Particulate Matter versus Airborne Viruses—Distinctive Differences between Filtering and Inactivating Air Cleaning Technologies
The current pandemic of the SARS-CoV-2 virus requires measures to reduce the risk of infection. In addition to the usual hygiene measures, air cleaners are a recommended solution to decrease the viral load in rooms. Suitable technologies range from pure filters to inactivating units, such as cold pl...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2022-09-01
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| Series: | Atmosphere |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4433/13/10/1575 |
| _version_ | 1797475430442205184 |
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| author | Andrea Burdack-Freitag Michael Buschhaus Gunnar Grün Wolfgang Karl Hofbauer Sabine Johann Anna Maria Nagele-Renzl Andreas Schmohl Christian Rudolf Scherer |
| author_facet | Andrea Burdack-Freitag Michael Buschhaus Gunnar Grün Wolfgang Karl Hofbauer Sabine Johann Anna Maria Nagele-Renzl Andreas Schmohl Christian Rudolf Scherer |
| author_sort | Andrea Burdack-Freitag |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The current pandemic of the SARS-CoV-2 virus requires measures to reduce the risk of infection. In addition to the usual hygiene measures, air cleaners are a recommended solution to decrease the viral load in rooms. Suitable technologies range from pure filters to inactivating units, such as cold plasma or UVC irradiation. Such inactivating air cleaners, partly combined with filter technology, are available on the market in various designs, dimensions and technical specifications. Since it is not always clear whether they may produce undesirable by-products, and the suitability for particular applications cannot be assessed on the basis of the principle of operation, the effectivity of six inactivating devices was investigated in a near-real environment. The investigations were based on a standard method published by the VDI. The procedure was extended in such a way that a permanent virus source was simulated, which corresponds to the presence of a person suffering from COVID-19 in a room. The study addresses the difference of the mere presence of viruses to the determination of the virulence. As a result, a deep understanding is provided between the behavior of a virus as a pure aerosolized particle and its real infectivity in order to enable the assessment of suitable air cleaners. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T20:44:57Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-abed7bbc5b2f441cbb19f8150cdb2374 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2073-4433 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T20:44:57Z |
| publishDate | 2022-09-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Atmosphere |
| spelling | doaj.art-abed7bbc5b2f441cbb19f8150cdb23742023-11-23T22:50:20ZengMDPI AGAtmosphere2073-44332022-09-011310157510.3390/atmos13101575Particulate Matter versus Airborne Viruses—Distinctive Differences between Filtering and Inactivating Air Cleaning TechnologiesAndrea Burdack-Freitag0Michael Buschhaus1Gunnar Grün2Wolfgang Karl Hofbauer3Sabine Johann4Anna Maria Nagele-Renzl5Andreas Schmohl6Christian Rudolf Scherer7Fraunhofer Institute for Building Physics (IBP), Fraunhoferstraße 10, 83626 Valley, GermanyFraunhofer Institute for Building Physics (IBP), Fraunhoferstraße 10, 83626 Valley, GermanyFraunhofer Institute for Building Physics (IBP), Fraunhoferstraße 10, 83626 Valley, GermanyFraunhofer Institute for Building Physics (IBP), Fraunhoferstraße 10, 83626 Valley, GermanyFraunhofer Institute for Building Physics (IBP), Fraunhoferstraße 10, 83626 Valley, GermanyFraunhofer Institute for Building Physics (IBP), Fraunhoferstraße 10, 83626 Valley, GermanyFraunhofer Institute for Building Physics (IBP), Fraunhoferstraße 10, 83626 Valley, GermanyFraunhofer Institute for Building Physics (IBP), Fraunhoferstraße 10, 83626 Valley, GermanyThe current pandemic of the SARS-CoV-2 virus requires measures to reduce the risk of infection. In addition to the usual hygiene measures, air cleaners are a recommended solution to decrease the viral load in rooms. Suitable technologies range from pure filters to inactivating units, such as cold plasma or UVC irradiation. Such inactivating air cleaners, partly combined with filter technology, are available on the market in various designs, dimensions and technical specifications. Since it is not always clear whether they may produce undesirable by-products, and the suitability for particular applications cannot be assessed on the basis of the principle of operation, the effectivity of six inactivating devices was investigated in a near-real environment. The investigations were based on a standard method published by the VDI. The procedure was extended in such a way that a permanent virus source was simulated, which corresponds to the presence of a person suffering from COVID-19 in a room. The study addresses the difference of the mere presence of viruses to the determination of the virulence. As a result, a deep understanding is provided between the behavior of a virus as a pure aerosolized particle and its real infectivity in order to enable the assessment of suitable air cleaners.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4433/13/10/1575virus inactivating air cleanerplasma technologyUVCvirulenceVOCozone |
| spellingShingle | Andrea Burdack-Freitag Michael Buschhaus Gunnar Grün Wolfgang Karl Hofbauer Sabine Johann Anna Maria Nagele-Renzl Andreas Schmohl Christian Rudolf Scherer Particulate Matter versus Airborne Viruses—Distinctive Differences between Filtering and Inactivating Air Cleaning Technologies Atmosphere virus inactivating air cleaner plasma technology UVC virulence VOC ozone |
| title | Particulate Matter versus Airborne Viruses—Distinctive Differences between Filtering and Inactivating Air Cleaning Technologies |
| title_full | Particulate Matter versus Airborne Viruses—Distinctive Differences between Filtering and Inactivating Air Cleaning Technologies |
| title_fullStr | Particulate Matter versus Airborne Viruses—Distinctive Differences between Filtering and Inactivating Air Cleaning Technologies |
| title_full_unstemmed | Particulate Matter versus Airborne Viruses—Distinctive Differences between Filtering and Inactivating Air Cleaning Technologies |
| title_short | Particulate Matter versus Airborne Viruses—Distinctive Differences between Filtering and Inactivating Air Cleaning Technologies |
| title_sort | particulate matter versus airborne viruses distinctive differences between filtering and inactivating air cleaning technologies |
| topic | virus inactivating air cleaner plasma technology UVC virulence VOC ozone |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4433/13/10/1575 |
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