Engineering:Plasma-activated water
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Plasma-activated water (PAW) is water that has been treated using cold atmospheric plasma (CAP).[1]
Possible uses for PAW include in medical treatments such as wound healing and cancer treatment, along with agriculture processes, from seed germination to crop protection. Additionally, PAW has the potential to replace the use of more toxic chemicals for the elimination of spoilage bacteria in foodstuffs.[2] Other uses have been explored in materials processing, materials synthesis, and analytical chemistry.[3]
Properties
PAW contains reactive oxygen and nitrogen species,[2] with a pH lower than untreated water along with higher electrical conductivity.[1]
PAW has disinfective properties: the oxidative stress that it causes on the cell membranes of the bacterial cells results in disruption of the cell membrane, followed by further damage that leads to cell death.[1]
Generation
PAW is produced through the generation of plasma inside the water to generate the required ions.[1]
The interaction between cold atmospheric plasma (CAP) and water modifies the liquid chemical properties through the production of reactive oxygen and nitrogen species (RONS). RONS thus generated fall into two macro groups: long-lived species such as hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), nitrites (NO2−), nitrates (NO3−), ozone (O3), and short-lived species such as hydroxyl radicals (OH·), nitric oxide (NO), superoxide (O2−), and peroxynitrous acid (ONOOH).[3]
Applications
PAW's strong antimicrobial properties suggest a possible use in food sanitation, especially as an alternative to more toxic substances.[2]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Soni, Aswathi; Choi, Jonghyun; Brightwell, Gale (15 January 2021). "Plasma-Activated Water (PAW) as a Disinfection Technology for Bacterial Inactivation with a Focus on Fruit and Vegetables". Foods 10 (1): 166. doi:10.3390/foods10010166. PMID 33467523.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 "PLASMA ACTIVATED WATER - End Food Waste Australia » End Food Waste Australia". https://endfoodwaste.com.au/plasma-activated-water/.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Montalbetti, Roberto; Machala, Zdenko; Gherardi, Matteo; Laurita, Romolo (January 2025). "Production and Chemical Composition of Plasma Activated Water: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis". Plasma Processes and Polymers 22 (1). doi:10.1002/ppap.202400249.
External links
- Long, Nguyen Van Duc; Sengupta, Sourjo; Zhuang, Changping; Richter, Katharina; Hessel, Volker (January 2026). "Plasma-activated water in agriculture, food safety, and healthcare". Chemical Engineering Journal 528. doi:10.1016/j.cej.2025.172535. Bibcode: 2026ChEnJ.52872535L.
- Plasma Activated Water [PAW] Application Note
- Wong, Kiing S.; Chew, Nicholas S. L.; Low, Mary; Tan, Ming K. (23 July 2023). "Plasma-Activated Water: Physicochemical Properties, Generation Techniques, and Applications". Processes 11 (7): 2213. doi:10.3390/pr11072213.
- Plasma activated water
- Xiang, Qisen; Fan, Liumin; Li, Yunfei; Dong, Shanshan; Li, Ke; Bai, Yanhong (20 March 2022). "A review on recent advances in plasma-activated water for food safety: current applications and future trends". Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition 62 (8): 2250–2268. doi:10.1080/10408398.2020.1852173. PMID 33261517. Bibcode: 2022CRFSN..62.2250X.
- The power of plasma: turning water into an eco-friendly disinfectant
- Scholtz, Vladimír; Jirešová, Jana; Lokajová, Eliška; Měřínská, Tereza; Thonová, Laura; Šerá, Božena (July 2025). "Is Plasma Activated Water Really Magical? A Reflection on the Phenomenon". Plasma Chemistry and Plasma Processing 45 (4): 1337–1351. doi:10.1007/s11090-025-10565-0. Bibcode: 2025PCPP...45.1337S.
- Gan, Dingwei; Hong, Longfei; Yuan, Shuai; Zhu, Mengying; Gao, Yuting; Zhang, Tianqi; Li, Tianyu; Chen, Bohan et al. (2025). "Energy-efficient production of plasma-activated water: insights into controllable peroxynitrite chemistry". Green Chemistry 27 (14): 3715–3726. doi:10.1039/d5gc00080g.
- Vyas, Heema Kumari Nilesh (20 November 2025). "Plasma-activated water: a powerful tool against pesky biofilms". Microbiology Australia 46 (4): 213–217. doi:10.1071/MA25060.
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