Air Sanitation

Air Sanitation
• It is the system of “removing the impurities present in air inside buildings to
protect people from infections”.
• Sanitation of air is important in hospital wards, operation theatres and burn unit
to prevent infection.
• Food processing and packaging industries and rooms where sterile materials or
products are stored require aseptic atmosphere and safe handling to prevent
contamination.
• Factors that determine how conducive a particular building is to
spread disease include the following:

• The range of temperature and humidity control

• The amount and distribution of outdoor air
• The efficiency of the filters
• the cleanliness of the facility
• The number and types of surfaces throughout the building
• the hygiene of the occupants
Devices used for air sanitation
1. Ventilation units
2. Filtration / Safety cabinets
3. Disinfectant sprays and vapours
 1. Ventilation
• An opening or a device that allows fresh air to enter into an enclosed
space.
• Eg. Opening windows and allowing fresh air
• Air conditioning
 2. Safety cabinets
• Isolation chambers that provide a safe
environment for the manipulation of
pathogenic microbes.
• Class I –Exhaust protection cabinets
• Protect operator by maintaining a rapidly moving
stream of air, which entrains infectious particles and
deposits them on a high efficiency filter. The air is
then exhausted outside the building
• Class II – Laminar flow cabinets:
• These are open-fronted and are designed to protect
the material that is being handled from extraneous
contamination. It is suitable for most work with
moderate pathogens. They do not protect the
operator though they can be modified to do so.
• Class III cabinets:
• These are used for the handling of very dangerous
materials and are completely enclosed. Materials
are handled through gas-tight glove ports and air
enters through a non-return valve and is extracted
through a high efficiency filter.
 3. Disinfectant sprays and vapours
• Carbolic spray used by Lister
• Sulphurous acid and formalin vapours are occasionally used in
hospitals but are highly irritating to respiratory passage.
• Sodium hypochlorite solution in very high dilution sprayed which
killed E.coli in atmosphere.
• Other sprays – resorcinol, propylene glycol, triethylene glycol and
ozone but none of them proved their worth.
• Ozone and 2.5% of H2O2 is very effective.
• Gram negative bacilli are more susceptible.
 Different technique of air sanitation
Airborne pathogen control technologies
CURRENT DEVELOPMENTAL
Isolation systems Photocatalytic oxidation
Air filtration Air ozonation
Ultraviolet filtration Carbon adsorption
Outdoor air purging Passive solar exposure
Electrostatic precipitation Ultrasonic atomisation
Negative air ionisation Microwave atomisation
vegetation Pulsed light
 Current disinfection methods
1. Isolation systems:
• Three categories:
a. Negative pressure isolation rooms
Negative room pressure is an isolation technique used in hospitals and medical centres to prevent cross-
contaminations from room to room. It includes a ventilation system that generates negative pressure to allow air to
flow into the isolation room but not escape from the room, as air will naturally flow from areas with higher pressure
to areas with lower pressure, thereby preventing contaminated air from escaping the room. This technique is used to
isolate patients with airborne contagious diseases such as tuberculosis, measles, or chickenpox.
b. Positive pressure isolation rooms
Positive pressure is a pressure within a system that is greater than the environment that surrounds that system.
Consequently, if there is any leak from the positively pressured system it will egress into the surrounding
environment.
c. Multi-level biohazard laboratories
At the lowest level of biosafety, precautions may consist of regular hand-washing and minimal protective equipment.
At higher biosafety levels, precautions may include airflow systems, multiple containment rooms, sealed containers, 
positive pressure personnel suits, established protocols for all procedures, extensive personnel training, and high
levels of security to control access to the facility.
Multi-level biohazard laboratories
2. Filtration of microorganisms
a.pre-filters
b. HEPA
c. ULPA (Ultra-Low Penetration
Air)
• High efficiency particulate air (HEPA)
filters and ultra-low penetration air
(ULPA) filters are used in almost every
aseptic process
• HEPA filters have an efficiency of at
least 99.97% for 0.3-micrometer
particles.  ULPA filters have an
efficiency of at least 99.999%
• HEPA and ULPA filters consist of a
filter frame, filter media, separators,
bond material, and gasket material
 Current disinfection methods
3. Ultra violet germicidal irradiation (UVGI):
• cause cell damage.
•Factors that can alter the effectiveness of UVGI are:
•Exposure time
•Room air mixing (for non powered applications like ceiling units)
•Power levels
•The presence of moisture or particulates providing protection for
microbes.
• dust settling on light bulbs can reduce exposures and thus maintenance
is necessary.
 Current disinfection methods
4. Outdoor purge air systems:
• Airborne pathogens can be
removed by purging with outside
air, which is naturally sterilised.
• Airborne bacteria and viruses
pathogenic for humans rarely occur
in the outdoor air and cannot
survive long if they do.
• Spores of fungi and actinomycetes
can occur in outside air but rarely
occur in hazardous concentrations.
 Current disinfection methods
5. Electrostatic precipitation:
• Used to remove particles from airstreams having large
steady flow rates.
• Applications include coal-burning plants and cement
kilns.
• Corona wires are maintained at several thousand volts
which produces a corona that releases electrons into the
air stream.
• These electrons attach to dust particles and give them a
net negative charge.
• The collecting plates are ground and attract the charged
dust particles.
• The collecting plates are periodically rapped by
mechanical rappers to dislodge the collected dust, which
then drop into hoppers below.
• Air velocity between the plates needs to be sufficiently
low to allow the dust to fall and not to be re-entrained.

Rappers are responsible for transmitting vibrations to the electrodes causing deposited dust particles to break loose and fall into a hopper
located below the precipitator
 Current disinfection methods
6. Negative air ionisation:
• Negative ionisation has the
potential to reduce the
concentration of airborne microbes.
• Its due to the ionisation of bio-
aerosols and dust particles that
may carry microbes, causing them
to settle out more rapidly.
• Ionisation enhance agglomeration,
creating large particles and ground
surfaces.
 Current disinfection methods
7. Vegetation and air disinfection:
• It is referred to as “growing clean air”
• Breathing wall or wall of plants and
waterfalls has also improved air quality.
• Reason: vegetation reduce levels of airborne
microbes.
• Surface of large amount of vegetation absorb
or adsorb microbes or dust.
• Humidity may reduce some microbes
• Symbiotic microbes such as Streptomyces
may cause disinfection of air.
• Natural plant defences against bacteria may
operate against mammalian pathogens.
vertical gardening
 Current developments in bio-aerosol
disinfection
1. Photocatalytic oxidation: (PCO)
• Titanium dioxide (TiO2) is a semiconductor photocatalyst.
• when it is irradiated with photons of less than 385 nm, an
electron is promoted from the valence band to the
conduction band.
• The resultant electron-hole pair has a lifetime in the
space-charge region that enables its participation in
chemical reactions.
• Hydroxyl radicals and superoxide ions will oxidise volatile
organic compounds adsorbed on the catalyst surface.
• They will also kill and decompose adsorbed bio-aerosols.
• The process is known as “heterogeneous photocatalysis”
or “photocatalytic oxidation” PCO
• Low power consumption, potentially long service life, low
maintenance.
 Current developments in bio-aerosol
disinfection
2. Air Ozonisation:
• Ozone is injected into the airsteam
and mixed in the turbulator to a
degree that would guarantee
ozonisation of all organic
compounds, including viral nucleic
acids and bacteria.
• Due to the corrosiveness of the
ozone, an efficient reclamation
system must be developed.
• Reclaimed ozone could be recycled to
the injector or else neutralised and
used to regenerate electricity which
would geed back to the regenerator.
By treating the air conditioning system with ozone, you can
prevent the build-up of bio films, and consequently the build-
up of bacteria and fungi. This will eliminate bad smell and the
spread of health problems such as allergies, rashes, colds,
viruses and legionnaires disease.
 Current developments in bio-aerosol
disinfection

3. Carbon adsorption:
• It is effective against volatile
organic compounds (VOC) but is
not used for control of airborne
dust or microbes.
• Can be used for the control of
viruses.
 Current developments in bio-aerosol disinfection

4. Ultrasonic atomisation:
a. Supersonic nozzles: air stream
forced through a supersonic
nozzle – shock wave develops
at the nozzle outlet – air
expands suddenly –
atomisation of bio aerosols.
b. Sonic generators: - creates
resonance – shock wave in air -
atomisation of bio aerosols