In a prime example of land-grant research driving real-world impact, a breakthrough liquid-phase plasma discharge technology developed at the University of Minnesota is making the leap from academic discovery to commercial launch.
Originally pioneered in the Department of Bioproducts and Biosystems Engineering and advanced at the Southern Research and Outreach Center (SROC) in Waseca, the innovation utilizes low-temperature electricity to drive instant chemical reactions directly within liquid streams.
To transition the research into industry applications, the Technology Commercialization licensing team executed the license agreement with Minnesota-based UMN startup Plasma Blue LLC. Tech Comm staff, including technology portfolio manager Anne Hall, worked closely with Plasma Blue and SROC principal investigator Shaobo Deng to file and prosecute a portfolio of issued patents on this innovative technology.
The technology has huge real-world benefits. It can tear apart stubborn per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), widely known as "forever chemicals," in contaminated water at room temperature, eliminating the need to burn them using large amounts of fossil fuels.
It also helps cleaner fuels hit the market faster. By using electricity instead of gas heat to make biodiesel, the technology cuts energy use and lowers the fuel's carbon footprint. It can even turn plain water into a chemical-free disinfectant that kills bacteria on crops and farm tools before safely turning back into ordinary water.
Learn more about how University researchers and industry partners are scaling this game-changing technology. Read the full story on the CFANS news page.