Evaluation of the Bioaerosol Inactivation Ability of Chitosan-Coated Antimicrobial Filters

Ying-Fang Hsu, Chi-Yu Chuang and Shinhao Yang
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Ying-Fang Hsu: Environmental Sustainability Lab, Center for General Education, CTBC Business School, No. 600, Section 3, Taijiang Boulevard, Annan District, Tainan 709, Taiwan
Chi-Yu Chuang: Department of Occupational Safety and Health, Chang Jung Christian University, No. 1, Changda Road., Gueiren District, Tainan City 711, Taiwan
Shinhao Yang: Environmental Sustainability Lab, Center for General Education, CTBC Business School, No. 600, Section 3, Taijiang Boulevard, Annan District, Tainan 709, Taiwan

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 13, 1-11

Abstract: This work considers the enhancement of indoor bioaerosol removal efficiency by liquid coating of the antimicrobial agent chitosan onto polypropylene fibrous filters (CCFs). Escherichia coli ( E. coli ) and Bacillus subtilis ( B. subtilis ) were chosen as the tested bioaerosols. The results revealed that 2.5% ( w / w ) of CCFs have significantly higher bioaerosol survival capability (23% and 34% of E. coli and B. subtilis , respectively), compared to an untreated filter (65% and 64% for E. coli and B. subtilis , respectively). Increasing face velocity and relative humidity during operating CCFs could reduce the bioaerosol removal capability. The regression analysis of the experimental findings demonstrated that the higher coating concentration of chitosan had the most positive influence on bioaerosol removal, while the face velocity and relative humidity had a negative influence, but a milder effect was observed (R 2 = 0.83 and 0.81 for E. coli and B. subtilis bioaerosols, respectively). A CCF-loaded air-cleaning device was tested in a real indoor environment and resulted in 80.1% bioaerosol removal within 3 h of operating, which suggests that the chitosan-coated filter has the potential for further application in improving indoor air quality in the future.

Keywords: chitosan-coated filters; survival; bioaerosols; antimicrobial agent (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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