Photoreactor for airborne microorganism inactivation employing UV radiation

MARTINEZ RETAMAR, M. E; LABAS, M. D.; BRANDI, RODOLFO J.

Rio de Janeiro

Encuentro; VI Encontro sobre Aplicações Ambientais de Processos Oxidativos Avançados, VI EPOA; 2011

Indoor air pollution is one of the top five environmental risks to public health according to the U.S.EPA Science Advisory Board (CCA, 2002). It is because people spend a lot of their time indoors, sometimes in poorly ventilated buildings where air is recirculated, leading to the buildup of pollutants that can affect human health. Currently, the research focuses on the study of those infectious aerosols generated in the form of particles of respirable size, from both human and environmental sources and that have the capability of remaining viable and airborne for long periods allowing disease transmission in indoor environments (Rosa et al., 2002; Fiegel et al., 2006). There is great interest in the engineering of air pollution control to reduce indoor infectious diseases. Germicidal UV systems are one of the most promising technologies to inactivate pathogenic microorganisms (Cole, 1998; Lin & Li, 2002). The goal of present work is to study the inactivation of airborne microorganisms, using an UV photoreactor. Currently, the research focuses on the study of those infectious aerosols generated in the form of particles of respirable size, from both human and environmental sources and that have the capability of remaining viable and airborne for long periods allowing disease transmission in indoor environments (Rosa et al., 2002; Fiegel et al., 2006). There is great interest in the engineering of air pollution control to reduce indoor infectious diseases. Germicidal UV systems are one of the most promising technologies to inactivate pathogenic microorganisms (Cole, 1998; Lin & Li, 2002). The goal of present work is to study the inactivation of airborne microorganisms, using an UV photoreactor.