Tech Briefs Magazine - May 2022 - 60

SPINOFF
A
s it became clear at the onset of
COVID-19 pandemic that coronavirus
was transmitted through the air, several
companies realized their NASA-derived
air-quality technologies could help
combat its spread.
One of these was ActivePure Technology,
formerly Aerus Holdings. Just after lockdowns
took effect in May of 2020, Joe Urso,
CEO and chairman of the Dallas-based
company, said ActivePure had gone
through six months' worth of its inventory
in the preceding few weeks. By that December,
Urso said business was steady at about
five times pre-pandemic levels.
At TFI Environmental Company Inc.,
CEO and director John Hurley noted
that products like his company's Respicaire
air purifiers, which use the same
family of technology as ActivePure's,
usually fill a small niche - " until something
like this happens. "
Accustomed to working to convince
people of the importance of indoor air
quality, in late 2020 he said his Toronto-based
company, swamped with orders,
no longer had to convince anyone.
Respicaire's most popular products, and
all of ActivePure's air purifiers, are based
on a technology developed in the 1990s at
the Wisconsin Center for Space Automation
and Robotics (WCSAR), a NASA Research
Partnership Center at the University
of Wisconsin-Madison at the time, sponsored
by the space agency's Marshall Space
Flight Center in Huntsville, AL.
Researchers there wanted to eliminate
the plant hormone ethylene from the air
around plants in spacecraft. Without gravity
to move the air around, ethylene accumulated
around plants, causing premature
withering. But the solution they
devised, known as photocatalytic oxidation,
eliminated a lot more than ethylene.
Photocatalytic oxidation starts when ultraviolet
light hits titanium dioxide, a common,
naturally occurring chemical compound
installed inside the device. This
releases electrons, which then combine
with oxygen and water molecules in the
surrounding air. The oxygen and water,
60
The OXY 4 air purifier, based on photocatalytic
oxidation, is one of the most popular Respicaire
air purifiers. (Photo: TFI Environmental
Company)
Engineers at the NASA-funded Wisconsin Center
for Space Automation and Robotics came
up with photocatalytic oxidation as a way to
prevent the buildup of ethylene. (Photo: NASA)
at the University of Tokyo. " Fujishima
and I were among the earlier scientists
refining this photocatalytic process to
make it a practical environmental technology.
Now they're pretty much all
building on work we all did nearly three
decades ago, " said Anderson.
At TFI Environmental, Hurley said he
was surprised when he discovered the
technique while scouring air-purification
research. " NASA, to me, was rocket
engines and fancy technology and all
kinds of expensive gear. "
However, photocatalytic oxidation
wasn't the perfect solution. For example,
the process can generate ozone, which
can be harmful, and organic compounds
might be only partially broken down, resulting
in unwanted chemicals. Each
company has made advances to mitigate
these downsides.
Testing has shown that neither compaActivePure
Technology's Medical Guardian air
purifier got Food and Drug Administration
clearance as a medical device in June of 2020.
(Photo: ActivePure Technology)
now with a charge, attract organic contaminants,
causing reactions that turn them
into carbon dioxide and water. Among the
pollutants destroyed are volatile organic
compounds and other harmful or
odor-causing chemicals, as well as mold
spores, bacteria, and viruses.
Marc Anderson, the professor who led
the project at WCSAR, was one of two researchers
leading efforts during the
1980s to purify air and water with titanium
dioxide-induced photocatalytic oxidation
- the other was Akira Fujishima
www.techbriefs.com
TB NASA Spinoff 0522_1.indd 60
Cov
ToC
ny's devices add ozone to the air. Last summer,
the U.S. Food and Drug Administration
cleared ActivePure's new Medical
Guardian product as a medical device on
the basis of its efficacy and safety, including
assurance that it doesn't cause concerning
chemical by-products through partial oxidation.
Respicaire devices often incorporate
a combination of photocatalytic oxidation
and other technology like
activated-carbon filters that remove chemicals
and particulate matter.
Testing last year showed that both companies'
purifiers were effective in eliminating
the SARS-CoV-2 virus.
For more info visit https://spinoff.nasa.gov/
clean-air-tech.
Tech Briefs, May 2022
Spinoff is NASA's annual publication featuring
successfully commercialized NASA technology. This
commercialization has contributed to the development
of products and services in the fields of health and
medicine, consumer goods, transportation, public safety,
computer technology, and environmental resources.
Combating COVID-19 with Clean Air Tech
NASA-derived air-quality technologies help curtail the spread of the pandemic.
4/18/22 4:59 PM
https://spinoff.nasa.gov/clean-air-tech http://www.techbriefs.com http://info.hotims.com/82321-831
Tech Briefs Magazine - May 2022

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