Reducing environmental radon

• US 10,276,275 B2
• Filed: 12/04/2017
• Issued: 04/30/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 09/11/2017
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Arvin, Charles L., Gordon, Michael S.
• Primary Examiner(s): Vanore, David A
• Application Number:
  US15/830,422
• Publication Number:
  US 20190080810A1
• Time in Patent Office: 512 Days
• Field of Search: 422122, 95 69, 95 70, 95 55
• CPC Class Codes: B01D 2257/11 Noble gases
• CPC Class Codes: B01D 2258/06 Polluted air
• CPC Class Codes: B01D 2259/4508 for cleaning air in buildings
• CPC Class Codes: B01D 49/00 Separating dispersed particles from gases, air or vapours by other methods
• CPC Class Codes: B01D 53/0407 Constructional details of adsorbing systems
• CPC Class Codes: G21F 1/12 Laminated shielding materials
• CPC Class Codes: G21F 3/02 Clothing
• CPC Class Codes: G21F 5/06 Details of, or accessories to, the containers
• CPC Class Codes: G21F 9/02 Treating gases

Abstract

A method is presented for collecting and removing radon from a confined area, a storage box or articles of clothing. The method includes collecting radon from the confined area or around a storage box via at least one collector, connecting each of a plurality of radon adsorbers to a corresponding power supply or power source such as a battery, capacitor, fuel cell, etc. diverting, via a plurality of valves, the collected radon or radon daughters through one or more of the plurality of radon adsorbers, and receiving, via a plurality of radon storage units, radon or radon daughters held by the plurality of radon adsorbers for a predetermined period of time.

Claims

1. A method for collecting and removing radon and radon daughters from a confined area, the method comprising:

incorporating a plurality of radon adsorbers within a structure of the confined area;

negatively biasing the plurality of radon adsorbers within the structure by a metal fiber coating applied thereon; and

attracting the radon daughters on surfaces of the plurality of radon adsorbers.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the structure is a building.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the negative bias is maintained for a predetermined period of time.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the negative bias is maintained for months or years.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the metal fiber coating includes a steel core or other suitable mesh surrounded by a material such as nickel-iron (NiFe) alloy or any other suitable materials such that a fermi level of the materials are lower than that of a core material so that a surface of the coating has a negative charge.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the material(s) has a thickness between about 5 nm and about 100 nm.