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A Downer Reactor for Short‐time Plasma Surface Modification of Polymer Powders
Author(s) -
Arpagaus C.,
Sonnenfeld A.,
von Rohr Ph. Rudolph
Publication year - 2005
Publication title -
chemical engineering and technology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.403
H-Index - 81
eISSN - 1521-4125
pISSN - 0930-7516
DOI - 10.1002/ceat.200407045
Subject(s) - wetting , polymer , high density polyethylene , surface modification , materials science , plasma , dispersion (optics) , particle (ecology) , contact angle , chemical engineering , composite material , polyethylene , oceanography , physics , optics , quantum mechanics , engineering , geology
This paper introduces a plasma reactor for short‐time plasma surface modification of polymer powders. This reactor type, the so‐called plasma downer reactor (PDR), provides a high reaction rate, which is forced by the high gas velocity and high particle dispersion in the plasma. It combines the advantageous characteristics of the downer principle for the fluid dynamics of gas‐solid phases with plasma surface modification. This work demonstrates that a very short plasma exposure time of 0.1 s effectively improves the wettability of HDPE and Co‐PA powders. The water contact angles of HDPE and Co‐PA powder can be reduced to 72° and 76°, respectively. The surface tensions of both polymer powders could be increased by a factor of 2 up to 43 mN/m. Water/polymer suspensions and pastes can be made without tensides.