Removal of Indoor Airborne Bacteria by Nano-Ag/TiO2 as Photocatalyst: Feasibility Study in Museum and Nursing Institutions

Abstract

Deterioration of indoor air quality attributable to airborne bacterial consortia is a widespread environmental problem. The main objective of this study is to evaluate the feasibility of applying the syngetic effect of nano-Ag/TiO2 as a photocatalyst and UV light to enhance the disinfecting capability of full-scale bacterial restraining equipment on-site in the National Museum of Natural Science and a medical-nursing institute. The influence of initial counts of total airborne bacteria and volume of space on the efficiency of bacterial restraining have been studied. In the case of museum application, a higher initial total bacterial count leads to better bacterial restraining rates; Site A (initial total bacterial counts = 506 CFU/m3) has the best bacterial restraining rate (92%) as compared with Site B (69%, initial total bacterial counts = 158 CFU/m3) and Site C (80%, initial total bacterial counts = 338 CFU/m3) after 24 h of operation. Higher initial counts of total airborne bacteria lead to an incr...