Non-thermal plasma has the ability to continuously purify the air and surfaces. Its use and improvement drastically enhance hygiene conditions within the ductwork and indoor spaces. Non-thermal plasma kills up to 99.99% of bacteria and significantly reduces the possibility of virus spread through air ducts, ventilation grilles, and surfaces.
There are two approaches when choosing purification devices for disinfection using non-thermal plasma:
- Devices that fully disinfect the air supplied to rooms from air handling and ventilation units.
- Devices to fully treat the air from air handling and ventilation installations, plus installation of non-thermal plasma devices inside the rooms to ensure that bacteria do not spread within the spaces. This way, the best disinfection effect is achieved.
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Operating principle of non-thermal plasma devices:
The devices charge the air passing through them with non-thermal plasma, which destroys up to 99.99% of bacteria and viruses in the air. The air itself, once charged with non-thermal plasma, has the ability to disinfect any surface it touches. This additional "cleaning" of surfaces in the workspace helps also to clean surfaces that are not easily accessible through standard cleaning procedures.
It should be noted that no tests have yet been conducted specifically for COVID-19 purification, but it certainly drastically reduces the possibility of spreading all types of respiratory viruses.
Advantages of Non-Thermal Plasma over UV Lamps
Air purifiers with UV lamps are extremely popular and have been used for years to purify air in professional kitchens. Unfortunately, their effectiveness is limited to the device with the UV lamps themselves—they do not charge the air passing through them. Additionally, the maximum air velocity through the device should be about 2 m/s. Last but not least, UV lamp devices consume a lot of electrical energy. To improve their efficiency, many manufacturers recommend installing electrostatic filters before the UV lamp units. The UV lamps themselves have a working life of around 8,000 to 9,000 hours. Also, when placed near aluminum products (plate/rotary aluminum heat exchangers or heating/cooling sections), UV lamps can damage these components.
Devices with NTP (non-thermal plasma) have a lifespan of about 14,000 hours. Additionally, the air velocity in the cross-section is not limited to 2.5 m/s; higher speeds can be used. The consumable costs are drastically lower, and last but not least, the energy consumption per hour is also lower compared to devices with UV lamps.
Definition
The word plasma means a mixture of ionized gases, composed of a large number of energized particles such as ions and electrons, free radicals, molecules, as well as neutral atoms.
Ionization occurs when an electron gains enough energy to overcome the attractive forces between the nucleus and the atom. This happens during plasma-generating processes, where the temperature of the ions and neutral atoms is significantly lower than the temperature of the electrons. This is referred to as cold plasma or non-thermal plasma (NTP). Cold plasma emits light with wavelengths in both the visible and ultraviolet parts of the spectrum. Besides UV radiation emission, an important characteristic of low-temperature plasma is the presence of highly reactive high-energy electrons that initiate various chemical and physical processes such as oxidation, supercharging of atoms and molecules, production of free radicals, and other reactive particles.
Plasma can be artificially generated by supplying gas with sufficiently high energy using lasers, shock waves, electric arcs, electric and magnetic fields. This means creating gas energy in a way that reorganizes the electronic structure of species (atoms, molecules) and produces highly energized species and ions. One of the most common methods for artificially creating and maintaining plasma is the use of a gas electrical discharge. Regarding cold plasma, so-called non-thermal discharges are used. The two main types of non-thermal atmospheric pressure discharges are corona discharge and dielectric barrier discharge.
GENERAL EFFECTS OF NON-THERMAL PLASMA
Some studies suggest that people should experience significant benefits from using ionizers with non-thermal plasma. Medical literature actually shows that changes in the concentration and mobility of these types of ions have psychophysiological benefits.
Treatment with cold plasma also has an important purifying and sanitizing effect. In fact, the ions generated attach to airborne particles (dust, odors, smoke, pollen), charging them either negatively or positively. As a result, the dust tends to bind to surfaces it encounters (such as walls in rooms) instead of remaining suspended in the air. A similar effect occurs with non-thermal plasma — it can be released from the air and disinfect not only the surrounding air but also surfaces within the rooms.
JONIX Devices
JONIX devices belong to the category of so-called air ionizers, meaning systems that release negatively and/or positively charged particles into the air for disinfection. This ionizing air system is generated by using cold plasma, obtained through the appropriate exploitation of the corona effect. This effect results from an electric field created by voltages equivalent to approximately 3000 V applied to a metal mesh, which is directly exposed to the airflow being treated. Specifically, the plasma is generated by a dielectric barrier discharge (DBD), created between two flat and parallel metal electrodes, with the dielectric material placed between them.
The discharge is generated as a result of sinusoidal or pulsed current, which creates micro-arcs that develop due to the accumulation of electrons on the dielectric layer covering one of the electrodes. The dielectric material prevents the development of high currents.
Jonix devices prevent the formation of chemical and biological pollutants (mold, bacteria, Legionella, etc.) in the fresh air supplied to the premises, on the inner surfaces of air ducts, and on surfaces within the rooms. Sanitation is carried out continuously, thereby preventing the accumulation of dust deposits, which are an ideal substrate for the development of mold and bacteria.
JONIX MATE
For placement in rooms.
JONIX DUCT
For installation in an air duct system.
JONIX CUBE
An ideal solution for the home and office.
JONIX STEEL
An ideal solution for factories, manufacturing facilities, the food industry, and clean rooms.
