Aerosol Mist Separation Units for Enhanced Personal Protection in Indoor Environments

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Preliminary results on the diffusion of the novel virus SARS-CoV2 indicate that aerosol particles carrying the virus can remain in the air longer than was originally thought. Whilst it is accepted that large particle droplets from coughs, sneezes and exhaled air would drop to the ground within 2 metres, there is evidence that when the water around very small particle droplets has evaporated, these particles can travel some distances in air currents. A recent study conducted in Finland "(Aalto university; Ville Vuorinen, Antti Hellsten et all.; 6/04/2020)" further states that coronavirus is transported through such extremely small airborne particles.The current Covid 19 emergency has pushed everyone to be more aware of air quality that surrounds us. Indoor environments play a fundamental role in the fight against this novel disease. In past decades, several studies have shown that pollution levels indoors can be greater than in the street of a busy city and have linked poor indoor air quality to serious human health problems, such us cardiovascular disease, anxiety, respiratory problems, cancer and many others. Poor indoor air quality directly affects human defence system, increasing the risk of infection by pathogens. An American study "(J TheGuardian "Air Pollution"; Damian Carrington; 7/04/2020)" shows that air pollution is linked to significantly higher rates of death in people with COVID-19 and to a higher virus spread rate.BPP engineers are developing an adaptation of an existing technology that will remove small airborne water droplets that may transmit SARS-CoV-2 virus loads from air in indoor spaces. This has the potential to further reduce the risk of transmission over and above what is delivered by social distancing and by wearing PPE. This device will be designed for use in hospitals, GP surgeries and care homes and other similar treatment and care locations where an additional layer of virus transmission prevention is desirable.The end point of the project is to obtain a design that can be rapidly put into manufacture in time for contributing to reducing infection transmission rates in the next phase of the pandemic as lockdown restrictions are gradually relaxed.