Practical scale evaluation of a photocatalytic air purifier equipped with a Titania-zeolite composite bead filter for VOC removal and viral inactivation

Abstract

A practical scale photocatalytic air purifier equipped with a TiO2/H-ZSM-5 composite bead filter was demonstrated to be able to effectively remove indoor volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and viruses with sustainable performances under UVA-LED illumination. TiO2 hybridized with 5 wt% H-ZSM-5 zeolite significantly enhanced its photocatalytic activity for degrading VOCs including formaldehyde, acetaldehyde, and toluene, than bare TiO2. H-ZSM-5 provided strong adsorption sites for these compounds, thus accelerating their photocatalytic conversion into CO2 by adjacent TiO2 photocatalyst. Moreover, owing to its superior adsorption capacity, the composite bead filter completely prevented the emission of formaldehyde produced by photocatalytic oxidation of toluene. The sustainability of this composite bead filter for VOC removal was confirmed by regeneration and accelerated durability tests. In addition, the photocatalytic air purifier was effective in removing aerosolized viral particles of bacteriophage Phi-X 174. It was confirmed that the viruses on filter surfaces were completely inactivated by photocatalytic oxidation. TiO2/H-ZSM-5 composite beads also exhibited excellent efficacies for inactivation of pathogenic coronaviruses including SARS-CoV-2. The photocatalytic process degraded viral RNAs of SARS-CoV-2 by more than 99.999% in 1 h, eliminating the viral infectivity. Results of this study suggest that the air purifier equipped with the composite bead filter is ready for practical applications for home and hospital uses.