New study: Airborne viruses can be eliminated in 10 minutes

The use of air cleaners has become more frequent during the pandemic, but how effective are they at fighting viruses? A joint study by the Virus Research Centre at Sendai Medical Center and QleanAir Japan center has succeeded in measuring this. The result shows that the QleanAir FS 30 air cleaner can remove over 95% of airborne virus particles in only 10 minutes.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the question of whether airborne viruses can be eliminated from indoor air was raised. A joint study conducted by Sendai Medical Center and QleanAir Japan has succeeded in measuring the impact an air cleaner can make. The result shows that the air cleaner removed over 95% of airborne virus particles in just 10 minutes, with very low sound level. In comparison, the reduction requirement in the German VDI guidelines (new expert recommendation covering guidance for air cleaning, airflow, sound level, room comfort and safety) is 90% in 30 minutes.

– The fact that our technology can clean air in as short a time as 10 minutes can mean a significant difference in sensitive environments with high demands on the air quality such as hospitals, schools, offices, and hotels, says Sebastian Lindström, CEO at QleanAir.

The study, conducted at the Virus Research Center, Clinical Research Division at Sendai Medical Center in Japan, has investigated the difference an air cleaner makes to the air quality in a room. In a safe test environment, indoor air was contaminated with active influenza viruses of approximately the same particle size as SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. The air quality was measured over time, both with and without the help of a QleanAir air cleaner.

– The study shows what difference an air cleaner equipped with a high-performance, certified mechanical filter can have on air quality. We also found that the QleanAir FS 30 equipped with an EPA 11 filter performed slightly better than the HEPA 14, but that the performance of the air cleaner is decisive to indoor air quality, says Glen Shimizu, Head of Sales Japan & MD QleanAir Scandinavia K.K.

The air cleaner used in this study was the QleanAir FS 30, developed in close collaboration with Karolinska University Hospital at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic to clean the air in their intensive care unit. FS 30 HEPA/Standard delivers up to 800/1 000 m3/h air at sound levels from 19-45 dB(A). Reaching with a good margin the new requirements from German VDI as one of the few producers in the industry.

– At QleanAir are we proud to be able to provide effective air cleaners that can effectively reduce virus particles in a room, as well as being one of the first to meet the new VDI guidelines. The study results not only support the importance of choosing an air cleaner with the right technology and filter but also proves that our air cleaners reduce infectious aerosols both quickly and quietly, concludes Sebastian Lindström, CEO of QleanAir.

About the study:

• The study was conducted by Sendai Medical Center and QleanAir Japan
• The aim was to measure the impact an air cleaner can have on reducing the particle content of airborne viruses in a chamber of 25 m³
• The study was conducted in a safe test environment where the indoor air was contaminated with active influenza virus, roughly the same particle size as SARS-CoV-2.
• Air quality was measured over time, both with and without the aid of a QleanAir air cleaner
• The air cleaner used in this study was the QleanAir FS 30

Results

● It took only 10 minutes to remove over 95% of virus particles from the air

● In comparison, the particle reduction without an air cleaner was only 16.9%

● After 20 minutes approximately 99.9% was eliminated and after 30 minutes over 99.99%

● The study also compared the effectiveness of QleanAir FS 30 equipped with both HEPA 14 and EPA 11 filters.

○ Both filter combinations cleaned the air in the room very effectively

○ The unit equipped with the EPA 11 filter reached a particle reduction of 99.9% and 99.99% slightly faster due to its higher air flow

Reference

Hidekazu NISHIMURA, Seiji OHNO: Comparison of airborne virus reduction efficiencies between air purifiers with HEPA and EPA filters, Earozoru Kenkyu, 37, 1-7 (2022) doi: 10.11203/jar.37. (in Japanese)

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