UV LED photocatalytic air purification device for pathogen inactivation and chemical pollutant oxidation

Overview

This solution offers a UV LED photocatalytic air purification device capable of inactivating pathogenic microorganisms and oxidizing chemical air pollutants in air streams. The technology targets greater than 99% destruction efficiency for target contaminants while avoiding ozone generation and the release of other photochemical oxidants. The approach is grounded in an existing, validated UV-A (365 nm) photocatalytic platform originally developed to reduce evaporative fuel vapor emissions in automobiles, where it removed more than 65% of emissions from a standard onboard fuel vapor recovery system. The device can be re-designed and optimized to meet specific client requirements for indoor air quality, industrial emission control, or other air purification needs.

Technical specifications

Key features:

• Uses UV-A LEDs at 365 nm wavelength, which do not generate ozone during operation
• Photocatalytic oxidation mechanism destroys both biological contaminants (pathogenic microorganisms) and chemical vapors (volatile organic compounds)
• Validated performance includes greater than 99% destruction of ethanol vapors at 1000 ppm and approximately 70% destruction of hexane vapors at 1000 ppm
• Stable continuous operation demonstrated for over 30 days with no degradation in performance against ethanol or hexane vapors
• Design is adaptable, allowing reconfiguration of reactor geometry, LED arrangement, and catalyst composition to target different pollutant profiles
• Computational fluid dynamics modeling planned to optimize internal airflow patterns and maximize contact between contaminated air and the photocatalytic surface

Technology readiness level

The underlying UV-A LED photocatalytic technology has been built and experimentally validated against representative chemical vapor challenges, demonstrating high destruction efficiencies and stable long-term operation. Microbial inactivation will draw on established photocatalytic oxidation literature combined with targeted experimental validation. Future work includes generating client-specific air pollution challenges, quantifying performance using standard laboratory methods such as microorganism assays and chromatography, and iterating the device design to improve effectiveness and efficiency. The technology is positioned for collaborative refinement and pilot-scale validation with industry partners.