About APJeT Plasma Technologies
Who We Are
APJeT®, Inc. is an advanced technology company with a focus on the development of plasma systems. Historically, the company utilized its proprietary, dense, high-powered plasma to cure its proprietary functional finishes on substrates in the textile industry.
In 2018, under new leadership, APJeT evolved from a start-up to a business poised for growth, expanding its reach into additional markets and applications. APJeT offers water and oil repellency, release, anti-microbial, wicking, and flame resistant finishes for a variety of markets.
In 2020, the company was first-to-market with its groundbreaking air and surface disinfection system, the COVIDINATOR™, which uses air plasma technology to disinfect circulated air and surfaces to reduce the spread of viruses, like COVID-19, and the risk of future pandemics.
Since then, APJeT has expanded the commercial applications for its cold plasma technology to surface activation (APtivate™) and has partnered with a global manufacturer of telecommunications infrastructure. The APtivate™ technology activates materials for improved adhesion, bonding, dyeability, and improved printability in assembly and manufacturing processes.
Our Benefits
Our systems is provide a more efficient, sustainable, and cost-effective solution for plasma technologies. The APJeT plasma process has several advantages over competing methodologies attempting to modify surface properties. Whether applying a coating, modifying surface properties, or disinfecting surfaces; our process is clean, cost efficient and compact. Since our plasma process does not use water or heat, the process can treat fragile or heat sensitive materials without damage or altering the material.
Our customers achieve improved quality while reducing safety risks, environmental impact, and degradation of the substrate material.
Our Technology
APJeT®’s plasma systems operate at atmospheric pressure, room temperature, and industrial line speeds using inexpensive gases. Our plasma systems are carefully engineered to cause powerful chemical surface reactions without altering the bulk strength and other desirable properties of the substrate.
APJeT® is an expert at engineering plasma and optimizing chemical reactions. These chemical reactions can be divided into two primary categories: Plasma Activation and Plasma Coating.
Plasma Activation involves a direct reaction between the plasma and the substrate. Plasma Coatings involve a reaction between the plasma, the substrate, and the chemical finish.
What is Plasma?
Plasma is considered the fourth state of matter. It is generated when energy, usually in the form of electricity, is added to molecules in the gaseous state. This additional energy causes the gas molecules to ionize, forming charged particles. These charged particles will interact with each other inside an electric field, forming additional highly-reactive species. These highly-reactive species can be used to modify surfaces, induce chemical reactions, and kill pathogens.
When energy is removed from a plasma (power turned off), the electrons and ions rapidly recombine, returning the ionized gas back to a safe, inert state.
APJeT is an expert at engineering and optimizing plasma and offers plasma systems for surface activation, coatings, and disinfection.
Plasma Activation
Plasma Activation involves a direct reaction between the plasma and a substrate. APJeT® systems are engineered to deliver the desired surface functionality. This can be achieved by changing plasma parameters such as power, duration, and gas composition. The combination of these allows us to create new chemical moieties on the surface of substrates.
Common chemical moieties include oxygen and nitrogen functional groups which increase the surface energy of a substrate and improve wetting.
Plasma Coating & Finishing
Plasma Coatings involve a reaction between the plasma, a substrate, and a chemical to create a coating or finish on the surface of the substrate. Each APJeT® finish is achieved with a proprietary blend of chemistry tailored to achieve the desired performance on the substrate.
First, the chemistry is applied to the surface of the substrate using a chemical applicator, such as a roll coater, sprayer, or digital printer (DriStream™). No wastewater is produced during this chemical application process.
Next, the substrate enters the plasma region where the chemistry is cured to the substrate without any heat or elevated temperatures. Due to the elimination of heat and water, the APJeT® process provides both a cost savings and environmental benefit.
APJeT®’s proprietary chemical coatings include several functional finishes including the following: durable water repellent, anti-microbial, wicking, and release.
