Researchers have claimed to design a coronavirus trap, a ‘catch and kill’ air filter, that can trap the virus and kill it instantly.
The claim came up in the midst of rising coronavirus cases across the globe with 13.3 million cases and 578,000 deaths globally and efforts underway to develop a cure from the virus.
According to researchers from the University of Houston, in collaboration with Medistar and others, the Texas Centre for Superconductivity at UH has designed the trap.
Tests performed at the Galveston National Laboratory found that 99.8 per cent of the virus was killed in a single pass through the filter made from nickel foam, heated to about 392 degrees Fahrenheit.
The air filter was also able to kill 99.9 per cent of the anthrax spores in testing at the national lab run by the University of Texas Medical Branch.
“This filter could be useful in airports, aeroplanes, office buildings, schools and cruise ships to stop the spread of COVID-19,” said Zhifeng Ren, MD Anderson Chair and Professor of Physics at UH and the co-corresponding author for the research paper.
Medistar has also proposed a desk-top model for the filter, which will be capable of purifying the air in someone’s immediate surroundings.
However, nickel foam has low resistivity, making it difficult to raise the temperature high enough to quickly kill the virus. But the issue was solved by folding the foam, connecting multiple compartments with electrical wires to increase the resistance.
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The electronic heating helped to reduce the amount of heat the escaped the filter, allowing it to function more efficiently, with minimum strain.
The company has planned a phased roll-out of the device, beginning with high-priority venues where essential workers are at an elevated risk of exposure to the virus.
These places include schools, hospitals, healthcare facilities, etc. This will help to keep frontline workers safe and will help people in non-essential services to return back to their workplaces.
