Abstract
An atmospheric low temperature plasma flow using a coaxial cable for microwave transmission has been applied to sterilize Escherichia coli to investigate the relationship between gas temperature and sterilization rates. The plasma source mainly consists of a cavity, a quartz discharge tube, a coaxial cable, a microwave power source and a gas supply system. The sterilization rate shows 100% in the center region of plasma exposure when the exposure temperature is 333K. The rate is decreased in the outer region of the plasma exposure. The gas temperature distribution shows the same tendency of the sterilization rate. This implies that the gas temperature is one of sterilization indicators.
