Soft-X-ray-enhanced electrostatic precipitation for protection against inhalable allergens, ultrafine particles, and microbial infections.

ABSTRACT: Protection of the human lung from infectious agents, allergens, and ultrafine particles is difficult with current technologies. High-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filters remove airborne particles of >0.3 μm with 99.97% efficiency, but they are expensive to maintain. Electrostatic precipitation has been used as an inexpensive approach to remove large particles from airflows, but it has a collection efficiency minimum in the submicrometer size range, allowing for a penetration window for some allergens and ultrafine particles. Incorporating soft X-ray irradiation as an in situ component of the electrostatic precipitation process greatly improves capture efficiency of ultrafine particles. Here we demonstrate the removal and inactivation capabilities of soft-X-ray-enhanced electrostatic p

SUBMITTER: Kettleson EM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3568623 | biostudies-literature | 2013 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature