Tech Briefs Magazine - August 2021 - 34

Mechanical &
Fluid Systems
cation system. Just as a cold glass of
lemonade would condense water on a hot
summer day, cooling down walls and ceilings
in buildings would also condense
water without first drying out the air
around the panels. The researchers de -
vised an airtight, humidity-repelling membrane
to encase the chilled panels to prevent
condensation from forming while
still allowing radiation to travel through.
Inside the Cold Tube, thermally transparent membranes separate air cooling from radiant cooling,
maintaining comfort without cooling the air or forming condensation. (Photo: Lea Ruefenacht)
In an outdoor demonstration unit, most
participants reported feeling " cool " or
" comfortable, " despite an average air temperature
of 86 °F. The panels also stayed
dry due to the special membrane.
Because the Cold Tube can make people
feel cool without dehumidifying the
air around them, the Cold Tube uses
only 50 percent of typical air conditioning
energy consumption in applicable
spaces. Beyond the energy savings, technologies
like the Cold Tube - which
works independently of indoor air temperature
and humidity - enable windows
to be kept open in increasingly hot
summers while still feeling comfortable.
In addition, the Cold Tube can offer
relief in different regions, from North
American homes and offices that currently
rely on standard HVAC systems, to
developing economies that foresee significant
need for cooling.
For more information, contact Lou
Corpuz-Bosshart at lou.bosshart@ubc.ca;
604-822-2048.
Standard Water Treatment Eliminates Enveloped Viruses
Including Coronavirus
This treatment has the potential to remove from drinking water nearly all viruses that have
an " outer fortress. "
Texas A&M University, College Station
mong the many avenues that viruses
can use to infect humans, drinking
water may pose only a tiny risk for spreading
certain viruses like the novel corona -
virus. But in cases where there is unauthorized
wastewater disposal or other events
of inadvertent mixing of wastewater with
A
water sources, the possibility of transmission
through drinking water remains
unknown.
Using a surrogate of the coronavirus
that only infects bacteria, researchers have
shown that existing water purification
plants can easily reduce vast quantities of
the virus, thereby protecting household
water from such contagions. In particular,
the researchers showed that the water
purification step called coagulation
could alone get rid of 99.999% of the
virus, markedly decon tam inating water
for consumption.
The water treatment step called coagulation causes enveloped viruses that are freely suspended in
water (left) to aggregate and form clumps (right) that can then be easily removed. (Image:
Courtesy of Dr. Shankar Chellam)
34
Cov
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ToC
Viruses can be categorized in two structural
types: those that have an outer
fortress, called an envelope, and those that
do not. This envelope, consisting of a lipid
bilayer and attached proteins, has multiple
functions including aiding the virus in
entering host cells. Several infamous viruses
have a protective envelope including
coronaviruses and the Ebola virus. Studies
have found both en veloped and nonenveloped
viruses in wastewater; however,
most research has solely focused on the
survival of nonenveloped viruses after
wastewater and water treatment.
It is well known that wastewater mixes
with drinking water supplies; in many
countries, including the United States,
wastewater is purified and used as drinking
water. If enveloped viruses persist in wasteTech
Briefs, August 2021

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Tech Briefs Magazine - August 2021

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