Katsuyuki Takahashi

Name of university
Iwate University
Belongs
Faculty of Science and Engineering
Position
Associate Professor
Platform
Materials and Energy

Research Fields

Research Keywords

High voltage
Plasma
Collaboration of agriculture and engineering

URL

Research Subject

Development of production and storage management system for agricultural products using atmospheric plasma generated by pulsed power technology

Research Outline

The pulsed power technology enables the generation of nano-second order high voltage pulses, which instantaneously produce non-thermal plasma. In the plasma, high-density chemical species such as hydroxyl radicals are produced. These species play an important role in sterilization effect and the decomposition of organic compounds. In this study, applications utilizing these characteristics of the plasma for agriculture and food industries, such as an environmental management system for plant growth and a device for keeping freshness of fruits and vegetables, are investigated. The propagation of pulsed discharge plasma is observed and its electrical characteristics are evaluated. The pulsed power generator is optimized to the various applications by matching to plasma load. The transportation mechanism of chemical species produced in plasma to treatment targets such as water and organism are investigated. And then, technologies, such as improvement of plant production by control growth environment by decomposition of organic compounds and inactivation of bacteria, suppression of decline in agricultural product value by keeping freshness of fruits and vegetables, and food processing for adding new values to foods, are developed. Through international collaborative research, these technologies are evaluated in various environments and their use are expanded.