The filtration device halved the concentration of the aerosols in question after only six minutes of operation in Kähler’s 80-square-meter (860 square foot) test room. The device also uses heat to destroy the trapped viruses, while at the same time fighting pests like bacteria or mold. “If you keep this system running constantly,” the physicist says, “no one will be able to create an aerosol concentration at an infectious level in a room.”
These aren’t hi-tech devices, and they’re easy to make. “The air purifiers are comprised of a tin cabinet and a fan,” says Kähler. They use a class F7 prefilter for the larger impurities, while a special high efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filter of the quality class H13 or H14 must be installed to protect against viruses.
(new normal)
Brenner has already proven that coronaviruses don’t stand a chance when exposed to this light. Continuous far-UVC exposure in public spaces, Brenner recently wrote in a study published in the journal Scientific Reports, destroys 90 percent of airborne viruses after 8 minutes. It kills 99.9 percent of them after 25 minutes. The only hitch is that airborne disinfection with far-UVC light still hasn’t received approval from the Food and Drug Administration in the U.S.
Even absent the coronavirus, it would still be beneficial for people to have better ventilation, air purifiers and germ-killing light. People have accepted for too long that pollutants are lurking everywhere. “Having access to a comfortable, healthy indoor climate should be a fundamental right,” says Berlin engineer Kriegel. “Air is the most important thing we consume,” he says. “Five minutes without it and we’re dead.”
Source: Scientists Weigh the Benefits of Air Purifiers in Fighting COVID-19 – DER SPIEGEL
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