INNOVATION


Air purifi cation: Here to stay?


Air purifi cation, to combat an airborne infection, became a key tool in keeping restaurants open and reassuring customers during the Covid pandemic. Jim Banks asks industry experts how the technology is evolving and whether air purifi cation will remain as important now we are moving to a post-Covid world


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arly on in the Covid-19 pandemic, it was established that transmission commonly occurred in enclosed spaces. Thus was born the policy of social distancing in public places and the isolation of infected people to limit the spread of the disease. That approach, while well-intentioned and fairly eff ective, was disastrous for the foodservice sector – as it was for many other industries. For economic reasons, the speedy reopening of businesses was a top priority, but strict hygiene standards were essential to keep the rate of infection to a minimum. Handwashing and sanitizing equipment and furnishings in restaurants


was a major focus of attention, but Covid is an airborne infection. Air quality is just as important as clean hands. The European Centre for Disease Control and Prevention noted back in 2020 that, if well-maintained and adapted for use in the Covid-19 pandemic, heating, ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC) systems could play a complementary role in decreasing potential airborne transmission of SARS- CoV-2. Nevertheless, the search to raise standards of hygiene and keep infection rates to a minimum spurred an interest in new technologies and techniques. “Most people were thinking about HVAC systems, and in restaurants 40


or 50 years ago you simply slapped up a grill hood for exhaust and make up air, and then put some AC in the seating area,” says Bill Bender FC`SI, president of W.H. Bender & associates. “Now, we have to think about the environment in a diff erent way because of Covid and other contaminants – including fumes and other bacteria – so we must have the right system designed for the space and the right equipment for the incoming air.” “Now, we have to worry about contamination, so we need to put in systems that can decontaminate the air, and Halton is one of the leaders in this fi eld,” he adds. “It is all about enabling wellbeing through fi ltration and system design that is suited to the use of the room.”


Different standards


Early on in the pandemic, regulatory bodies took swift action on hygiene measures, though there were diff erences of opinion on the importance of air purifi cation. Germany, for example, was swift to invest, putting €500m into the installation of ventilation systems in public buildings. Basing its actions on studies suggesting that the droplets, called aerosols, exhaled by infected people could remain in a room’s air for at least eight minutes.


The recommendation of air


purifi cation devices with high effi ciency particulate air (HEPA) fi lters, especially portable devices that could easily be positioned in places where people were gathered, soon extended beyond public buildings to other industries. Furthermore, German authorities recommended the addition of devices with additional UVC radiation capability.


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