Energy efficiency of atmospheric pressure plasma-aided porous media surface finishing

Abstract

Atmospheric pressure plasma pretreatment based on dielectric barrier discharge technology at industrial frequency (50 Hz) has been used for surface activation (oxidation, functionalization) of four species of European and tropical wood samples in a multi-step plasma enhanced capillary process of flame retardancy. Plasma-chemical activation is an effective surface alteration by attaching polar or functional groups to wood and cellulosic surfaces. Oxygen containing functional groups enhance effectively capillary impregnation processes for flame retardation of wood as porous media finishing. Oxidation level was studied by wettability in order to follow the increased surface free energy. For each species, a critical active power surface density was necessary to obtain the best impregnation results more quickly. The relationship between the penetration-spreading parameter and the active power density has been investigated experimentally as process quality parameter.