Korea Institute of Industrial Technology researchers inspect plasma in this photo provided by the institute.
CHEONAN, June 4 (Korea Bizwire) — A group of South Korean scientists have developed a new technology that can remove 99 percent of bacteria in the air using plasma.
At present, plasma is used in areas like semiconductor processing and the medical industry. The core of technology development is to reduce the amount of ozone generated during the process of applying high energy to create plasma.
A research team from the Korea Institute of Industrial Technology (KITECH) succeeded in eradicating 99.8 percent of staphylococcus epidermidis, which is more difficult to remove than colon bacillus, through the use of plasma.
The amount of ozone generated by the research team’s newly-developed technology is 0.003 parts per million (ppm), merely a tenth of the national ozone standard for indoor air purifiers (0.03 ppm).
The research team controlled the frequency and voltage through optical diagnosis of the plasma and designed a power supply device best-optimized for plasma electrodes.
The research team shared the new technology with an SME specializing in air-sterilizing purifiers and succeeded in commercializing the plasma air sterilization purifier.
“We plan to use the newly-developed technology for the removal of viruses like COVID-19 and volatile organic compounds (VOCs).” said Choi Jun, a resercher at KITECH.
M. H. Lee (mhlee@koreabizwire.com)
