A Photocatalytic Mop Fan for Air Cleaning

Completed

Energy Efficiency(Residential and commercial)
Energy Efficiency(Industry)

Basic and strategic applied research

ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY (Mechanical, Aeronautical and Manufacturing Engineering)
ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY (Architecture and the Built Environment)

Not Cross-cutting

Professor S Riffat
Architecture and Built Environment
University of Nottingham

Standard

EPSRC

01 April 2004

31 May 2007

38 months

£269,390

Management & business studies

East Midlands

Civil Engineering Responsive -- Process Environment and Sustainability

Professor S Riffat, Architecture and Built Environment, University of Nottingham

Dr DW Etheridge, Architecture and Built Environment, University of Nottingham
Dr G Li Puma, Chemical and Environmental Engineering, University of Nottingham

Project Contact, Baxi Group Ltd

The proposed research is to develop a novel fan/air cleaning device that could be used in buildings and industrial applications for the removal of gasesous, particulate and odorous pollutants. The proposed system will consist of a flexible fibre impeller coated with the photocatalyst titanium dioxide (Ti02). The fibre impeller will be mounted on a shaft within a centrifugal fan casing and will be rotated by a direct drive, high efficiency motor. Using this arrangement, the flexible fibre fan has been shown to work efficiently as an air impeller. The device will provide both ventilation and air cleaning. Air cleaning will be achieved using the process of photocatalytic oxidation (PCO). PCO has strong potential to be a highly effective process for destroying air pollutants. A photocatalytic reactor operates at room temperature and chemically oxidises volatile organic pollutants, converting them primarily to carbon dioxide and water. To facilitate photocatalytic oxidation, the flexiblefibre impeller will be bathed in ultraviolet light provided by a low energy, low cost, fluorescent UV-lamp. Furthermore, the system itself would have low energy consumption, as, unlike conventional air cleaning devices, there would be negligible pressure drop involved in its operation. It would therefore be energy efficient, compact and require little, or no maintenance. Its deployment would result in lower heating/cooling costs, improved indoor air quality and reduced emission of C02 to theenvironment

01/01/07