Impact of Chemically Reductive Trace Air Contaminants on Non-thermal Plasma Inactivation of Airborne Viruses
Zhenyu Ma, Kenneth Chung, HEREK L. CLACK,
University of Michigan Abstract Number: 660
Working Group: Bioaerosols
AbstractOur previous work demonstrated the effectiveness of non-thermal plasmas in neutralizing airborne viruses with specific focus on animal agriculture. Clearly, since 2019, there has been increased focus on the need for such technologies in human-occupied spaces as well. In both human and animal applications, ambient air can contain trace amounts of chemical air pollutants; in animal agriculture, ammonia and hydrogen sulfide dominate. We have experimentally investigated the effect of trace chemically reducing air pollutants on the performance of a plasma reactor to inactivate bacteriophage MS2 aerosols by conducting plaque assays on collected aerosols upstream and downstream of the plasma reactor. Inactivation results are reported after subtracting aerosol filtration through the reactor. Results show that the introduction of 1 ppm of NH
3 in air slightly decreased the inactivation efficiency, but to a degree that was not statistically significant. Introduction of 1 ppm of H
2S and NO had more profound inhibitory effects on plasma inactivation. For NH
3 and H
2S, these results suggest that plasma air sterilization could retain its effectiveness in treating outside air drawn into animal confinement buildings, but could be hindered in treating air inside such buildings where concentrations of these compounds is substantially higher than 1pmm.