Filtration (mathematics)

Ultraviolet

Engineering

Electrostatic precipitator

Statistics

Materials science

Computer science

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)

Filter (signal processing)

Inhalation

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)

Waste management

Mechanical engineering

Aerosolization

Physics

Anatomy

Mathematics

Bioaerosol

Infectious disease (medical specialty)

Process engineering

Air filter

Environmental science

Inlet

Aerosol

Medicine

Meteorology

HEPA

Disease

Pulp and paper industry

Optoelectronics

Computer vision

Pathology

Sustainable Cities and Society

Air cleaning is an effective and reliable method in indoor airborne SARS-CoV-2 (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Corona-Virus 2) control, with ability of aerosol removal or disinfection. However, traditional air cleaning systems (e.g. fibrous filter, electrostatic removal system) have some risks in operation process, including re-aerosolization and electric breakdown. To avoid these risks, the current study proposed an UV+Filter (ultraviolet and fibrous pleated filter) system to efficiently capture airborne SARS-CoV-2 aerosols and deactivate them in filter medium. It is challenging to quantitatively design UV+Filter due to complex characteristics of SARS-CoV-2 aerosols (e.g. aerodynamic size, biological susceptibility) and hybrid filtration/disinfection processes. This study numerically investigated the overall performances of different air cleaning devices (e.g. Fibrous-filter, UV+Filter, two-stage ESP (electrostatic precipitator) et al.) for control of SARS-CoV-2 aerosols and compared them in term of filtration efficiency, energy consumption and secondary pollution. The prediction of developed models was validated with the experimental data from literature. UV+Filter is the most reliable and safest, while its energy consumption is highest. The newly proposed design method of air cleaning systems could provide essential tools for airborne diseases control.

Removal of SARS-CoV-2 using UV+Filter in built environment