Cold plasma for the disinfection of industrial food-contact surfaces: An overview of current status and opportunities

Food safety is the primary goal for food and drink manufacturers. Cleaning and disinfection practices applied to the processing environment are vital to maintain this safety; yet, current approaches can incur costly downtime and the potential for microorganisms to grow and establish, if not effectively removed. For that reason, manufacturers are seeking nonthermal, online, and continuous disinfection processes to control the microbial levels within the processing environment. One such emerging technique, with great potential, is cold atmospheric pressure plasma (CAP). This review presents the latest advances and challenges associated with CAP-based technologies for the decontamination of surfaces and equipment found within the food-processing environment. It provides a detailed overview of the technology and a comprehensive analysis of the many CAP-based antimicrobial studies on food-contact surfaces and materials. As CAP is considered an emerging technique, many of the recent studies are still in the preliminary stages, with results obtained under widely different conditions. This lack of cohesive information and an inability to directly compare CAP systems has greatly impeded technological development. The review further explores the challenge of scaling CAP technology to meet industry needs, considering aspects such as regulatory constraints, environmental credentials, and cost of use. Finally, a discussion is presented on the future outlook for CAP technology in this area, identifying key challenges that must be addressed to promote industry uptake.     

Effects of non-thermal plasma treating wheat kernel on the physicochemical properties of wheat flour and the quality of fresh wet noodles

The effects of non-thermal plasma (NTP) on the physicochemical properties of wheat flour and the quality of fresh wet noodles ( FWN) were investigated. The results showed that NTP effectively decreased the total plate count (TPC), yeast and mould count (YMC) and Bacillus spp. in wheat flour. Wet gluten contents and the stability time reached the maximum when treated for 20 s. The viscosity of starch increased significantly after treatment due to the increased of damaged starch. The contents of secondary structure were altered to some extent, which was because that the ordered network structure of gluten protein broken. Furthermore, compared with the control, texture properties of FWN were enhanced significantly at 20 s, and the darkening rate of FWN was greatly inhibited due to the low polyphenol oxidase (PPO) activity. Consequently, the most suitable treatment was 500 W for 20 s, providing a basis for the application of NTP in flour products.     

FIBR工艺研究

针对城镇污水的水质特征及目前污水处理工艺存在的不足,结合2009广东省科技计划项目—城镇污水处理FIBR技术与示范,文章对FIBR反应器的工艺构型、去污机理进行介绍,为FIBR的应用提供理论基础。文章的FIBR工艺是将自主研究开发的污水处理一体化脱氮除磷工艺IBR与自清洗过滤技术融为一体的污水生物/物化处理工艺技术,出水可稳定达到GB18918-2002一级A排放标准,可以满足污水处理的需要。     

Hierarchical porous metal-organic frameworks/polymer microparticles for enhanced catalytic degradation of organic contaminants

This work reports on a simple microfluidic strategy to controllably fabricate uniform polymeric microparticles containing hierarchical porous structures integrated with highly accessible catalytic metal organic frameworks for efficient degradation of organic contaminants. Monodisperse (W1/O)/W2 emulsion droplets generated from microfluidics are used as templates for the microparticle synthesis. The emulsion droplets contain tiny water microdroplets from homogenization and water nanodroplets from diffusion-induced swollen micelles as the dual pore-forming templates, and Fe-based metal-organic framework nanorods as the nanocatalysts. The obtained microparticles possess interconnected hierarchical porous structures decorated with highly accessible Fe-based metal-organic framework nanorods for enhanced degradation of organic contaminants via a heterogeneous Fenton-like reaction. Such a degradation performance is highlighted by using these microparticles for efficient degradation of rhodamine B in hydrogen peroxide solution. This work provides a simple and general strategy to flexibly combine hierarchical porous structures and catalytic metal-organic frameworks to engineer advanced microparticles for water decontamination.     

Self‐Propelled Activated Carbon Janus Micromotors for Efficient Water Purification

Self‐propelled activated carbon‐based Janus particle micromotors that display efficient locomotion in environmental matrices and offer effective ‘on‐the‐fly’ removal of wide range of organic and inorganic pollutants are described. The new bubble‐propelled activated carbon Janus micromotors rely on the asymmetric deposition of a catalytic Pt patch on the surface of activated carbon microspheres. The rough surface of the activated carbon microsphere substrate results in a microporous Pt structure to provide a highly catalytic layer, which leads to an effective bubble evolution and propulsion at remarkable speeds of over 500 μm/s. Such coupling of the high adsorption capacity of carbon nanoadsorbents with the rapid movement of these catalytic Janus micromotors, along with the corresponding fluid dynamics and mixing, results in a highly efficient moving adsorption platform and a greatly accelerated water purification. The adsorption kinetics and adsorption isotherms have been investigated. The remarkable decontamination efficiency of self‐propelled activated carbon‐based Janus micromotors is illustrated towards the rapid removal of heavy metals, nitroaromatic explosives, organophosphorous nerve agents and azo‐dye compounds, indicating considerable promise for diverse environmental, defense, and public health applications.     

Multifunctional Silver‐Exchanged Zeolite Micromotors for Catalytic Detoxification of Chemical and Biological Threats

Multifunctional reactive‐zeolite‐based micromotors have been developed and characterized toward effective and rapid elimination of chemical and biological threats. The incorporation of silver ions (Ag⁺) into aluminosilicate zeolite framework imparts several attractive functions, including strong binding to chemical warfare agents (CWA) followed by effective degradation, and enhanced antibacterial activity. The new zeolite‐micromotors protocol thus combines the remarkable adsorption capacity of zeolites and the efficient catalytic properties of the reactive Ag⁺ ions with the autonomous movement of the zeolite micromotors for an accelerated detoxification of CWA. Furthermore, the high antibacterial activity of Ag⁺ along with the rapid micromotor movement enhances the contact between bacteria and reactive Ag⁺, leading to a powerful “on‐the‐fly” bacteria killing capacity. These attractive adsorptive/catalytic features of the self‐propelled zeolite micromotors eliminate secondary environmental contamination compared to adsorptive micromotors. The distinct cubic geometry of the zeolite micromotors leads to enhanced bubble generation and faster movement, in unique movement trajectories, which increases the fluid convection and highly efficient detoxification of CWA and killing of bacteria. The attractive capabilities of these zeolite micromotors will pave the way for their diverse applications in defense, environmental and biomedical applications in more economical and sustainable manner.     

微量锆在钚纯化循环中的行为

研究了相接触时间、相比、硝酸浓度对锆萃取性能的影响,并通过台架试验研究了流比、料液酸度、洗涤级数、萃取级数、铀浓度对Pu产品中Zr净化效果的影响。结果表明:流比(2AF∶2AX)、料液(2AF)中HNO3浓度、洗涤级数对Zr的净化具有显著的影响,而铀浓度对Zr的净化效果影响有限。台架温试验证明,选择的优化工艺可以满足Pu的收率和Pu产品中Zr的净化因子大于100的要求。     

灭火防护服烟气污染及其洗消研究

通过模拟灭火防护服在火场暴露的烟气污染情形,研究烟气颗粒在灭火防护服装上的附着方式以及各层面料间的污染特征,探讨洗涤工艺对各层面料污染物的去除效率。结果显示,烟气颗粒除直接污染服装阻燃层表面外,还通过服装开口污染舒适内层。而舒适内层的污染主要为小于2 μm 的烟颗粒污染物,且更容易在层间进行蔓延扩散。不同面料的毒害污染物浓度不同,半挥发性有机物污染主要集中在防水透气层,重金属污染主要分布在隔热舒适层。常规的浸渍-机洗工艺很难去除附着在纤维表面的小粒径颗粒物,且毒害污染物的去除率低于45%。研究可为灭火防护服高效清洁提供技术支撑。     

核电站放射性污染液压扭力扳手的去污实践

核电站在日常生产及大修过程中,放射性污染设备和场地的检修作业会产生一定量的污染检修工具,其中包含价值高、体积大、去污难度大的液压扭力扳手。因液压扭力扳手结构复杂、主子部件较多、且热点多淤积在死角位置,导致其放射性去污难度较大,国内核电站多作放射性固体废物处理为主。液压扭力扳手作为高价值专用工具,大量放射性污染检修工具报废给核电站成本管控、放射性废物最小化管理和电站辐射防护最优化带来了较大的压力。针对此问题, 电站开展了多项放射性污染液压扭力扳手深度去污试验,采用化学去污、机械去污、泡沫去污、超声波去污等多种组合工艺,经过四个阶段的深度去污试验,最终将多台放射性污染液压扭力扳手全部去污合格,并全部实现现场复用。此次深度去污试验研究总结的“放射性污染液压扭力扳手深度去污方法”,去污因子超过10³,去污试验各项指标效果良好,方法可行、有效、实用,可为业内同行提供参考。