A research team led by Dr. Seunghun Lee of the Department of Nano-Bio Convergence succeeded in developing a plasma air conditioning technology that can inactivate the coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) aerosol in real-time. The technology verified the real-time virus inactivation in aerosol where the COVID-19 is mainly transmitted. 

The plasma filter developed by the research team uses dielectric filter discharge technology to inactivate the coronavirus aerosol with reactive oxygen species and electric field. The research team confirmed that the coronavirus was inactivated by about 99.8% or more immediately after passing through the plasma filter. The plasma filter uses catalyst materials which are non-ozone-depleting substance and are able to be applied to air purifiers and air conditioning equipment. In addition, the research team installed a catalyst at the rear end of the plasma filter to maintain the concentration of emitted ozone below the regulation value, which solved the ozone emission problem, a weakness of plasma technology, and satisfied various standards related to ozone emission.

Until now, the coronavirus inactivation experiment has been conducted in a liquid form in a petri dish, not in the form of an aerosol. Due to the dangers of high-risk viral aerosol experiments, it is extremely rare to directly verify the inactivation of aerosol transmission of coronavirus. The verification of the virus inactivation in aerosol form has been constantly required as the actual situation and the experimental conditions are different.

Collaborated with the clinical research center of Masan National Tuberculosis Hospital, the research team developed an experimental device that can directly evaluate the virus inactivation performance by spraying the aerosol of the coronavirus culture medium. The research on the evaluation of plasma filter performance is submitted to international journals. If the technology is applied to air purifiers and air conditioning equipment of medical facilities and multi-use facilities, it is expected to suppress the spread of infectious diseases.

Dr. Seunghun Lee, the lead researcher and a senior researcher at KIMS, said, “Developing various quarantine materials and parts is important, but there are insufficient empirical studies using aerosols of a highly pathogenic virus. By utilizing the inactivation data of the coronavirus aerosol obtained in this study and predicting the performance of bio-aerosol removal in a virtual space using digital twin, we plan to conduct follow-up studies to calculate the first processing time and optimal arrangement required for quarantine of multi-use facilities.”

This research was funded by the Ministry of Science and ICT and supported by the Fundamental Research Program of KIMS. The research team completed two technology transfers regarding plasma air purifiers and air conditioning parts last year. In particular, a film-type plasma filter-applied air purifier is planned to be released in February after completing the group standard certification and coronavirus inactivation test. The product was exhibited at the Korea Science and Technology Fair 2021 held at KINTEX, Ilsan last December.