Inactivation of Infectious Bioaerosols by Plasma Application Technologies

Management of infectious bioaerosols in indoor air has emerged as an important technology due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Bioaerosol management can be divided into physical capture and physicochemical inactivation steps. KIMS is researching technologies to inactivate physically captured aerosols with plasma application technologies. The plasma filter generates surface plasma on the porous ceramic to oxidize the bioaerosol captured in the ceramic foam, and supplies reactive oxygen species including ozone to the polymer filter located at the rear for secondary oxidation. Ozone emission, an inevitable problem of atmospheric pressure low temperature plasma technology, has been solved through a catalyst, and ozone concentration of 0.05 ppm or less can be maintained for more than 1000 hours. It was demonstrated that the SARS-CoV-2 aerosol was inactivated by more than 99% immediately after passing the plasma filter.1A copper-coated filter is manufactured by irradiating an ion beam on the surface of a PP or PET filter and depositing a copper thin film with a thickness of several tens to hundreds of nanometers. Excellent adhesion was secured by inducing oxygen bonding between the copper thin film and the polymer. More than 99% of inactivation properties against bacteria, SARS-CoV-2 virus, and fungi were secured.2,3In this presentation, we will briefly introduce the developed technologies and report the commercialization results.