Catching COVID-19 with Korean 'Ultrafine Water Droplets'

Development of Human-Safe, Eco-Friendly Sterilizing Ultrafine Droplet Mass Production Technology
Advanced Technology Beyond Japan's Panasonic for COVID-19 Sterilization

This shows a large amount of ultrafine droplets being electrostatically sprayed from ultrafine nozzle arrays of different shapes.

[Asia Economy Reporter Junho Hwang] A technology that sterilizes the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) using ultrafine water droplets has been developed. Since it is a sterilization method using pure water, it does not harm the human body and is environmentally friendly. The research team is developing an air purifier utilizing this technology and expects it to contribute to COVID-19 prevention efforts.

Professor Seungseop Lee and Dr. Jihoon Jung from the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) announced on the 14th that they have developed a mass production method (electrostatic spraying) for ultrafine water droplets with COVID-19 sterilization functionality. This technology was created by applying research on electrostatic spraying of water using polymer ultrafine nozzles, which was introduced in the international journal Polymer in April.

Development of Ultrafine Water Droplet Spraying Technology Ahead of Japanese Products

(a) shows a large amount of ultrafine droplets being electrostatically sprayed.
(b) is an enlarged view of (a), showing droplets at the micron scale.

The research team developed a technology that traps 'OH radicals' in fine water droplets, extending their lifespan and making them useful for sterilization. It is an electrostatic spraying method using polymer ultrafine nozzles, which were developed for the first time in the world through ultra-precision miniature mechanical technology. This technology enables stable electrostatic spraying even at low applied voltages. It does not generate ozone, which is harmful to the human body. The team also succeeded in mass-producing ultrafine water droplets using an array of ultrafine nozzles, independent of external environmental conditions.

Ultrafine water droplets containing OH radicals are considered to be most advanced globally in Panasonic's Nanoe technology from Japan. However, this technology condenses moisture in the air on a cold metal tip and then performs electrostatic spraying. As a result, the amount of ultrafine water droplets generated is very small, and the applied voltage is high. It also produces ozone, which is harmful to the human body.

Developing an Air Purifier Containing OH Radicals

(a) is a photo of a polymer ultrafine nozzle array. (b) is an enlarged photo of the ultrafine nozzle array, showing the polymer ultrafine nozzles with an outer diameter of 85 μm, an inner diameter of 40 μm, and a height of 150 μm, as well as the surrounding micro-protrusions in detail.

OH radicals are components with the strongest oxidative power capable of chemically decomposing and removing almost all pollutants. The oxidative power (ability to sterilize, disinfect, and decompose) of this substance is the second strongest among existing substances after fluorine. However, unlike fluorine, chlorine, or ozone, it is not toxic or harmful to the human body. Nevertheless, OH radicals easily oxidize in the air.

Professor Seungseop Lee’s research team currently plans to develop an air purifier for sterilizing the COVID-19 virus based on the 'polymer ultrafine nozzle electrostatic spraying' technology capable of mass-producing ultrafine water droplets. The research team explained that since it is a sterilization method using pure water, it is harmless to the human body and environmentally friendly, so it is expected to greatly aid COVID-19 prevention in the future.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.