Inactivation of COVID-19 virus and other air-borne microbial contaminants from aircraft cabins and other modes of transportation with ultraviolet radiation

使用紫外线辐射灭活飞机机舱和其他运输方式中的 COVID-19 病毒和其他空气传播的微生物污染物

• 批准号: 555116-2020
• 负责人: Mohseni, Madjid
• 金额: $ 3.64万
• 依托单位: University of British Columbia
• 依托单位国家: 加拿大
• 项目类别: Alliance Grants
• 财政年份: 2020
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2020-01-01 至 2021-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=705604
• 关键词: Inactivation; COVID; 19; virus; other

The commercial airline industry is struggling to come up with solutions to the current challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic. There have been some discussions of applying social distancing measures, including the use of shielding, as a means of keeping people physically apart on planes. It goes without saying that social distancing is not a commercially viable solution, as the airlines would need a method of recovering their losses, given that their load capacity would be drastically reduced as a result of social distancing. In addition to all the steps that are being taken today (i.e., gloves, masks, temperature screening) to decrease the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, air disinfection is a key for closed rooms, e.g. aircraft's cabin. In this research, we are applying ultraviolet (UV) light to inactivate airborne viruses, bacteria and other floating microorganisms. The application of UV radiation to the aircraft air circulation systems will sterilize the portion of air which is recirculated through the cabin. Our research includes studying the effectiveness of different UV sources, the role of environmental parameters, and the intensity of UV on the inactivation of a target airborne microorganism. The cost and energy analysis will be considered for designing the system for aircraft recirculated air disinfection. Finally, a bench-scale prototype will be tested with a target airborne virus or bacteria. The societal impact of this strategy would be significant, as it allows the airline industry in Canada and globally to restore customer confidence in the airlines' ability to keep planes free of pathogens and in doing so, restore those parts of the economy, such as tourism, affected by this pandemic.

商业航空业界正在为新冠肺炎疫情带来的挑战寻找解决方案。已经有一些关于应用社交距离措施的讨论，包括使用屏蔽，作为将人们在飞机上保持身体隔离的手段。当然，保持社交距离并不是商业上可行的解决方案，因为航空公司的载客量将因社交距离而大幅下降，因此需要一种弥补损失的方法。除了今天正在采取的所有措施（即手套、口罩、体温筛查）以减少SARS-CoV-2病毒的传播外，空气消毒是封闭房间（例如飞机客舱）的关键。在这项研究中，我们正在应用紫外线（UV）光灭活空气中的病毒、细菌和其他漂浮微生物。紫外线辐射在飞机空气循环系统中的应用将对通过客舱再循环的部分空气进行消毒。我们的研究包括研究不同紫外线源的有效性，环境参数的作用，以及紫外线强度对目标空气微生物的失活。在设计飞机循环空气消毒系统时，需要考虑成本和能量分析。最后，将用空气传播的目标病毒或细菌测试一个实验规模的原型。这一战略的社会影响将是重大的，因为它使加拿大和全球的航空业能够恢复客户对航空公司保持飞机无病原体能力的信心，从而恢复受此次大流行影响的经济部门，如旅游业。