By Robert Preuss
GAINESVILLE, FL — Some cleaning and building professionals have been excited by the potential of air purifying technology in HVAC systems. Some cleaning service providers have gone so far as to become dealers of such equipment, using a "whole building" approach.
Now the threat of biological contaminants (anthrax) deliberately sent as tiny invaders to our building environments has put new focus on such systems.
A Florida firm won a New Product Award, small business category, from the National Society of Professional Engineers for an inexpensive system using light and a common chemical.
Universal Air Technology calls it "Phototech."
"It disinfects and cleans indoor air by photocatalytic oxidation," said company vice president Tushar Goswami, whose older brother is Yogi Goswami, a University of Florida mechanical engineering professor who developed the technology. Also aiding in the research and development efforts was Sanjeev Hingorani, senior scientist at Universal Air Technology. All are from India.
The air cleaning system relies on the interaction between light and titanium dioxide, a common chemical. When light is absorbed into the titanium dioxide, it acts as a catalyst to produce an oxidizing agent.
The agent, called a hydroxyl radical, "is like a bullet for the bacteria," Goswami said, destroying dust mites, mold spores and pathogens by disrupting or disintegrating their DNA.
Goswami came up with the system in the mid 1990s as a cure for sick building syndrome, when poor ventilation and a build up of mold or mildew cause illnesses for people who work inside. Initial research proved that the system kills the mold spore aspergillus niger, considered to be one of nature's hardiest spores, he said.
More recent research has shown that the system also destroys bacillus subtilis, a spore that causes food spoilage and is a cousin of the anthrax spore, bacillus anthracis.
"In the laboratory, we normally test with nonpathogenic bacteria that are closely related to pathogenic bacteria, so there's no risk to people," Goswami said. "As we expected, our tests showed the system was effective against bacillus subtilis."
The technology is an improvement over traditional filter based systems in part because there is no opportunity for bacteria to collect and multiply on the filters that clear it from the air, he said.
"Filters can actually increase the danger because they concentrate the bacteria," said Goswami.
The system is also an improvement over systems that use ultraviolet light, which do not always kill all the bacteria, he said.
Editor's note: Yogi Goswami has also developed a solar energy technology that offers cooling as a kind of byproduct of energy production.
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