Indoor Air Quality

Air filters & cleaners are extremely important, two different phenomena in terms of treatment of Recirculating Indoor Air (RA), Treated Fresh Air (TFA) & Exhaust Air (EA).

Primarily any indoor air, whether of commercial, institutional or manufacturing Industries, have three major pollutants & contaminants, physical, chemical & microbiological. Commercial & institutional establishments are hospitals, hotels, restaurants, schools, collages, banks, ATMs, govt. & private offices, super markets, shopping malls, etc. Where in manufacturing industries covers, pharma & API, food & beverage, electronics, cosmetic, clean rooms, warehouses, bakery, dairy, herbs & spices, export houses, etc.

The physical pollutants are colloidal suspended particulate matters of PM 1, PM 2.5, PM 10, etc., pollans, dead skin, paper, plastic & textile fibres, soil organics, etc. The chemical pollutants are VOCs, fumes of sanitising, housekeeping, cleaning & pest control chemicals, odour, organic & synthetic fumes, etc. The microbiological contaminants bacteria, viruses, mould, spores, fungi, etc.

Air filters are only effective on physical pollutants that also depend on the filter pore size. Air filters are not effective in reducing or controlling chemical & microbiological contaminants since chemical pollutants are in gaseous fumes which can freely pass through any filter media & generally uses filters has a pore size of not less than 1.0 micron, where in bacteria being smaller than 0.2 micron and viruses smaller than 0.02 micron can be trapped. Some limited microbiological reduction can be observed which are stuck to suspended particles which get trapped in filter. For chemical & microbiological contaminants, air cleaners or purifiers are required. 80% of the microorganisms are found on indoor surfaces hidden below biofilms. As per biofilm life cycle bacteria becomes airborne. These bacteria becoming airborne are a continuous process of bacteria & biofilm. So, it is extremely important to select point of source treatment, where biofilms can be eradicated destroying colonies of bacteria growing within & similarly point of source treatment can control the chemical fumes coming from the source.

In commercial & institutional establishments cross contaminations of micro-organisms & chemical pollutant is the major concern. This seriously affects the health, wellbeing & performance of the individual. While in case of manufacturing industries, control of microorganism is at extreme importance, since this directly affects the product quality & shelf life. Poor indoor environment results in product spoilage, rejection & recall and cost of disposal. Treatment of air & surface has become important aspect in commercial & industrial HVAC industry, is also growing day by day.

Traditional treatments are not sufficient and comprehensive to take care of complex air pollutants & contaminants. In fig. 01, the spectrum coverage & depth of the different treatment technologies can be understood. In current scenario to take care of these pollutants/contaminants, Chemtronics has innovated Point of Source “ECOBOI” technology where all three physical, chemical & microbiological contaminants present in indoor air is treated effectively. This can be installed locally on wall or ceilings or can be easily integrated/retrofitted in existing HVAC system. The ECOBOI technology is 24 x 07 effective in presence of humans working on Penetrate & Treat technique. Optimum effectiveness & performance significantly depends on multiple factors like application, site condition, concern area, pollutant, contaminant, applied dose, capacity, size, strength, concentration, treatment chemistry, oxidation power, technology selection, associated technology, point of integration, implementation engineering, hazard, safety, protection, etc. So indoor air quality & treatment is not product based but it is more of solution, design & consultation based. Company having past history, track record & experience in customised tailor-made innovation should be preferred.

Indoor air treatment involves multi-discipline of science, technology & engineering & as a combination is academically & engineering wise an emerging field. Having limited industry experts, the domain becomes specialised & experienced experts needs to be deplored to safely implement the solution.

Authored by:

Sunil Shah Director – Technical.

Chemtronics Technologies (India) Pvt. Ltd.