Principles of non-thermal plasma processing and its equipment

Cold plasma technologies are considered environmentally friendly and sustainable due to low temperature operation without much energy usage, shorter processing time and limited usage of water and other solvents in the treatment. With these, plasma processing has shown huge potential in many industrial and technological sectors. The chapter presents the overview of the underlying theory behind plasma dynamics, the impact of system design and geometry, and how these have begun to be applied in real-world methodologies. The multi-step systems for the generation of non-thermal plasma are explained in detail. Plasma kinetics and optical diagnostics systems are also described. The chapter also highlights the current applications, scaling-up of systems, perspectives, research needs and challenges in transferring the technology to commercial scales.