Reducing indoor virus transmission using air purifiers

Abstract

Air purifiers are limited to small polluting airborne particles and poor air circulation (fan) for bringing airborne particles inside the device. Thus, the optimal utility of domestic air purifiers (DAPs) for eliminating airborne viruses is still ambiguous. This paper addresses the above limitations using computational fluid dynamics modeling and simulations to investigate the optimal local design of a DAP in an indoor space. We also investigate the integrated fan system and the local transport of airborne viruses. Three different scenarios of using standard DAP equipment ( $144\hspace{0.17em}\hspace{0.17em}{\mathrm{m}}^3/\mathrm{h}$ ) are explored in an indoor space comprising a furnished living room $6\times 6\times 2.5\hspace{0.17em}\hspace{0.17em}{\mathrm{m}}^3$ . We show that the local positioning of a purifier indoors and the fan system embedded inside it can significantly alter the indoor airborne virus transmission risk. Finally, we propose a new indoor air circulation system that better ensures indoor airborne viruses' local orientation more efficiently than a fan embedded in a standard DAP.