CSIR-IMTECH validates new technology that deactivates Covid19 virus within one minute

Team L&M

A recent study by the University of Chicago shows that Indians are losing 5 to 10 years of their lives because of air pollution. And another study by Harvard University shows that the combination of air pollution and Covid19 is more severe and dangerous. With India having one of the worst air quality in the world, which rises during the winters, it’s time to gear up for the battle against unseen evils in the air around us i.e. germs like Covid19 and other air pollutants.

A new technology from IIT Bombay and IIT Kanpur has proven to be effective against both air pollution and human coronavirus, Covid19. The innovation “Anti-Microbial Air Purification Technology” tested at CSIR-IMTECH was able to deactivate SARS-CoV-2 with an efficiency of 99.9 per cent within one minute.

Existing air purifiers in the market work on a capture mechanism and with continuous usage they become a breeding ground for germs as these germs grow on the filters. The technology developed at IIT Bombay and IIT Kanpur works on the D-C-D mechanism i.e. Deactivate-Capture-Deactivate mechanism:

♦ Deactivate Inflight deactivation of germs by UVC irradiations and bombardment with OH radicals such that it is optimized for higher residence time and intensity

♦ Capture: Germs are captured using coated filters

♦ Deactivate: Germs are destroyed by the OH radicals formed in the process of ionization and continuous UVC irradiation inside the anti-microbial air purifier

The research on Anti-Microbial Air Purification Technology was started by CEO AiRTH, Ravi Kaushik while he was a student at IIT Bombay pursuing his Masters in Environmental Engineering. Research led him to identify a dangerous gap in the current air purification technologies which motivated him to build AiRTH. The technology was perfected at IIT Kanpur with support from SIIC (Startup Incubation and Innovation Centre) under the guidance of Professor Amitabha Bandyopadhyay. The Department of Science and Technology too played a crucial role in the development of the technology by AiRTH. The technology has been validated by CSIR-NPL, CSIR-CDRI, among others.