Abstract

Improving the air quality of indoor environments (IAQ) is of utmost importance to safeguard public health as people spend about 80–90% of their time indoor. Efficient Ultraviolet germicidal irradiation (UVGI) system represents a strategic and sustainable solution to protect from recurrent and new airborne pathogens. Here, we present a new approach to design highly efficient UVGI systems, which can be installed in existing Air Treatment Units (ATU) plants with minimal effort. The increased efficiency relies on the concept of an optical cavity, thanks to its shape and source position. The internal volume consists of a highly reflective cavity illuminated with UV-C lamps. Optical simulations permitted the variation of the parameters to maximize the internal irradiance and, thus, the performance. The sanitation efficacy of the system was assessed on a full-scale pilot system. Tests were carried out under normal operating conditions against various microorganisms showed an inactivation rate of > 99%. The benefits of such systems are triple and encompass economic, environmental, and societal aspects. Since the system requires little energy to operate, its application for air disinfection may yield significant energy savings and ensure a balance between energy sustainability and good IAQ.

Details

Title
UVC-Mirror for effective pathogens inactivation in air ducts
Author
Treccani, Laura; Rovetta, Daniele; Zanetti, Gabriele; Gobbi, Emanuela; Turina, Massimo; Lombini, Matteo; Cortecchia, Fausto; Diolaiti, Emiliano; Malaguti, Giuseppe; Bianco, Andrea; Pareschi, Giovanni; Mongelluzzo, Giuseppe; Lessio, Luigi
Section
Interaction Between People and Buildings
Publication year
2024
Publication date
2024
Publisher
EDP Sciences
ISSN
25550403
e-ISSN
22671242
Source type
Conference Paper
Language of publication
English
ProQuest document ID
3180996312
Copyright
© 2024. This work is licensed under https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ (the “License”). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.