What is airborne disinfection?

This is a new way of disinfecting volumes, rooms and installations by creating a fog which will diffuse in an enclosed space and will contact all surfaces.

This so called terminal disinfection should take place after cleaning sensitive areas, and enables the disinfection of hard-to-reach areas (high-up surfaces, hidden or even normally closed areas).

This method should only be used when the room has been vacated (so there is no risk to the user) and can be planned to take place during out of hours time (at night for example, so there is no waste of time).

The spinning disc technology

The principle: feeding of a liquid fed by a peristaltic pump, to the under side of a disc spinning at very high speed, between 45,000 and 60,000 revs/min.

Disque diffuseur Phileas — 3D illustration of the Airborne Disinfection Phileas system’s diffusion disc

The resulting fog is then extracted, using a fan, and removed from the influence of the centrifugal force in the diffusion head. This process and equipment is compatible with the diffusion of hydrogen peroxide based products.

Advantages

Simplicity of concept
No nozzle or air compressor
Accurate droplets between 5 and 10µm
Constant flow rate
Low energy consumption

Benefits

No risk of nozzle blockage
Low noise
No vibrations
Precise quantity control of diffused disinfectant
Battery operated, autonomous operation option on smaller devices within the range
Reproducible efficiency
Very low maintenance

The equipment/chemical product combination system

The study of available processes and useable formulas shows that the efficiency of disinfectants depends on the chosen diffusion process.

As such, the manufacturers of disinfectant products for airborne sanitising validate the efficiency of their formula with a chosen process, and therefore offer a process/product combination.

Hydrogen peroxide based biocides, for example, have a better efficiency when they are diffused in very fine droplets (between 5 and 10µm). This also enables a reduction in the content of active ingredients, whilst retaining the desired efficiency.

Which standards governs this mode of disinfection?

The AFNOR NF -T 72 281 version 2009 Norm details the validation method for bactericidal, fungicidal and sporicidal disinfection by airborne means.

This validation must take place in a space of 30 to 150m³. The test method utilises Biological Indicator of standard microbiological cultures on stainless steel supports, each test piece located at a height of 1m and at a distance of between 3 and 4.20m from the equipment, depending on the volume of the test space.

The contact time is left to the user to determine, as long as it is less than 12 hours. This contact time will be reported as part of the test results.

The reduction rate in micro-organisms populations attained to pass the test is of:

5 logarithms for bactericidal disinfection (99,999% mortality)
4 logarithms for fungicidal disinfection (99,99% mortality)
3 logarithms for sporicidal disinfection (99,99% deactivation)

DEVEA : Airbone disinfection by spinning disc technology

Why Airborne disinfection?

The inherent constraints of critical product production and of healthcare activities require a constant control of bio-contamination.

To achieve this, it is necessary to put procedures in place for hygiene control, capable of maintaining a sufficient level of cleanliness (on the particulate side as well as on the microbiological side), to guarantee optimal and safe conditions for production, work or simply functioning.. Within the range of available options for disinfection, one method has a privileged position because of its simplicity and high efficiency:
airborne disinfection.

Good manufacturing practices imposed on industries in the food processing and pharmaceutical sectors demand a production of quality products in a healthy environment.
The cosmetics sector, where allergenic preservatives are less and less used in products, is also required to control the manufacturing environment.
Labs who manipulate microorganisms or dangerous substances are required to have decontamination means to avoid contamination of external environments.
The healthcare sector, within its risk management policies, has to put in place proportionate plans of action, adapted to its specialties and according to certain types of events (infection control, pandemics, work, clean room decontamination, etc)