qlAir Clean Air as a Service, Advantages Explained in New Webinar

Polygiene and TK-Domashniy Tekstyl Sign Mask Distributor Agreement for Ukraine

Polygiene Treatment also being Applied to Airinum Masks

Sandia is Evaluating  Mask Alternatives

HVAC Systems and Filters are Important

Denver Schools Installing MERV 13 Systems

Framingham, MA to Spend  $700,00 on Upgrading HVAC and Room Air Purifiers

_________________________________________________________________________

 
qlAir Clean Air as a Service, Advantages Explained in New Webinar

Ellie Amirnasr explained  the advantages of the clean air as a service program in mitigating COVID in a YouTube recording which you can find at  https://youtu.be/zYSGZt2g9KI

On July 15 we conducted an interview with Ellie Amirnasr and Marcel Schoch . You can view the recording at  can be viewed at   https://youtu.be/T0HJF5MVDU0

 The holistic approach includes sensors and monitoring, problem identification solutions, and then continuing evaluation of the effectiveness of the solution. Particulate levels, humidity, CO2, air velocity, air volume and other parameters can be continually measured and corrective action taken based on this knowledge. 

It would seem that qlAir within Mann + Hummel has a major opportunity to clarify what is a chaotic situation.  Ellie in her webinar references the commonly accepted segmentation - 20% of transmission is from contact,  40% is from respiratory transmission and 40% is airborne.  The qlAir initiative is on the airborne transmission.  What if this number is much larger than 40%?

If you cough or sneeze into a cloth mask what will happen to the virus particles? Based on what we know about viral shedding from floors and garments as well as droplet evaporation it is likely that most of what is captured in a cloth mask eventually passes through the mask in the exhale mode or is re inhaled and then exhaled. Either way it would seem most of the virus will be airborne. 

If the sneezer is not wearing a mask the large droplets will be airborne. It is just a matter of how far they travel. Even those that drop to the floor immediately are likely to later become airborne as shown in foot sanitizer studies.

How much of the 20% transmitted by contact could be eliminated by avoiding virus deposit from the air on to surfaces.

It is very likely that  most of the transmission can be eliminated by approaches such as the qlAir Clean air as a service. This means that we should be paying more attention to companies such as Mann + Hummel and other air filtration companies and not rely on guidance solely from government guidelines.

Another way to underscore the potential for air transmission is the cigarette smoke analogy. One of the subscribers to this publication wrote us with an observation. She was walking along the beach and could smell the cigar smoke from an individual 100 feet away. She was therefore inhaling some of the smoke he exhaled.

According to Dr. Jyotu Sandhu with Sharp Rees-Stealy, if a smoker has the virus then yes, it is possible the smoke the individual breathes out does carry the virus. If an individual is in close proximity to a person smoking, who has the virus, he or she could breathe in that same smoke.

We wonder why so many people in Florida have become infected. If you can inhale air exhaled by someone 100 feet away on the beach then you do have a mechanism for transmission. Social distancing does not take into account air flow. A virus cloud can be blown a long distance prior to full dispersion. 

qlAir uses CO2 as one measure of people in a space (a version of social distancing). It also can use software which will identify the numbers of people in an area served by an independent HVAC system. 

Particulate measurements can be used as a surrogate for viral reduction. Lets say the HVAC filter  cleans the air to where the particulate in the recirculating air is only 20% of the outside air.  Therefore it can be assumed that 80% of the virus has also been eliminated.

The virus transmission is  a function of the amount  of virus potentially exhaled by transmitters and the amount inhaled by the recipient.

 

Factor	Relevance
Number of people in HVAC area	Number of transmitters
Mask efficiency of the wearers	A cloth mask will not likely prevent  virus transmission
Flow pattern of air	Does it flow through an HVAC system before it reaches the recipient
Efficiency of the HVA[BM1] C filter	Big difference between MERV 8 and HEPA
Dilution of air	The air changes per hour
Air parameters such as humidity, temperature	Virus life
Number of people in HVAC area	The transmitters are also the recipients.  So their location and mask efficiency determines their risk

 

All of this can be quantified  with the sensors and software which can be supplied by companies like qlAir. Their analyses will show the difference  made by efficient filters and masks.

 

Polygiene and TK-Domashniy Tekstyl Sign Mask Distributor Agreement for Ukraine

Polygiene and TK-Domashniy Tekstyl, a home textile company in the Ukraine, have signed an exclusive distributors agreement for the Ukrainian market.

TK-Domashniy Tekstyl is a major player in home textiles, working on all levels, from raw materials, Lego production and over 5000 consumer articles, exporting to many countries beyond the Ukraine. They are also the leading supplier of textile products to the Ukrainian government and the only company with production of medical suits in Ukraine.

It is here the partnership starts, with an initial batch of 1 million ViralOff treated face masks and 100 000 protective suits. But Polygiene and TK-Domashniy Tekstyl see many more opportunities, both in terms of a wider range of products, as well as cooperation with third party customers in the region.

"Adding TK-Domashniy Tekstyl to our distributor network gives us a good representation in the area", says Ulrika Björk, CEO of Polygiene. "Being vertically integrated and with access to markets both governmental and private, they are a great gateway for us."

"We see a lot of interest and have a ready strategy for distributing ViralOff treated textiles", says Volodomyr Martsenyuk, Managing partner for TK-Domashniy Tekstyl. "We serve both the Ukrainian public through government programs, as well as commercial partners and direct to consumers and see the relevance on all levels."


Polygiene Treatment also being Applied to Airinum Masks

With filter efficiency of 98% Airinum Urban Air Mask provides highly effective protection from airborne contaminants and reduces exposure to bacteria. The Polygiene treatment gives additional protection as it reduces bacteria and virus in the mask material by over 99%.

Airinum has just placed an additional order of 0.3 MSEK to keep up with the demand of their face masks, that are out of stock.

“On one hand, this is good for our business. But at the same time, we don’t want this to happen. It is a paradox in our business, that when the world suffers, we get more orders. We would rather see a solution to the Corona outbreak rather than get massive orders right now” says Fredrik Kempe, CEO Airinum.

“We see a rise in interest for our solutions because of this, but we share the view that we would rather have Coronavirus under control”, says Ulrika Björk, CEO Polygiene. “But with the situation being what it is, we are proud to partner with Airinum – a brand with great potential since they already are established in the Asian markets where also pollution is part of daily life.”

In addition, Polygiene has been contacted by a number of other face mask producers from South Korea, France, and other countries, that are very interested in adding value to their products by incorporating Polygiene stays fresh technology.

 

The Airinum Urban Air Mask 2.0 is built around three foundations - protection, comfort, and design.

 

The key to protection is in the mask’s filter. When you breathe with the mask on, air passes through five important layers of protection before it reaches your lungs. Each layer has a different density in order to filter particles of different sizes. The multi-layer filter technology is tested at the RISE R&D center in Sweden, one of the world’s most advanced filter laboratories, and consists of the following layers:

Outside PP Layer - Outside filter wrapping in a durable finish
Active Carbon Layer - Filters gases and reduces odor
1st Electro Charged Layer - Filters larger PM10, pollen and other allergens
2nd Electro Charged Layer - Filters smaller PM2.5, dust and bacteria
Inside PP Layer - Inside filter with ultra-smooth and skin-friendly finish

The filter is replaceable and lasts for about 100 hours. 

Sandia is Evaluating  Mask Alternatives

“We’re helping local medical device manufacturers test materials they are using to make medical-grade masks, and we’re helping local hospitals by evaluating methods they’ve developed to clean N95 masks for reuse,” said Sandia Fellow Gil Herrera. “We’re providing them information they need to make decisions regarding the reuse of sterilized N95 masks and the use of alternatives to N95 masks to protect health care workers and patients.”

N95 respirator masks are certified to block 95% of extremely small particles without restricting breathing. Sandia is conducting tests for manufacturers to show how new mask designs measure up to these industry standards. Sandia also is studying disinfection methods that could enable hospitals to reuse masks, lessening the need for new ones.

Assistance has been provided at no cost to partners through a combination of internal funds and funding from the Department of Energy Office of Science.

When respirators ran low in hospitals, Albuquerque companies Marpac, Sierra Peaks and Sew-EZ approached Sandia for help testing materials outside the typical supply chain that could be used to manufacture more. Examples included materials used for heating and air conditioning systems, and vacuum bags.

Sandia principal investigator Michael Omana leads a team that modified existing aerosol and filtration systems used for nuclear nonproliferation work to conduct tests and comparison studies for the projects. One of the test systems included an automated filter tester commonly found in industry and intended for material certification.

Through these tests, the researchers identified the most promising filter media, comparable to N95 filtration, to use for respirator production.

“Sandia isn’t a certification lab, but we were able to use the systems to provide quantitative results,” Omana said. “We’ve been able to utilize two independent systems to validate a robust data set.”

Sandia is collaborating with the University of New Mexico Hospital to assess how to safely decontaminate and reuse respirators.

The team is assessing a hydrogen-peroxide vapor method currently being used by UNM Hospital, as well as less specialized techniques that could be used at smaller hospitals. Sandia’s technical breadth and experimental capabilities, including aerosol testing labs, are enabling this project supporting hospitals’ efforts to address shortages in critical personal protective equipment.

The study examines the impact of repeated decontamination cycles on N95 masks’ respirator filtration, fit and mechanical integrity. Sandia and UNM Hospital are seeking to understand degradation mechanisms and explore differences due to the make and model of the respirators and decontamination methods.

Supercritical carbon dioxide — a solvent that has properties of both a liquid and a gas — is becoming increasingly popular as an eco-friendly alternative in the dry-cleaning industry. It might also safely and reliably sterilize N95 respirators and other critical medical supplies for reuse on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic.

A Sandia team in Livermore, California, is investigating. If found to be appropriate and effective, the sterilization process could be rapidly deployed at hospitals nationwide because it is already used in commercial dry-cleaning.

Many conventional sterilization methods cannot be used because they degrade mask performance, but supercritical carbon dioxide is gentler than other chemical disinfectants and works at relatively low temperatures.

“Hospitals have different resources and different needs,” Herrera said, “so Sandia is working with medical practitioners on a wide range of approaches to help keep health care professionals protected. Together, we can find enduring solutions.”

Sandia National Laboratories is a multi-mission laboratory operated by National Technology and Engineering Solutions of Sandia LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Honeywell International Inc., for the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration. Sandia Labs has major research and development responsibilities in nuclear deterrence, global security, defense, energy technologies and economic competitiveness, with main facilities in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and Livermore, California.

HVAC Systems and Filters are Important

Heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems have never been the hottest conference or cocktail hour topic. “I’ve never gotten more than 15 people in a room that wanted to talk about ventilation,” says Theresa Pistochini, the engineering manager at the Western Cooling Efficiency Center at the University of California, Davis. But during a pandemic, her webinars draw hundreds of viewers. 

Interest in HVAC systems is due in part to changing ideas about how the virus reaches new people. If the coronavirus was only dispersed by big spit droplets, no one would be talking about the efficacy of ventilation systems, says Brent Stephens, an indoor air pollution and filtration researcher at the Illinois Institute of Technology. Those globules would hit the ground long before a fan would suck them into a filter. But more scientists are agreeing that the virus moves through smaller particles, too — ones that float through the air and can get trapped by some filtration systems. 

The question of how the virus spreads is complicated by conflicting definitions of “droplet” in the research community. When aerosol scientists talk about droplets, they mean pretty big globs. “Those are like, ballistic droplets that land in your eye,” Stephens says. The particle size the WHO and CDC calls a droplet — a fleck 5 micrometers across — is small enough that Stephens and his colleagues consider those specks capable of floating through the air. Though the WHO has yet to agree with the hundreds of other scientists that say the coronavirus spreads via smaller particles, what the organization considers a “droplet” already qualifies as an airborne fleck in the eyes of other professionals.

The good news is that there are filters that trap some of the tiniest virus-carrying spit bits. One variety called a MERV-13 filter takes on the majority of particles between 0.3 and 1 micrometers in size. A more restrictive option, the HEPA filter, catches 99.97 percent of 0.3 micrometer particles. Offices, schools and restaurants may opt to install these filters in ventilation systems. 

For the virus-sifting to actually happen, air needs to circulate in a building and bring the floating virus to the filter. Some buildings struggle achieving the right air flow. 

Pistochini saw this while studying ventilation in California public school classrooms. She and her team inspected the recently-updated HVAC systems in 104 classrooms across the state and found that 51 percent were installed incorrectly or had faulty filters or fans. Per industry recommendations, state regulations say that every second, seven liters of air need to flow through the room per student. The team calculated that the average classroom only moved about three quarters of the air it should. “We were really surprised we saw the prevalence of problems that we did,” Pistochini says.

Some of these issues might be due to insufficient expertise and oversight. Though the industry association ASHRAE has recommendations on how building ventilation should be maintained, individual state protocols decide how that happens, Pistochini says. In California, the public schools are expected to do their own policing of their HVAC functionality. Installation and maintenance of HVAC systems is also a technical job. Organizations issue certifications to qualified repair people, and there are specific tools required. “Districts need to do this with certified technicians in order to really get it right,” Pistochini says.

She also thinks each classroom should have a carbon dioxide detector installed. Levels of the chemical — which we all exhale — serve as a proxy for how much fresh air moves into the room. If CO2 concentration rises above what state-specified airflow would maintain, then the school building knows it’s time to inspect the HVAC system. 

At the end of June, the California legislature introduced a bill that would provide funding for classroom CO2 detectors and inspections of school HVAC systems before reopening. The text is very similar to what Pistochini and her colleagues put on their program website.

Buildings too old to keep up with modern air filtration infrastructure might need stand-alone, plug-in units. This could be the case in, say, decades-old and historic college campus classrooms, Stephens says. 

Before installing one of these filters, there are a few things to look for on the box. One is that the machine uses a HEPA filter, the more aggressive of the two filter options. The device also needs a Clean Air Delivery Rate. This value shows how much air the system filters per second, depending on the particle size you’re targeting — again, for HEPA filters, that’s 0.3 micrometers. The number also proves a third party vetted the filter, a necessary qualification. "The air cleaner industry is fraught with people selling technologies that don’t really work," he says. Finally, the filter ought to say what square footage room it can handle. 

Freestanding devices can be useful even in environments with an HVAC system, Stephens says. Those building-wide units often cut the fan once the room is at the right temperature — and constant airflow is crucial to the whole filtration concept. 

Though Stephens thinks improved air filtration should be a line of defense below social distancing and mask-wearing, he’s helping his campus prepare for improved air purification. And Pistochini adds that improved filtration doesn’t mean schools should open. There are other factors to consider.

But once the pandemic is over, there are still benefits to gain from proper classroom ventilation. Research has shown that attendance records and academic performance drop in poorly-ventilated schools. And if your office has bad airflow, any of its accompanying mental slog might follow you too. “A lot of important decisions are made in board rooms and conference rooms where you have a dense number of people and expect good decisions to be made,” Pistochini says. 

Ultimately, Pistochini hopes the need to minimize coronavirus exposure will motivate these school HVAC changes in California. “If this isn’t enough, I don’t know what is.”

Denver Schools Installing MERV 13 Systems

In an effort to stem the spread of the coronavirus, the heating, ventilation, and cooling systems in Denver schools will be upgraded before students return to class next month.

The school board on Thursday unanimously approved $4.9 million in HVAC upgrades. The district will contract with seven companies to complete the work, which will include assessing HVAC systems at more than 150 school buildings, making necessary repairs and upgrades, cleaning the equipment, and upgrading air filters.

It’s one of the strongest things we can do within the schools in terms of helping the children and the staff,” said Michael O’Keeffe, the district’s deputy chief of operations.

Research shows COVID-19 is largely transmitted through contact with droplets from coughs and sneezes. But scientists are also seeing some evidence that the virus can linger in the air in crowded, indoor spaces.

The federal Centers for Disease Control recommends employers increase the ratings of air filters in their buildings to MERV 13. MERV ratings measure a filter’s ability to capture particles. The standard for air filters in Denver schools is currently MERV 8. The district plans to upgrade school filters to MERV 11 or 13, depending on what each school’s HVAC system can handle.

Denver Public Schools announced late last month that it plans to reopen its schools to in-person learning this fall. Denver moved all learning online in March to help stop the spread of COVID-19. Families can opt to continue online learning or send their children back to school in person. School is set to begin again on Aug. 17.

Superintendent Susana Cordova told the school board she’s gotten lots of emails from parents asking specifically whether the district plans to upgrade its HVAC systems.

Framingham, MA to Spend $700,00 on Upgrading HVAC and Room Air Purifiers

Framingham could spend up to $700,000 upgrading ventilation systems at city schools to protect students from coronavirus, according to a memo sent to the school committee recently.

Framingham — and every other district in the state — is in the midst of figuring out how to safely bring students back to class this fall. The state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) is requiring each district to submit a plan for reopening schools by the end of this month.

Coronavirus spreads through droplets in the air, and so proper ventilation is seen as a key way to keep person-to-person transmission low. In a memo written in June by Framingham Public Schools HVAC technician Timothy Rivers, he suggests the district upgrade filters in every building, and install needlepoint bipolar ionization machines in ventilation ducts. The district may have to purchase individual filtration units for classrooms that lack HVAC access, the memo says.

In guidance released on June 25, DESE advised school districts to work from "level service plus" budgets — meaning districts should expect additional expenses on top of what is already budgeted to pay for coronavirus safety measures. The state has already offered about $700 million to school districts, according to DESE, and will send $225 more per-pupil this fall, paid for from the federal Coronavirus Relief Fund.

The Framingham School Committee and the Board of Health are meeting in joint session Wednesday to begin discussions on how to reopen schools safely. The district's final plan may come at the July 29 School Committee meeting.