The Leibniz Institute for Plasma Research and Technology e.V., with about 200 employees, is the largest non-university research institute in the field of low temperature plasmas.
The research focus on agriculture, biomass & decontamination develops processes for applications in agriculture, food industry and water treatment.
Plasma describes the state of an excited, electrically conductive gas. It emits, among other things, electric fields, shock waves, reactive species, and UV radiation.
These properties are suitable, for example, for the degradation of microorganisms and stable chemical compounds for the decontamination of water, for increasing hygiene standards and enhancing the storage stability of fresh food. Cell disruption can also be triggered, e.g. to extract temperature-sensitive ingredients from microalgae.
The goal is to make plasma technology useful for the blue bioeconomy and to promote its application.