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The formation of postsurgical intra-abdomen adhesion bands can cause severe complications. The luffa fibers were alkali treated to produce the desire hydrophobic and microfibrous structure. The sca...

Non-thermal plasma, also named cold plasma, finds applications in industrial, environmental and health sectors. Non-thermal plasma is a remarkable catalysing and dissociating agent because the gas occurs at room temperature with energies ranging from 1 to 10 electron volts. Here, we studied the activation of carbon granules from peat soil by a flying jet plasma torch. Samples of peat soil were collected from 50- to 70-cm-deep layer and dried for two nights at 70 °C, then carbonized for 4 h at 800 °C and sieved at 2 mm. The carbon particles were then treated by the jet plasma torch. Surface morphology of the raw and treated granules was monitored by a scan electron microscopy (SEM), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) and transition electron microscopy (TEM). Results show considerable changes in the surface morphology and chemical composition. Oxygen mass percentage increased, suggesting an increase of carbonyl C=O groups and thus higher polarity and solubility in polar liquids. BET data show an increase in the active surface area from 1069 to 1270 m2/g. TEM images display carbon nanostructures resembling carbon nanotubes. Overall, our findings reveal a cost-effective technique, operated at room temperature, to produce carbon nanoparticles, compared with traditional heating activation processes.

A flying jet plasma torch (FJPT) was applied to treat raw polymers before the end use process. Specimens of the raw polymers (polypropylene, polystyrene, and two grades of polyethylene) were treated for a few minutes. The examined specimens were analyzed by using scanning electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy, and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. The results indicated that FJPT effectively stimulated the topographical modifications and changed the chemical composition of the surface, which consequently affected the roughness of the surface. Machinability of the examined high-density polyethylene (HDPE) was investigated through measuring the melt mass flow rate index (MFI). The results showed that MFI increased around 30% after 5 min treatments. Longer treatment periods resulted in reductions of MFI attributed to thermal effects. Measured MFI for treated HDPE slightly decreased for 3 days after treatment. Hence, FJPT proved useful for treating polymer surface homogeneously and tailoring the sur...