Electrostatic photocatalytic air disinfection
AssigneeUniversal Air Technology
InventorD. Yogi Goswani
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Abstract
A method for disinfecting an airstream containing microorganisms by electrostatic precipitation by passing the airstream through the space between at least one grounded collection plate having at least one electrode spaced apart therefrom connected to a source of electrical potential, wherein the improvement comprises contacting the airstream with a photocatalyst having a predetermined band gap energy coated on the surface of each grounded collection plate and illuminated with photons having a wavelength corresponding to the band gap energy of the photocatalyst, so that at least a portion of the microorganisms that collect on the grounded collection plate are destroyed by photocatalytic oxidation. Devices embodying disinfecting methods are also disclosed.
Claims22
A method for disinfecting an airstream containing microorganisms by electrostatic precipitation by passing the airstream through the space between at least one grounded collection plate having at least one electrode spaced apart therefrom connected to a source of electric potential, wherein the improvement comprises contacting the airstream with a photocatalyst having a predetermined band gap energy coated on the surface of each grounded collection plate and illuminated with photons having a wavelength corresponding to the band gap energy of the photocatalyst, so that at least a portion of the microorganisms that collect on the grounded collection plate are destroyed by photocatalytic oxidation.
An electrostatic precipitator for disinfecting an airstream containing microorganisms comprising at least one grounded collection plate, each collection plate being spaced apart from at least one opposing electrode having a connector for connecting to a source of electric potential, said opposing collection plate-electrode combination being configured to permit the passage of the airstream therebetween, wherein the improvement comprises a coating on each grounded collection plate of a photocatalyst having predetermined band gap energy and a light source positioned to illuminate each photocatalyst coating with photons having a wavelength corresponding to the band gap energy of the photocatalyst.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.