Monitoring and Diagnostics of Non-Thermal Plasmas in the Food Sector Using Optical Emission Spectroscopy

Non-thermal plasma technology is used in the food sector due to its many advantages such as low operating costs, fast and efficient processing at low temperatures, minimal environmental impact, and preservation of sensory and nutritional properties. In this article, the plasma was generated using a...

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Main Authors: Sanda Pleslić, Franko Katalenić
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2025-07-01
Series:Applied Sciences
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Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/15/15/8325
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author Sanda Pleslić
Franko Katalenić
author_facet Sanda Pleslić
Franko Katalenić
author_sort Sanda Pleslić
collection DOAJ
description Non-thermal plasma technology is used in the food sector due to its many advantages such as low operating costs, fast and efficient processing at low temperatures, minimal environmental impact, and preservation of sensory and nutritional properties. In this article, the plasma was generated using a high-voltage electrical discharge (HVED) with argon at a voltage of 35 kV and a frequency of 60 Hz. Plasma monitoring and diagnostics were performed using optical emission spectroscopy (OES) to optimise the process parameters and for quality control. OES was used as a non-invasive sensor to collect useful information about the properties of the plasma and to identify excited species. The values obtained for electron temperature and electron density (up to <inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><mrow><mn>2.3</mn><mrow><mo> </mo><mi>eV</mi></mrow></mrow></semantics></math></inline-formula> and up to <inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><mrow><msup><mrow><mn>10</mn></mrow><mrow><mn>23</mn></mrow></msup><mo> </mo><msup><mrow><mi mathvariant="normal">m</mi></mrow><mrow><mo>−</mo><mn>3</mn></mrow></msup></mrow></semantics></math></inline-formula>) confirmed that the generated plasma is a non-thermal plasma. Therefore, the use of OES is recommended in the daily control of food processing, as this is necessary to confirm that the processes are non-thermal and suitable for the food sector.
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spelling doaj-art-bd90638fbe234df38b47ae8eb5650afb2025-08-20T03:36:38ZengMDPI AGApplied Sciences2076-34172025-07-011515832510.3390/app15158325Monitoring and Diagnostics of Non-Thermal Plasmas in the Food Sector Using Optical Emission SpectroscopySanda Pleslić0Franko Katalenić1Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computing, University of Zagreb, Unska 3, 10000 Zagreb, CroatiaFaculty of Electrical Engineering and Computing, University of Zagreb, Unska 3, 10000 Zagreb, CroatiaNon-thermal plasma technology is used in the food sector due to its many advantages such as low operating costs, fast and efficient processing at low temperatures, minimal environmental impact, and preservation of sensory and nutritional properties. In this article, the plasma was generated using a high-voltage electrical discharge (HVED) with argon at a voltage of 35 kV and a frequency of 60 Hz. Plasma monitoring and diagnostics were performed using optical emission spectroscopy (OES) to optimise the process parameters and for quality control. OES was used as a non-invasive sensor to collect useful information about the properties of the plasma and to identify excited species. The values obtained for electron temperature and electron density (up to <inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><mrow><mn>2.3</mn><mrow><mo> </mo><mi>eV</mi></mrow></mrow></semantics></math></inline-formula> and up to <inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><mrow><msup><mrow><mn>10</mn></mrow><mrow><mn>23</mn></mrow></msup><mo> </mo><msup><mrow><mi mathvariant="normal">m</mi></mrow><mrow><mo>−</mo><mn>3</mn></mrow></msup></mrow></semantics></math></inline-formula>) confirmed that the generated plasma is a non-thermal plasma. Therefore, the use of OES is recommended in the daily control of food processing, as this is necessary to confirm that the processes are non-thermal and suitable for the food sector.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/15/15/8325non-thermal plasmaplasma technologyoptical emission spectroscopyhigh voltage electrical dischargeelectron temperatureelectron density
spellingShingle Sanda Pleslić
Franko Katalenić
Monitoring and Diagnostics of Non-Thermal Plasmas in the Food Sector Using Optical Emission Spectroscopy
Applied Sciences
non-thermal plasma
plasma technology
optical emission spectroscopy
high voltage electrical discharge
electron temperature
electron density
title Monitoring and Diagnostics of Non-Thermal Plasmas in the Food Sector Using Optical Emission Spectroscopy
title_full Monitoring and Diagnostics of Non-Thermal Plasmas in the Food Sector Using Optical Emission Spectroscopy
title_fullStr Monitoring and Diagnostics of Non-Thermal Plasmas in the Food Sector Using Optical Emission Spectroscopy
title_full_unstemmed Monitoring and Diagnostics of Non-Thermal Plasmas in the Food Sector Using Optical Emission Spectroscopy
title_short Monitoring and Diagnostics of Non-Thermal Plasmas in the Food Sector Using Optical Emission Spectroscopy
title_sort monitoring and diagnostics of non thermal plasmas in the food sector using optical emission spectroscopy
topic non-thermal plasma
plasma technology
optical emission spectroscopy
high voltage electrical discharge
electron temperature
electron density
url https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/15/15/8325
work_keys_str_mv AT sandapleslic monitoringanddiagnosticsofnonthermalplasmasinthefoodsectorusingopticalemissionspectroscopy
AT frankokatalenic monitoringanddiagnosticsofnonthermalplasmasinthefoodsectorusingopticalemissionspectroscopy