Abstract
The transmission of SARS-CoV-2 through contact with contaminated surfaces or objects is an important form of transmissibility. Thus, in this study, we evaluated the performance of a disinfection chamber designed for instantaneous dispersion of the biocidal agent solution, in order to characterize a new device that can be used to protect individuals by reducing the transmissibility of the disease through contaminated surfaces. We proposed the necessary adjustments in the configuration to improve the dispersion on surfaces and the effectiveness of the developed equipment. Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulations of the present technology with a chamber having six nebulizer nozzles were performed and validated through qualitative and quantitative comparisons, and experimental tests were conducted using the method Water-Sensitive Paper (WSP), with an exposure to the biocidal agent for 10 and 30 s. After evaluation, a new passage procedure for the chamber with six nozzles and a new configuration of the disinfection chamber were proposed. In the chamber with six nozzles, a deficiency was identified in its central region, where the suspended droplet concentration was close to zero. However, with the new passage procedure, there was a significant increase in wettability of the surface. With the proposition of the chamber with 12 nozzles, the suspended droplet concentration in different regions increased, with an average increase of 266%. The experimental results of the new configuration proved that there was an increase in wettability at all times of exposure, and it was more significant for an exposure of 30 s. Additionally, even in different passage procedures, there were no significant differences in the results for an exposure of 10 s, thereby showing the effectiveness of the new configuration or improved spraying and wettability by the biocidal agent, as well as in minimizing the impact caused by human factor in the performance of the disinfection technology.
Highlights
COVID-19, a disease characterized by a severe acute respiratory syndrome and caused by coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2), first occurred in Wuhan, China and spread worldwide in a few weeks [1,2,3,4]
The search and evaluation of the efficacy of some biocidal agents and technologies that disinfect contaminated environments and surfaces is based on previous studies, mainly with related viruses, such as SARS-CoV (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus) and MERS (Middle Eastern Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus) [29,30,31]
The experimental tests were carried out twice and showed similar results, demonstrating that the applied methodology is adequate for the proposed study
Summary
COVID-19, a disease characterized by a severe acute respiratory syndrome and caused by coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2), first occurred in Wuhan, China and spread worldwide in a few weeks [1,2,3,4]. The search and evaluation of the efficacy of some biocidal agents and technologies that disinfect contaminated environments and surfaces is based on previous studies, mainly with related viruses, such as SARS-CoV (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus) and MERS (Middle Eastern Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus) [29,30,31]. There is no specific treatment for SARS-CoV-2, since the beginning of the pandemic, a race against time has begun to make a vaccine for disease prevention available quickly. The disinfection measures are part of this race for preventive methodologies, especially at the time when vaccines were not yet available and during the vaccination process, since this process has not yet been able to cover the entire population
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