Established Slovak scientific and research institutes have developed a new device for uniform treatment of surface of bulk materials in plasma and are looking for a licensee

Nowadays, plasma technologies are increasingly used in the most diverse fields of industry (electronic, food, medical, textile, polymer and other industries). Plasma applications include e.g. surface modification, cleaning, adhesion, sterilization, wound treatment and many other applications. A specific example of plasma application is e.g. surface modification of polymer materials by low temperature plasma which is necessary for various applications of polymers, such as lamination, printing, etc. By the action of plasma in an air oxygen environment, the surface of polymer materials hydrophilizes and the adhesion of more polar printing inks of polymers in the melt or adhesives to the modified polymer surface increases. Till now, the modification of the surface of solids in radiofrequency plasma has been solved by movement of a horizontal cylinder with openings. Particles of the solid enter the radiofrequency plasma column by axial movement of the cylinder. However, due to the distribution of treated particles by weight, the openings in the cylinder are quickly clogged with fine particles of the solid and they need to be cleaned. In addition, such treatment is not uniform. A team of inventors has managed to substantially eliminate the above mentioned drawbacks by means of a new device for uniform treatment of surface of bulk materials in plasma. The device comprises a container furnished with a glass wall of the chamber and a spiral conveyor placed in a hollow cylinder in the center of the container which is fixed to the chamber wall by means of holders. The spiral conveyor is terminated by a conical cap to ensure uniform distribution of the powder. The powder reservoir is placed in the bottom part of the chamber. The processing of particles of organic or inorganic bulk materials or powders takes place in low pressure plasma in an environment of air or other gas or gas mixture. The method of feeding of powder materials on this device ensures the continuous transport of the material during the burning of the plasma as well as a controlled and uniform distribution of the powder particles in the plasma volume. The use of this innovative solution is mainly in the field of chemistry and polymers as well as in fields where plasma treatment of surface of non-metallic powder materials is required. The institute is looking for a partner (licensee) for licensing the technology in this or related fields. So the preferred type of cooperation is license agreement. More specified in the Partner Sought.