MAGNETICALLY MODIFIED AEROSOL DECONTAMINATION APPARATUS AND METHOD
First Claim
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1. A decontamination system for killing microorganisms on contact, the microorganisms being situated on a substrate or suspended in an ambient environment, the system comprising:
- A. a source of a decontamination fluid;
B. an aerosol producer for receiving the decontamination fluid and creating an aerosol of uncharged droplets;
C. a magnetic energizer through which the aerosol passes, the energizer including a high density, uniform array magnetic field to modify the energy state of the droplets and create reactive oxygen species in or on the surface of the droplets, thereby creating modified energized droplets; and
D. a charging ring that receives the modified droplets, aligns ions therewithin and moves reactive oxygen species towards the surface of the droplets, thereby creating further modified excited droplets and allowing the further modified droplets to remain in a stable form in transit to the substrate or environment to be treated,wherein the further modified droplets penetrating an area to be treated without dependence on airflow, the further modified droplets being similarly charged and mutually repulsive, thereby causing them to diffuse into the area be treated, so that the further modified droplets react at an ambient pressure and temperature with contaminants associated with the area to be treated and are transformed in situ into an uncharged state, thus decontaminating the substrate or environment and creating one or more benign reaction products that leave the substrate undamaged and volatilize or leave a bio-protective film on the substrate.
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Abstract
Decontamination is achieved by practicing a method using the disclosed apparatus for producing a magnetically energized, excited decontamination aerosol 26. The apparatus has a source of decontamination fluid 10 and an aerosol producer 12 that operates at substantially one atmosphere ambient pressure. A magnetic energizer 20 modifies the energy state of the aerosol 14 which then passes through a charging ring 24. The further modified, excited droplets 26 then permeate a location or contact an object 28 to be decontaminated.
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Citations
24 Claims
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1. A decontamination system for killing microorganisms on contact, the microorganisms being situated on a substrate or suspended in an ambient environment, the system comprising:
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A. a source of a decontamination fluid; B. an aerosol producer for receiving the decontamination fluid and creating an aerosol of uncharged droplets; C. a magnetic energizer through which the aerosol passes, the energizer including a high density, uniform array magnetic field to modify the energy state of the droplets and create reactive oxygen species in or on the surface of the droplets, thereby creating modified energized droplets; and D. a charging ring that receives the modified droplets, aligns ions therewithin and moves reactive oxygen species towards the surface of the droplets, thereby creating further modified excited droplets and allowing the further modified droplets to remain in a stable form in transit to the substrate or environment to be treated, wherein the further modified droplets penetrating an area to be treated without dependence on airflow, the further modified droplets being similarly charged and mutually repulsive, thereby causing them to diffuse into the area be treated, so that the further modified droplets react at an ambient pressure and temperature with contaminants associated with the area to be treated and are transformed in situ into an uncharged state, thus decontaminating the substrate or environment and creating one or more benign reaction products that leave the substrate undamaged and volatilize or leave a bio-protective film on the substrate. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
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18. A method for performing decontamination, comprising the steps of
I. magnetically exciting droplets of a decontamination fluid, the excited droplets including droplets that transport reactive oxygen species; - and
II. introducing the excited droplets into an environment or to a substrate to be decontaminated. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20, 21, 22)
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23. A method for decontaminating a microorganism situated on a substrate or suspended in an ambient environment, comprising the steps of:
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I. providing a source of a decontamination fluid; II. introducing an aerosol producer that receives the decontamination fluid and creates an aerosol of uncharged droplets; III. ducting the aerosol of uncharged droplets through a magnetic energizer, thereby subjecting them to a high density, uniform array magnetic field to modify the energy state of the droplets and create reactive oxygen species in or on the surface of the droplets, thereby creating modified droplets; and IV. passing the modified droplets through a charging ring that aligns ions therewithin and moves reactive oxygen species towards the surface of the droplets, thereby creating further modified droplets and allowing the further modified droplets to remain stable in transit to the substrate or environment to be treated, the further modified droplets being similarly charged and mutually repulsive, thereby causing them to diffuse into the area be treated, whereby the further modified droplets penetrate an area to be treated without dependence on airflow, so that the further modified droplets react at an ambient pressure and temperature with contaminants associated with the area to be treated and are transformed in situ into an uncharged state, thus decontaminating the substrate or environment and creating one or more benign reaction products that leave the substrate undamaged and volatilize or leave a bio-protective film on the substrate.
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24. A decontamination system for killing microorganisms on contact, the microorganisms being situated on a substrate or suspended in an ambient environment, the system comprising:
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A. a source of a decontamination fluid being selected from the group consisting of a gas, a liquid, and mixtures thereof, B. an aerosol producer selected from the group consisting of a nebulizer, a fogger, and a sprayer, the aerosol producer receiving decontamination fluid from the source, transported by a carrier at a flow rate between 3 and 200 milliliters per minute, the decontamination fluid and creating an aerosol of small substantially uncharged droplets suspended in air, the droplets having a high surface area to volume ratio; C. a magnetic energizer through which the aerosol passes, the energizer including a high density, uniform array magnetic field to produce from the uncharged droplets modified droplets which contain reactive oxygen species within and on the surface of the modified droplets during a dwell time of between 0.25-3 seconds; and D. a charging ring that receives the modified droplets, aligns ions within the modified droplets and moves reactive oxygen species towards the surface of the modified droplets, thereby forming further modified droplets that remain in a relatively stable form while in transit to the substrate or environment to be treated, wherein the further modified droplets have an average particle size of 1-100 microns to facilitate penetration into an area to be treated, so that dispersion is relatively widespread without significant dependence on airflow, the further modified droplets being similarly charged and mutually repulsive, thereby causing them to diffuse into an ambient environment or onto a substrate to be treated, so that the further modified droplets react at an ambient pressure and temperature with contaminants associated with the substrate or environment and are transformed in situ into an uncharged state, thus decontaminating the substrate or environment and creating one or more benign reaction products that leave the substrate undamaged and volatilize or leave a bio-protective film on the substrate.
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Specification