Separation and Disinfection of Contagious Aerosols from the Perspective of SARS-CoV-2
An assessment was performed on methods of separating and disinfecting airborne droplet nuclei containing viruses, such as SARS-CoV-2. The droplet nuclei originate from evaporating aerosols emitted by the coughing, singing, sneezing, etc. of infected humans. Based on empirical data and theoretical an...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2021-10-01
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| Series: | Separations |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2297-8739/8/10/190 |
| _version_ | 1797513173535817728 |
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| author | J. J. H. Brouwers |
| author_facet | J. J. H. Brouwers |
| author_sort | J. J. H. Brouwers |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | An assessment was performed on methods of separating and disinfecting airborne droplet nuclei containing viruses, such as SARS-CoV-2. The droplet nuclei originate from evaporating aerosols emitted by the coughing, singing, sneezing, etc. of infected humans. Based on empirical data and theoretical analysis, we successively determined: (i) the particle number distribution of nuclei versus the nucleus diameter, (ii) the statistical distribution of the viral content in the droplet nuclei starting from a uniform random distribution of viruses in the mucus, (iii) the particle number distribution of droplet nuclei containing at least one virus particle, and (iv) the effectiveness of methods for removing and disinfecting nuclei containing one or more virus particles from indoor air; viz., ventilation with fresh air, filtering with porous media, such as HEPA, and centrifugal separation and simultaneous disinfection, particularly with a rotational particle separator (RPS). Indoor aerosol removal with RPS supplemented with HEPA to arrest tiny volumes of very small particles was found to be the most effective. It is as good as particle removal through ventilation with clean air over long periods of time. An RPS facilitates direct elimination of viruses in the collected nuclei by flushing with a disinfection liquid. The components of an RPS are recyclable. Combining HEPA with an RPS extends the service time of HEPA by almost two orders of magnitude compared to the relatively short service time of stand-alone HEPA filters. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T06:12:56Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-ffbdbaaa9c7a4e0ba2b5ae2f131cc64f |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2297-8739 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T06:12:56Z |
| publishDate | 2021-10-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Separations |
| spelling | doaj.art-ffbdbaaa9c7a4e0ba2b5ae2f131cc64f2023-11-22T20:00:25ZengMDPI AGSeparations2297-87392021-10-0181019010.3390/separations8100190Separation and Disinfection of Contagious Aerosols from the Perspective of SARS-CoV-2J. J. H. Brouwers0Romico Hold A.V.V., 6226 GV Maastricht, The NetherlandsAn assessment was performed on methods of separating and disinfecting airborne droplet nuclei containing viruses, such as SARS-CoV-2. The droplet nuclei originate from evaporating aerosols emitted by the coughing, singing, sneezing, etc. of infected humans. Based on empirical data and theoretical analysis, we successively determined: (i) the particle number distribution of nuclei versus the nucleus diameter, (ii) the statistical distribution of the viral content in the droplet nuclei starting from a uniform random distribution of viruses in the mucus, (iii) the particle number distribution of droplet nuclei containing at least one virus particle, and (iv) the effectiveness of methods for removing and disinfecting nuclei containing one or more virus particles from indoor air; viz., ventilation with fresh air, filtering with porous media, such as HEPA, and centrifugal separation and simultaneous disinfection, particularly with a rotational particle separator (RPS). Indoor aerosol removal with RPS supplemented with HEPA to arrest tiny volumes of very small particles was found to be the most effective. It is as good as particle removal through ventilation with clean air over long periods of time. An RPS facilitates direct elimination of viruses in the collected nuclei by flushing with a disinfection liquid. The components of an RPS are recyclable. Combining HEPA with an RPS extends the service time of HEPA by almost two orders of magnitude compared to the relatively short service time of stand-alone HEPA filters.https://www.mdpi.com/2297-8739/8/10/190SARS-CoV-2virus particlesair filteringaerosolsprobability distributionsrotational particle separator |
| spellingShingle | J. J. H. Brouwers Separation and Disinfection of Contagious Aerosols from the Perspective of SARS-CoV-2 Separations SARS-CoV-2 virus particles air filtering aerosols probability distributions rotational particle separator |
| title | Separation and Disinfection of Contagious Aerosols from the Perspective of SARS-CoV-2 |
| title_full | Separation and Disinfection of Contagious Aerosols from the Perspective of SARS-CoV-2 |
| title_fullStr | Separation and Disinfection of Contagious Aerosols from the Perspective of SARS-CoV-2 |
| title_full_unstemmed | Separation and Disinfection of Contagious Aerosols from the Perspective of SARS-CoV-2 |
| title_short | Separation and Disinfection of Contagious Aerosols from the Perspective of SARS-CoV-2 |
| title_sort | separation and disinfection of contagious aerosols from the perspective of sars cov 2 |
| topic | SARS-CoV-2 virus particles air filtering aerosols probability distributions rotational particle separator |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2297-8739/8/10/190 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT jjhbrouwers separationanddisinfectionofcontagiousaerosolsfromtheperspectiveofsarscov2 |