upward with respect to the horizontal direction. The opening is positioned within the at least part of the flow channel.

The invention relates to a method for treating an elongated object using a plasma process. The method comprises the steps of providing an elongated object in a planar electrode structure, and applying potential differences between electrodes of an electrode structure to generate the plasma process. Further, the method comprises at least partially surrounding the elongated object by a unitary section of the guiding structure, the electrode structure being associated with the unitary section.