Function of plasma and electrostatics for keeping quality of agricultural produce in post-harvest stage
Koichi Takaki, Katsuyuki Takahashi, Daisuke Hamanaka, Riichiro Yoshida, Toshitaka Uchino
Abstract
Abstract High-voltage and plasma applications to keep the freshness and quality of agricultural produce are described focusing on functions of plasma in each application of a post-harvest stage. The high voltage and the plasma are used for decontamination of airborne bacteria in a storage house and a transport container of agricultural produce. The working mechanisms of the decontamination are mainly caused by inactivation through the oxidization process with reactive oxygen species and the collection of airborne bacteria as an electric precipitating process. The plasma is also used to maintain a freshness by decomposition of the agricultural produce exhausting gases such as ethylene, which works as a plant hormone and accelerates ripening of some kind produces in a mix-loading container. The decomposition of the ethylene is mainly an oxidization process by the atomic oxygen in dry gas condition. The ethylene is also decomposed by hydroxyl radical under the humid air condition.