US-12624852-B2 - Air conditioning system and method for disinfection of public facilities

US12624852B2US 12624852 B2US12624852 B2US 12624852B2US-12624852-B2

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to an air conditioning system and method for disinfection of a public facility. More specifically, the present disclosure relates to an air conditioning system and method for disinfection of a public facility capable of sterilizing or inactivating bio-aerosols existing in interior space by using the air conditioning equipment installed in the public facility structures.

Inventors

Seung-Hoon Lee
Sang-Jin Kim
Do-Geun Kim
Chang-Su Kim
Joo-Young Park
Sung-Hoon Jung
Joon-hwan Choi
Eun-yeon Byeon
Jong-Man Lee
Jang-Hoon HA

Assignees

KOREA INSTITUTE OF MATERIALS SCIENCE

Dates

Publication Date: 20260512
Application Date: 20230102
Priority Date: 20210421

Claims (19)

1 . An air conditioning system for disinfection of a public facility, comprising: an air conditioning equipment installed in a public facility structure; at least one air supply vent through which air is introduced from the air conditioning equipment to interior space of the public facility; at least one air inlet through which air is exhausted from the interior space of the public facility to the air conditioning equipment; a plasma filter unit installed in at least one of the air supply vent and the air inlet to collect particulate contaminants in air and sterilize or inactivate bio-aerosols with plasma; and a catalyst unit installed in at least one of the air supply vent and the air inlet to remove gaseous contaminants and ozone in air; wherein the air supply vent and the air inlet are installed in each of at least one separate room of the public facility, wherein the plasma filter unit comprises a plasma generator and a filter unit, the plasma generator including a ground electrode, a high-voltage electrode, and a porous ceramic dielectric interposed between the ground electrode and the high-voltage electrode to generate atmospheric-pressure low-temperature plasma by dielectric barrier discharge, the porous ceramic dielectric comprising at least one of alumina (Al 2 O 3 ), zirconia (ZrO 2 ), diatomaceous earth, and silica (SiO 2 ), wherein the plasma generator further comprising an antibacterial coating layer coated on the porous ceramic dielectric, wherein the plasma filter unit and the catalyst unit are integrally installed together in at least one of the air supply vent and the air inlet of each separate room; wherein, when the plasma filter unit and the catalyst unit are integrally installed together in the air supply vent, the catalyst unit and the plasma filter unit are sequentially arranged in order with respect to the air-supply direction such that particulate contaminants in the air are collected and bio-aerosols are sterilized or inactivated before the air flows into the separate room, and residual ozone and gaseous contaminants generated from the plasma generator are prevented from entering the indoor space of the separate room, wherein, when the plasma filter unit and the catalyst unit are integrally installed together in the air inlet, the plasma filter unit and the catalyst unit are sequentially arranged in order with respect to the air-intake direction such that particulate contaminants in contaminated air of the separate room are collected and bio-aerosols are sterilized or inactivated by the plasma filter unit, thereby preventing particulate contaminants and bio-aerosols from entering an air-conditioning duct, and residual ozone and gaseous contaminants generated from the plasma generator are prevented from entering the air-conditioning duct, and wherein the plasma filter unit installed in at least one of the air supply vent and air inlet is periodically or continuously operated to periodically or continuously sterilize or inactivate bio-aerosols collected in the plasma filter unit.
2 . The air conditioning system for disinfection of a public facility of claim 1 capable of operation in a general disinfection mode, wherein operation period of the plasma filter unit is maintained at less than or equal to 50% of the entire operation period of the air conditioning system for disinfection.
3 . The air conditioning system for disinfection of a public facility of claim 1 capable of operation in an intensive disinfection mode, wherein operation period of the plasma filter unit is maintained at more than 50% to less than or equal to 100% of the entire operation period of the air conditioning system for disinfection.
4 . The air conditioning system for disinfection of a public facility of claim 1 , wherein wind speed during operation of the plasma filter unit is less than or equal to 2 m/s and concentration of ozone generated from the plasma filter unit is 0.5 to 100 ppm (volume).
5 . The air conditioning system for disinfection of a public facility of claim 1 , operation period of the plasma filter unit is individually controlled for each of at least one separate room.
6 . The air conditioning system for disinfection of a public facility of claim 1 , the filter is at least one group of porous ceramic filters and polymer filters.
7 . The air conditioning system for disinfection of a public facility of claim 6 , the porous ceramic is a bead or reticulated porous ceramic.
8 . The air conditioning system for disinfection of a public facility of claim 1 , the catalyst unit comprises at least one group of activated carbons and manganese oxide groups.
9 . The air conditioning system for disinfection of a public facility of claim 1 , wherein the antibacterial coating layer comprises at least one of zinc oxide having antibacterial activity and a carbon compound converting ozone into hydroxide.
10 . An air conditioning system for disinfection of a public facility, comprising: an air conditioning equipment installed in a public facility structure; at least one air supply vent through which air is introduced from the air conditioning equipment to interior space of the public facility; at least one air inlet through which air is exhausted from the interior space of the public facility to the air conditioning equipment; and a plasma filter unit installed in the air supply vent to collect particulate contaminants in gas and sterilize or inactivate bio-aerosols with plasma, wherein the air supply vent and the air inlet are installed in each of at least one separate room of the public facility, wherein the plasma filter unit comprises a plasma generator and a filter unit, the plasma generator including a ground electrode, a high-voltage electrode, and a porous ceramic dielectric interposed between the ground electrode and the high-voltage electrode to generate atmospheric-pressure low-temperature plasma by dielectric barrier discharge, wherein the porous ceramic dielectric comprising at least one of alumina (Al 2 O 3 ), zirconia (ZrO 2 ), diatomaceous earth, and silica (SiO 2 ), wherein the plasma generator further comprising an antibacterial coating layer coated on the porous ceramic dielectric, wherein the plasma filter unit installed in the air supply vent is periodically or continuously operated to sterilize or inactivate bio-aerosols collected in the plasma filter unit, wherein, when at least one separate room is emptied, the system operates in an intensive disinfection mode in which an operation period of the plasma filter unit is maintained at 50% to 100% of an entire operation period of the air conditioning system for disinfection, and ozone generated from the plasma filter unit is discharged to the outside of the public facility through the air conditioning equipment via the air inlet.
11 . The air conditioning system for disinfection of a public facility of claim 10 , wherein, during operation in the intensive disinfection mode, ozone concentration in the separate room or the air conditioning equipment is maintained at 0.5 to 100 ppm (volume).
12 . The air conditioning system for disinfection of a public facility of claim 7 , operation period of the plasma filter unit is individually controlled for each of at least one separate room.
13 . The air conditioning system for disinfection of a public facility of claim 10 , further comprising a catalyst unit installed in the air supply vent and prevents flow of remaining ozone from flowing into interior space, wherein the catalyst unit comprises at least one group of activated carbons and manganese oxide groups and is configured to remove gaseous contaminants and ozone in the air.
14 . The air conditioning system for disinfection of a public facility of claim 10 , wherein the antibacterial coating layer comprises at least one of zinc oxide having antibacterial activity and a carbon compound converting ozone into hydroxide.
15 . A method of general disinfection of a public facility using the air conditioning system for disinfection of a public facility of claim 1 , comprising: i) periodically sterilizing or inactivating bio-aerosols collected in the plasma filter unit for certain period by periodic operation of the plasma filter unit installed in at least one of the air supply vent and the air inlet of at least one separate room; and ii) removing ozone generated from the plasma filter unit in the catalyst unit.
16 . The general disinfection method of a public facility of claim 15 , comprising: in step i), collecting particulate matters and sterilizing or inactivating bio-aerosols with ozone in the plasma filter unit by the plasma filter unit and the catalyst unit installed together in the air supply vent or in the air inlet of at least one separate room; and, in step ii), removing ozone generated from the plasma filter unit in the catalyst unit before flowing into the interior space or the air conditioning duct, wherein operation period of the plasma filter unit is maintained at less than or equal to 50% of the entire operation period of the air conditioning system.
17 . An intensive disinfection method of a public facility using the air conditioning system for disinfection of a public facility of claim 1 , comprising: i) continuously sterilizing or inactivating bio-aerosols collected in the plasma filter unit by continuous operation of the plasma filter unit installed in at least one of the air supply vent and air inlet of at least one separate room; and ii) operating in an intensive disinfection mode by maintaining operation period of the plasma filter unit at more than 50% to less than or equal to 100% of the entire operation period and maintaining ozone concentration in the separate room or the air conditioning equipment at 0.5 to 100 ppm (volume).
18 . The intensive disinfection method of a public facility of claim 17 , comprising: in step i), collecting particulate matters in the plasma filter unit installed in the air inlet of at least one separate room and sterilizing or inactivating bio-aerosols by ozone and removing ozone in the catalyst unit installed in the air supply vent of at least one separate room to prevent inflow of ozone to at least one separate room.
19 . The intensive disinfection method of a public facility of claim 17 , comprising: in step i), when at least one separate room is emptied, disinfecting at least one separate room by generating ozone from the plasma filter unit installed in the air supply vent of at least one separate room; and, in completion of the disinfection, emitting remaining ozone in at least one separate room through the air inlet of at least one separate room by passing the air conditioning equipment to outside of the structure.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD This disclosure relates to an air conditioning system and method for disinfection of a public facility. More specifically, this disclosure relates to an air conditioning system and method for disinfection of a public facility using an air conditioner of the public facility capable of sterilizing or deactivating indoor bio-aerosols. BACKGROUND There exist a lot of bio-aerosols or pathogens which comprehensively refer to microorganisms such as viruses, bacteria or fungi that are harmful to human bodies in public facilities, such as hospitals, schools, public transportations, airports, etc. Their entrance to the body through respiratory system or contact with body may possibly cause diseases. Some are highly contagious so that a lot of pathogenic infections or casualties may be caused within a short period. For example, as seen in the cases of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) and Coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19), there is a problem in that the occurrence of secondary infections may rapidly increase due to the lack of management skills for pathogens in the indoor air of public facilities. In order to solve the problem, it is necessary to periodically manage indoor air quality to remove pathogens and, in case of indoor contamination by pathogens, immediately control the area to take preventive measures against spread of pathogens. However, without specifically implemented system as above, there is a problem in that the preventive measures against the spread of infectious diseases may be delayed due to insufficient response to infectious diseases caused by bio-aerosols. Furthermore, in case of contamination of a duct inside an air conditioning system of a public facility, recirculation of indoor air may accelerate spread of infectious diseases and generate undesirable odor. In addition to the problems, according to increasing social demand for an indoor environment safe from pathogens, need for an air conditioning system for effective removal and prevention of spread of bio-aerosol or pathogens in the air is increasing. As a background art of this disclosure, a device for forming isolation chamber and method for cleaning and fumigating isolation chamber is disclosed in Japanese Patent Registration No. 5475319. DISCLOSURE Technical Problem An object of this disclosure is to provide an air conditioning system and method for disinfection of a public facility capable of collecting, sterilizing and inactivating indoor bio-aerosols using air conditioning equipment of public facilities. Another object of this disclosure is to provide an air conditioning system and method for disinfection of a public facility with excellent bio-aerosol collection and sterilization performance. Another object of this disclosure is to provide an air conditioning system and method for disinfection of a public facility with a catalyst unit capable of removing reactive oxygen/nitrogen species such as ozone generated from contaminants or plasma of gas in the air. Another object of this disclosure is to provide an air conditioning system and method for disinfection of a public facility to effectively take preventive measures against bio-aerosols by optimizing configurations of a plasma filter unit and a catalyst unit according to characteristics of spaces in the public facility. Another object of this disclosure is to provide an air conditioning system and method for disinfection of a public facility capable of effectively control bio-aerosols by optimized disinfection method according to characteristics of spaces in the public facility. Another object of this disclosure is to provide an air conditioning system and method for disinfection of a public facility capable of sterilizing and removing undesirable odor from ducts of the air conditioning system of the public facility. Another object of this disclosure is to provide an air conditioning system and method for disinfection of a public facility to evacuate humans and intensively take indoor preventive measures in case of heavy contamination with pathogens. Other objects and advantages of this disclosure will become more apparent from the following detailed description, claims and drawings of this disclosure. Technical Solution In one aspect, an air conditioning system for disinfection of a public facility comprising: an air conditioning equipment installed in a public facility structure; at least one air supply vent through which air is introduced from the air conditioning equipment to interior space of the public facility; at least one air inlet through which air is exhausted from the interior space of the public facility to the air conditioning equipment; a plasma filter unit installed in at least one of the air supply vent and the air inlet to collect particulate contaminants in air and sterilize or inactivate bio-aerosols with plasma; and a catalyst unit installed in at least one of the air supply vent and the air inlet to remove gaseous contaminants and ozone i