Review
Construction & Building Technology
Hao Luo, Lexuan Zhong
Summary: This paper emphasizes the importance of using ultraviolet germicidal irradiation (UVGI) air purification technology to improve indoor air quality, particularly in HVAC ducts. It identifies critical parameters for designing a UVGI system, explores the impact of environmental factors on the system design, and summarizes existing UVGI system designs in the context of COVID-19 mitigation.
BUILDING AND ENVIRONMENT
(2021)
Article
Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
Conor McGinn, Robert Scott, Cornelia Ryan, Niamh Donnelly, Michael F. Cullinan, Michael Beckett
Summary: This study demonstrates that the use of a robotic UVGI platform can achieve effective disinfection in a short period of time, comparable to or even better than manual disinfection methods.
AMERICAN JOURNAL OF INFECTION CONTROL
(2022)
Review
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Sunday S. Nunayon, Kwok-Wai Mui, Ling -Tim Wong
Summary: Due to global infectious disease outbreaks, removing airborne pathogens from indoor environments has become a critical issue. Ultraviolet germicidal irradiation (UVGI) has shown enormous potential in inactivating airborne infectious pathogens. This paper provides a thorough and objective analysis of UVGI research areas using bibliometric analysis.
JOURNAL OF CLEANER PRODUCTION
(2023)
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Ernest R. Blatchley III, Haiying Cui
Summary: The study presents quantitative microbial risk assessment (QMRA) as a tool to evaluate the effectiveness of ultraviolet germicidal irradiation (UVGI) systems for indoor air disinfection. The model developed focuses on the implementation of UVGI systems for controlling SARS-CoV-2 infection. The findings suggest that UVGI systems can effectively control the risk of infection associated with SARS-CoV-2, with several factors influencing the transmission risk, including pathogen emission rate, UVGI fixture characteristics, and characteristics of the HVAC system. The QMRA framework provides a quantitative link between UVGI/HVAC system characteristics and changes in disease transmission risk. It is a useful tool for the design, testing, and validation of UVGI systems.
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Construction & Building Technology
Hao Luo, Lexuan Zhong
Summary: The study developed a mathematical model to calculate the distribution of UV irradiation for UV lamps placed in HVAC air ducts. The model considered direct emissive, specular reflection, and diffuse reflection irradiance. Computational fluid dynamics simulation was used to calculate the UV dose and disinfection efficiency. The study concluded that increasing the number and power of UV lamps, as well as using more reflective duct wall materials, improves in-duct UVGI disinfection performance.
BUILDING AND ENVIRONMENT
(2022)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Haiyang Liu, Zhijian Liu, Junzhou He, Chenxing Hu, Rui Rong, Hao Han, Lingyun Wang, Desheng Wang
Summary: This study investigated the performance of upper-room ultraviolet germicidal irradiation (UVGI) for reducing SARS-CoV-2 virus transmission in a hospital isolation environment. The results showed that higher percentage of virus could be inactivated by the upper-room UVGI at a lower ventilation rate, and the rate of improvement of UVGI elimination effect slowed down with the increase of irradiation flux. Increasing irradiation height at lower ventilation rate was more effective in improving the UVGI performance than the increase in irradiation flux at smaller irradiation height.
ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH
(2023)
Article
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
M. F. Hossain
Summary: Advanced building design technology is proposed to eliminate pathogens inside buildings naturally before they attack the human body. Solar irradiance is applied through the outer glazing wall of the building to form Ultraviolet Germicidal Irradiation (UVGI) and kill all pathogens, including COVID-19, by disrupting their nucleic acid bonds.
MATERIALS TODAY SUSTAINABILITY
(2022)
Article
Construction & Building Technology
Yi Yang, Huihui Zhang, Alvin C. K. Lai
Summary: There is a growing interest in modeling the UV inactivation of airborne microorganisms using the Lagrangian approach, which is effective in calculating UV dose with particle trajectory. This study applied the Lagrangian method to model the disinfection efficacy of in-duct UV lamps on three bacteria, showing that appropriate evaluation of the maximal UV dose is crucial for airborne microorganisms. The results indicated that the disinfection efficacy obtained using the CSFP method agreed well with experimental measurements, and an empirical value of 0.4 for F-sc was recommended for modeling the disinfection efficacy of in-duct UV lamps within the Lagrangian framework.
BUILDING AND ENVIRONMENT
(2021)
Review
Energy & Fuels
Francesca Cattai, Annunziata D'Orazio, Gianluca Sbardella
Summary: This study provides an overview of the latest research outcomes related to innovative components of HVAC systems using UV-C irradiation and investigates the current state of the art through a systematic review and literature survey. Most of the papers focused on upper-room UVGI, AHUs, and ducts. However, there is limited information regarding dose evaluation, such as irradiance, which indicates the need for further research.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Linda D. Lee, George Delclos, Matthew Lee Berkheiser, Monique T. Barakat, Paul Arthur Jensen
Summary: The study demonstrates that installing fixed in-room UVGI air cleaners in commercial buildings can significantly reduce airborne and surface bacterial contamination, contributing to mitigating disease transmission effectively.
JOURNAL OF OCCUPATIONAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL HYGIENE
(2022)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Bruce L. Davidson
Summary: Reliable indoor air disinfection can provide safer clinical and other necessary indoor spaces during epidemics. Low-dose upper-room germicidal ultraviolet-C is suitable for this, but most existing fixtures are expensive and inefficient.
PHOTOCHEMISTRY AND PHOTOBIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Ewan Eadie, Waseem Hiwar, Louise Fletcher, Emma Tidswell, Paul O'Mahoney, Manuela Buonanno, David Welch, Catherine S. Adamson, David J. Brenner, Catherine Noakes, Kenneth Wood
Summary: Krypton Chloride (KrCl) excimer lamps, also known as Far-UVC, can efficiently inactivate pathogens in the air, including coronaviruses. Lab tests show the lamps do not have adverse effects on the skin or eyes. The lamps have been proven effective in reducing the pathogen load in a room-sized chamber.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2022)
Article
Construction & Building Technology
Theresa Pistochini, Caton Mande, Subhrajit Chakraborty
Summary: Lowering the potential for airborne disease transmission in school buildings is crucial, and balancing health and energy consumption is important in ventilation and filtration measures. The study found that an improved filtration system reduced energy consumption by 31% compared to 100% outdoor air ventilation, and decreased infection probability by 29%. Additionally, activating cooling based on outdoor temperature setpoint using an economizer increased ventilation, reduced energy consumption, and lowered infection probability.
JOURNAL OF BUILDING ENGINEERING
(2022)
Article
Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
Daniel F. Li, Heba Alhmidi, Jacob G. Scott, Ian C. Charnas, Basya Pearlmutter, Sandra Y. Silva, Brigid M. Wilson, Curtis J. Donskey
Summary: This study assessed the potential contamination risks associated with using contaminated N95 respirators and compared the effectiveness of interventions to reduce contamination. The results showed that both improved respirator handling techniques and UV-C treatment can significantly reduce the risk of contamination transmission.
INFECTION CONTROL AND HOSPITAL EPIDEMIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Michael F. F. Link, Andrew Shore, Behrang H. H. Hamadani, Dustin Poppendieck
Summary: Recent interest in GUV222 devices focuses on reducing virus transmission indoors, but the 222 nm light used can produce ozone, which negatively impacts indoor air quality. In experiments, we measured ozone production from a filtered GUV222 lamp in a chamber and estimated ozone production in the chamber based on the lamp's irradiance. Future studies should evaluate the impact of GUV222 technologies on indoor air quality.
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY LETTERS
(2023)