Capillary Material Oxidant Distribution for Air Disinfection
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing air purifiers face limitations in effectively reducing pollutant levels in indoor air due to inadequate release of reactants, requiring complex technical implementations to improve aerosol formation and gas throughput.
Innovation Solution
A device with a disinfection space containing a capillary material that absorbs and distributes a liquid oxidizing agent, combined with UV-C radiation to generate hydroxyl radicals, effectively reducing pollutant loads in air by enhancing aerosol formation and gas throughput without complex technical means.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Quantity of substance
If a wick is used to release liquid reactant into the air stream, then aerosol formation occurs, but the reactant release is insufficient and cleaning effect is unsatisfactory
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the wick with a porous body made of porous material that has a large internal surface area. The liquid reactant is applied to the porous body, which then releases it into the air stream through its porous structure. This provides significantly greater surface area for reactant release compared to a wick, thereby improving both the quantity of reactant released and the cleaning effect.
Solution Approach 2:
The porous body is designed with differentiated regions: a first region with a first internal surface area and a second region with a second internal surface area. This local quality variation allows optimization of reactant release in different zones of the disinfection chamber, improving overall efficiency while maintaining simple structure.
2Quantity of substance
If air flow is directed through liquid reactant or sprayed, then aerosol formation is improved, but the technical implementation becomes complex
Solution Approach 1:
The porous body automatically releases the liquid reactant into the air stream through its porous structure without requiring external pumping, spraying mechanisms, or complex flow control systems. The structure itself performs the aerosol generation function, eliminating the need for additional technical components and keeping the device simple.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention extracts the aerosol generation function from complex mechanical systems (pumps, sprayers) and embeds it in the passive porous structure. The porous body alone, when saturated with liquid reactant, suffices to generate the necessary aerosol, removing unnecessary complexity from the device.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The device achieves a strong and reliable disinfecting effect with high gas throughput by using capillary material to distribute oxidizing agents and UV-C radiation, effectively reducing pollutants like pathogens, odors, and volatile organic compounds in indoor air.
Implementation Method 1
an aerosol generating arrangement comprising a capillary material which can be flowed through by the gas stream
Implementation Method 2
Hydroxyl radicals are then generated in the aerosol using a UV radiation generator
Data Source
Figure 1
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AI summary
The invention relates to a device (1) for reducing pollutant levels in a gas (2), comprising a gas inlet (3) and a gas outlet (4), as well as a disinfection chamber (5) arranged between them, through which a gas stream (6) flowing from the gas inlet (3) to the gas outlet (4) can flow. An aerosol generation arrangement (11) comprising a capillary material (10) is provided, which is arranged within the disinfection chamber (5) so that the gas stream (6) can flow through it. The capillary material (10) extends into a liquid reservoir (14) containing a liquid oxidizing agent (15).