Extremely Inexpensive and Simple Method To Remove Indoor Respiratory Aerosols

IF 8.8 2区环境科学与生态学 Q1 ENGINEERING, ENVIRONMENTAL

Environmental Science & Technology Letters Environ. Pub Date : 2023-08-10 DOI:10.1021/acs.estlett.3c00541

Ruoyu Zhang, Xiaohui Lu, Lin Wang, Jianmin Chen, Da-Ren Chen and Xiaofei Wang*,

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Reducing aerosol transmission, either by wearing masks or filtering indoor air, has been proven to halt or slow the spread of respiratory diseases including COVID-19. However, due to discomfort, many people would prefer not to wear masks. Air purifiers equipped with HEPA filters or electrostatic precipitators are typically associated with significant costs and require routine maintenance. Here we report for the first time that over 95% of respiratory aerosols are electrically charged. Based on this finding, we designed an inexpensive respiratory aerosol capturer to efficiently remove these charged aerosols in an electric field, powered by a low-cost, high-voltage supply that is widely used in electric fly zappers. This maintenance-free parallel-plate respiratory aerosol capturer outperforms existing air purifiers and costs less than ∼10% of these purifiers. It offers a great tool for combating the spread of respiratory diseases and potentially saving many lives, especially for low-income individuals.

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非常便宜和简单的方法去除室内呼吸气溶胶

事实证明，通过戴口罩或过滤室内空气来减少气溶胶传播，可以阻止或减缓包括COVID-19在内的呼吸道疾病的传播。然而，由于不舒服，许多人宁愿不戴口罩。配备HEPA过滤器或静电除尘器的空气净化器通常成本高昂，需要进行日常维护。在这里，我们首次报告超过95%的呼吸气溶胶是带电的。基于这一发现，我们设计了一种廉价的呼吸气溶胶捕集器，可以在电场中有效地去除这些带电的气溶胶，该捕集器由一种低成本的高压电源供电，这种电源广泛应用于电动灭蚊器中。这种免维护的平行板呼吸气溶胶捕集器优于现有的空气净化器，成本低于这些净化器的10%。它为防治呼吸系统疾病的传播提供了一个很好的工具，并有可能挽救许多人的生命，特别是低收入人群的生命。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Environmental Science & Technology Letters Environ. ENGINEERING, ENVIRONMENTALENVIRONMENTAL SC-ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES

CiteScore

17.90

自引率

3.70%

发文量

163

期刊介绍： Environmental Science & Technology Letters serves as an international forum for brief communications on experimental or theoretical results of exceptional timeliness in all aspects of environmental science, both pure and applied. Published as soon as accepted, these communications are summarized in monthly issues. Additionally, the journal features short reviews on emerging topics in environmental science and technology.