Plasma decontamination of chemical & biological warfare agents by a cold arc plasma jet at atmospheric pressure

The cold arc plasma jet was introduced to decontaminate chemical and biological warfare (CBW) agents for the application of a portable CBW decontamination system. The cold arc plasma jet is a low temperature, high density plasma that produces highly reactive species such as oxygen atoms and ozone. Moreover, it is possible to maintain stable plasma without He or Ar. The discharge operated on N2-02 mixture of 30 L/min, and the high voltage pulse (23 kHz, 30% duty ratio) power was applied to the inner electrode. In the decontamination experiments, Bacillus subtilis and Escherichia Coli were chosen as simulants for biological agents and DMMP (Dimethylmethylphosphonate) was chosen as a simulant for chemical agents. The experimental results showed that B. subtilis and E. coli were efficiently decontaminated. Also, DMMP absorbed on the metal substrate and the glass substrate was removed after plasma treatment. Finally, we identified that DMMP was decomposed very well in the plasma effluent.