Indoor air pollution is caused by particulate matter and chemical and microbial contamination. Conventional technologies, including filteration, do not adequately provide complete answers to these problems. Photocatalytic oxidation combined with filteration provides one of the most viable solutions to the problem of indoor air contamination by microorganisms and volatile organic chemicals (VOCs). It can also provide a defense against bioterrorism. This paper describes the theoretical background of the technology and results of its effectiveness against VOCs, bacteria, spores, and dust mite allergens. Although the technology uses UV photons from blacklight, it can be designed to use sunlight with the help of fiber optics.
Issue Section:
Technical Papers
1.
EPA, 1987, “Total Exposure Assessment Methodology (TEAM) Study,” Report 600/6-87/002a, Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC.
2.
Block, S. S., 1991, Disinfection, Sterilization, and Preservation, 4th Edition, Lea & Febiger Publishers, Malvern, PA.
3.
Dennis, P., 1990, “An Unnecessary Risk: Legionnaires Disease,” Special Technical Publication 1071, Proc. of ASTM Symp. on Indoor Air, Boulder, CO, pp. 84–89.
4.
Schneider
, R. K.
, 1996, “Examining Air Filtration,” Engineered Systems, June, pp. 63–64.5.
Goswami, D. Y., Trivedi, D., and Block, S. S., 1995, “Photocatalytic Disinfection of Indoor Air,” Solar Engineering, Proc. of ASME Int. Solar Energy Conf., Hawaii, pp. 421–430.
6.
Goswami
, D. Y.
, Trivedi
, D. M.
, Block
, S. S.
, 1997
, “Photocatalytic Disinfection of Indoor Air
,” ASME J. Sol. Energy Eng.
, 119
, pp. 92
–96
.7.
Greist, H. T., Hingorani, S. K., Kelley, K., and Goswami, D. Y., 2002, “Using Scanning Electron Microscopy to Visualize Photocatalytic Mineralization of Airborne Microorganisms,” Proc. of Indoor Air 2002, 9th Int. Conf. on Indoor Air Quality and Climate, July, Monterey, CA, pp. 712–717.
8.
Bahnemann
, D.
, Bockelmann
, D.
, and Goslich
, R.
, 1991
, “Mechanistic Studies of Water Detoxification in Illuminated TiO2 Suspensions
,” Sol. Energy Mater.
, 24
, pp. 564
–583
.9.
Blake
, D. M.
, Webb
, J.
, Turchi
, C.
, and Magrini
, K.
, 1991
, “Kinetic and Mechanistic Overview of TiO2-Photyocatalyzed Oxidation Reactions in Aqueous Solution
,” Sol. Energy Mater.
, 24
, pp. 584
–593
.10.
Prairie, M. R., Pacheco, J. E., and Evans, L. R., 1992, “Solar Detoxification of Water Containing Chlorinated Solvents and Heavy Metals via TiO2 Photocatalysis,” Solar Engineering: Proc. of ASME Int. Solar Energy Conf., 1, pp. 1–8.
11.
Goswami, D. Y., 1998, “Photocatalytic Air Disinfection,” US Patent Serial No. 5,835,840, Nov. 10, 1998 (27 Claims).
12.
Goswami, D. Y., 1999, “Photocatalytic System for Indoor Air Quality,” U.S. Patent Serial No. 5,933,702 Aug. 3, 1999 (92 Claims).
13.
Goswami, D. Y., 1999, “Electrostatic Photocatalytic Air Disinfection,” U.S. Patent Serial No. 5,993,738 Nov. 30, 1999 (22 Claims).
14.
Goswami
, T. K.
, Hingorani
, S.
, Greist
, H.
, and Goswami
, D. Y.
, 1999
, “Photocatalytic System to Decontaminate Indoor Air
,” J. Adv. Oxid. Technol.
, 4
(2
), pp. 185
–188
.15.
Hingorani, S., Greist, H., Goswami, T., and Goswami, D. Y., 2000, “Clean-up of Contaminated Indoor Air Using Photocatalytic Technology,” Proc. of 12th Symp. on Improving Building Systems in Hot and Humid Climates, San Antonio, TX, May 2000 (Also, Proc. of Engineering Solutions to Indoor Air Quality Problems Symp., Raleigh, NC, July 2000. Also published in the journal for the Air and Waste Management Association, 2000, 98, pp. 422–429).
16.
Beaudreau, C., Hingorani, S., Goswami, T. K., and Goswami, D. Y., 1998, “Destruction of Dust Mite Allergens using Phototech™: Photocatalytic Technology for Disinfection of Indoor Air,” Pan-American Workshop on Commercialization of Advanced Oxidation Technologies, London, Ontario, Canada, June 27–30, 1998.
Copyright © 2003
by ASME
You do not currently have access to this content.