Abstract

Air quality has been deteriorating throughout the world due to emissions from power plants, automobiles and industrial processes. In addition, organics used in indoor building materials, carpets, paints and surface finishes add to the indoor air quality problems. Emergence of COVID and other viruses, and their transmission through air has affected the whole world. The pollutants of most concern in the indoor air are biological (viruses, bacteria, mold and other spores), volatile organic chemicals (VOC) and other allergens, such as, droppings of dust mites and cockroaches, etc. These pollutants not only make people sick, they have also been the main cause of allergies and asthma in a large part of the global population.

In the past, air-cleaning technologies just focused on filtration of particulate matter, the best being HEPA filters. However, HEPA filters cannot effectively remove all viruses and VOCs. Moreover, Bacteria or mold spores that are trapped on the filter could multiply on the filter and become a problem if the filters are not replaced regularly. In recent years, UV-C technology has been gaining popularity for large buildings. However, UV-C is hazardous to be exposed to and produces Ozone. Photocatalytic Oxidation (PCO) and Photo Electro-Chemical Oxidation (PECO) technologies have been introduced to overcome the shortcomings of uncoated HEPA filters [1-15]. PECO technology was shown to be effective against biological pollutants, such as, bacteria, viruses and spores and also against molecular pollutants, such as, VOCs. It has also been shown to help protect against SARS-CoV-2 [16,17].

Now a next generation Plasmonic Photonic technology has been developed for disinfection and detoxification of indoor air [18]. It is the most advanced indoor air disinfection and purification technology to provide protection against any future pandemic as well as other pollutants in indoor environments. The new technology makes use of Plasmonic nanoparticles catalyst that emits waves that cause resonance with the incoming photons of UV-A light and enhance the effectiveness of the photons, making this process more effective than any other existing technology. The new Plasmonic Photonic technology has been tested extensively for effectiveness against viruses, bacteria, mold and other fungal spores, and Volatile Organic Chemicals (VOCs). The technology has been incorporated in the Applied Photonix’s ViroZapTM products. Figures 1&2 show the product configuration and a picture of one of the products.