Solid Oxygen-Purifying (SOP) Filters: A Self-Disinfecting Filters to Inactivate Aerosolized Viruses

Michael Versoza, Jaeseok Heo, Sangwon Ko, Minjeong Kim and Duckshin Park
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Michael Versoza: Transportation Environmental Research Team, Korea Railroad Research Institute, Uiwang City 16105, Korea
Jaeseok Heo: Transportation Environmental Research Team, Korea Railroad Research Institute, Uiwang City 16105, Korea
Sangwon Ko: Transportation Environmental Research Team, Korea Railroad Research Institute, Uiwang City 16105, Korea
Minjeong Kim: Transportation Environmental Research Team, Korea Railroad Research Institute, Uiwang City 16105, Korea
Duckshin Park: Transportation Environmental Research Team, Korea Railroad Research Institute, Uiwang City 16105, Korea

IJERPH, 2020, vol. 17, issue 21, 1-11

Abstract: Normal heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems typically use high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filters, which can filter dust, various pollutants, and even bacteria and viruses from indoor air. However, since HEPA filters cannot not clean themselves and due to the nature of these microbes which can survive for long periods of time, changing these filters improperly could transmit pathogenic bacteria or viruses, and could even lead to new infections. This study indicated that these manufactured Solid Oxygen-purifying (SOP) filters have the potential to self-disinfect, filter, and inactivate aerosolized viruses. MS2 bacteriophage was used as a model virus in two different experiments. The first experiment involved aerosolization of the virus, while the second were a higher viral load using a soaking method. The SOP filters inactivated up to 99.8% of the virus particles in both experiments, provided that the density of the SOP filter was high. Thus, SOP filters could self-clean, which led to protection against airborne and aerosolized viruses by inactivating them on contact. Furthermore, SOP filters could be potentially use or addition in HVAC systems and face masks to prevent the transmission of airborne and aerosolized viruses.

Keywords: self-cleaning filters; viral aerosol inactivation; solid oxygen-purifying filters; HVAC filter application; viral protection; face mask application (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
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