Effects of chemically-reductive trace gas contaminants on non-thermal plasma inactivation of an airborne virus

Transmission of airborne infectious diseases poses great risk for public health and socio-economic stability, thus, there is a need for an effective control method targeting the spread and transmission of pathogenic aerosols. The existence of chemically-reductive trace air contaminants in animal agr...

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Published in:The Science of the total environment 2024-08, Vol.939, p.173447-173447, Article 173447
Main Authors: Ma, Zhenyu, Dwivedi, Anubhav Kumar, Clack, Herek L.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Aerosol
Inactivation
Non-thermal plasma
Trace gas
Virus
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Summary:Transmission of airborne infectious diseases poses great risk for public health and socio-economic stability, thus, there is a need for an effective control method targeting the spread and transmission of pathogenic aerosols. The existence of chemically-reductive trace air contaminants in animal agriculture may affect the oxidation inactivation process of pathogens. In this study, we report how the presence of such gasses impacts the effectiveness of using non-thermal plasma (NTP) within a packed-bed dielectric barrier discharge reactor to inactivate MS2 bacteriophage. Inactivation of the aerosolized bacteriophage is determined by the combination of viability and polymerase chain reaction assays. Using a plasma power source with a voltage of 20 kV and frequency of 350 Hz, after differentiating and excluding the physical removal effects of viral aerosols potentially caused by plasma, the baseline inactivation of MS2 aerosol in air has been determined based on an overall air flow rate of 200 Liters per minute and plasma discharge power of 1.8 W. When either ammonia or hydrogen sulfide gas is introduced into the airstream at a concentration of 1 part per million, the NTP virus inactivation efficiency is reduced to around 0.5-log from the 1-log baseline inactivation in air alone. Higher concentrations of those gasses will not further inhibit the effectiveness of plasma inactivation. [Display omitted] •Non-thermal plasma can inactivate MS2 aerosols at a large air flowrate and low energy rate.•Inactivation efficiency is partially affected by chemically-reductive gaseous pollutants.•Different removal mechanisms for MS2 aerosol are accounted for.
ISSN:0048-9697
1879-1026
DOI:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.173447