Study proves protection against infection by air purifiers

Lockdown and still no end: More contagious Corona virus variants currently make even more caution in living and working together necessary than in the past. At the same time, the restrictions on contact and the closures of institutions and businesses are having increasingly serious social, health and economic side effects. Therefore, it is all the more important to use existing possibilities to make the common stay of several people in closed spaces less dangerous.

For this purpose, the air purification specialist Keller Lufttechnik in Kirchheim unter Teck developed a mobile air purification device that removes viruses from indoor air very effectively. This has been confirmed by a recent study at the University of Stuttgart. Dr. Daniel Dobslaw, head of the Exhaust Air Purification Department at the Institute for Sanitary Engineering, Water Quality and Waste Management, tested the AmbiCube air purifier from Keller Lufttechnik with real pathogens. The pleasing result: The device filters 99.982 percent of the viruses from the room air.

The high efficiency of the AmbiCube is due to a so-called HEPA H14 filter. Such HEPA filters have been certified for a long time and are used in hospitals, for example. They reliably filter tiny particles from the air - in addition to viruses, these include bacteria, pollen, spores and fine dust. In the past, scientists proved their effectiveness by producing tiny particles of different sizes with silicone oils and testing the filters with them. Dr. Dobslaw wanted to know more. Oil reacts differently than a virus, he says, and now used real pathogens. "For our experiments, we used phi6 bacteriophages that are harmless to humans. These are viruses that only infect bacteria." The result is convincing: "We were able to show that the AmbiCube works very well. An efficiency of 99.982 percent is well above what other filters or processes offer," he explains.

Room air cleaners are particularly recommended in all indoor spaces that are used by several people: These can be offices and meeting rooms, medical practices and nursing homes, daycare centers and schools, hair salons, stores, gyms, cafeterias or restaurants, for example. "High-performance room air cleaners make such places much safer by significantly reducing the indirect risk of infection from virus-carrying liquid particles known as aerosols. Such particles can remain in the room air for hours and, according to current knowledge, are responsible for around 45 percent of infections," says Ulrich Stolz, head of technology at Keller Lufttechnik. "However, direct infection by coughing on (droplet infection) or by contact with a virus-contaminated object (smear infection) is still possible even in rooms with filtered room air. Therefore, we should continue to observe all known protective and hygienic measures there," explains the expert.

Lars Walter of Keller Lufttechnik reports that many customers wondered whether the investment in a room air purifier would also pay off in the long term. "The answer is clearly yes," he says. "Because the AmbiCube not only filters corona viruses. It simultaneously reduces the risk of catching a cold or flu in the room. Allergy sufferers can breathe a sigh of relief because it removes pollen from the air. The AmbiCube also reduces harmful particulate matter, which is very high in many indoor spaces, to a minimum." A mobile room air purifier is therefore a long-term investment in the health of everyone who uses the rooms in question.

For companies that have to accept heavy losses in sales during the pandemic, the government pays so-called bridging aids. These also include support for the purchase of mobile room air purifiers. Entrepreneurs can have up to 90 percent of the purchase price of an AmbiCube reimbursed within the framework of bridging assistance II or III. This makes the purchase affordable for many businesses and enables them to expand their hygiene concept in a meaningful way.

Keller Lufttechnik GmbH + Co. KG
www.keller-lufttechnik.de