AntiViral Air Cleaning using EES Patented Electrostatic Precipitator and Non-Thermal plasma System.
(U.S. Patent 8,771,600 B 2 and 2 additional U.S. Patents are pending)
Health officials have concluded in many cruise ships in which hundreds of cases of COVID 19 outbreaks have occurred, the reason for a substantial portion of these infections was airborne via the HVAC system of the ships. “Despite diligent hygiene measures implemented onboard inside these ships many of the infections occurred after passengers had isolated themselves inside their cabins.”
We present the Electrostatic Precipitator, or electrostatic filter, with combination of non-thermal plasma for treatment of exhaust air from HVAC systems. In the history of Technology and Inventions we know that some devices originally invented for a certain use can also be applied to different problems based on the physics and chemistry involved.
In case of COVID 19 Virus that is 0.1 micron in size and similar to the most of the industrial aerosols and soot particles from diesel engines it was a natural easy solution to adapt our established Technology for virus capture. This is the case for our Patented Technology that was originally developed for gas cleaning of combustion engines. This Patented Process can be successfully applied to air cleaning and disinfection in Ventilation systems of Hospitals, Nursing Homes and Cruise ships.
Solid particles such as Viruses, Bacteria, Dust, Aerosols, and the like, are first charged in the Electrostatic Field by a Corona Discharge that takes place between sharp points located on the Ionizing Electrodes and walls of collecting tubes. During the high voltage discharge, high-energy electrons create several active substances collectively known as Cold Plasma.
It is important to note that Cold Plasma is one of the most powerful tools for air DISINFECTION ever devised by man. It destroys viruses and bacteria that most of the time are located on the surface of dust or liquid droplets that will be present when infected persons are coughing or sneezing.
Unlike conventional Electrostatic Filters of the two-stage design that have a short ionizing section with thin and frequently breaking wires followed by a large collecting section, Our filter is designed as horizontal tubular type with rigid solid metal ionizers that can withstand ALL environments. Not only stationary installations of large buildings like High Rise Apartment Buildings, Hospitals, Nursing Homes or even large Private Homes, but also in Marine applications like Central Ventilation Systems on large Cruise ships.
The free radicals generated by our much higher corona current in the high voltage field are very effective for the removal of NOx, CO, Hydrocarbons (HC), Viruses and Bacteria. The charged, very fine particles of dust are agglomerated and collected on the collecting plates and can be removed by a wash system incorporated in the unit on either a periodical or continuous basis.
The main advantages of the proposed system are:
Ø Electrostatic charging, agglomeration and non-thermal plasma, flameless oxidation and destruction of viruses and bacteria take place simultaneously with dust removal in the horizontal tubular Wet ESP. (WESP)
Ø Flameless oxidation removes and destroys All Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC) that escapes from carpets, furniture and human activity that are responsible for toxicity and odors in the air.
Ø Agglomerated particles of dust and dead Viruses are separated from the moving gas and collected on the walls of the tubes and periodically or continuously, if desired, washed off the stainless steel tubes without human intervention.
o This design assembly is one horizontal unit without any elbows or turns making it very beneficial for mounting on the roof of building in series with existing air handling equipment for Ventilation and Air Conditioning.
Ø Ability to provide much higher efficiency with a smaller surface area and size of the equipment regardless of the amount of inlet particulate loading during extensive cleaning of premises for Pandemic Disinfection.
Ø Ability to provide high efficiency regardless of the nature and polarity of the particles in the inlet gas stream since the high voltage output on each pass can be different to match the polarity of the incoming particles.
Ø Solid metallic ionizing electrodes with serrated sharp edges provide much higher Corona Current then typical ionizing wires. Also, the multiple plates within each pass provide as much current as required not only for the particulate removal but also for the non-thermal plasma free radical generation.
Ø The back pressure is only 0.5 in.wc compared to 10 in.wc for HEPA filters resulting in a 20 TIMES Decrease of ENERGY required for the blowers.
Ø Minimum maintenance and long service life due to the solid stainless steel construction
Ø Fully automatic and remote control of the maintenance-free operation.
Ø High voltage system Proprietary Design results in producing10 times less of regulated active chemicals like Ozone.
Ø As a back–up for Ozone control there is a Proprietary Catalyst at the outlet of the unit. Clean and DISINFECTED odor-free cooled or heated Air leaves the system and is returned to the premises occupied by people.