Purify the Air Supply

Has your time spent indoors increased during the COVID-19 pandemic as a result of stay-at-home and shelter-in-place policies worldwide? Your challenge is to use the International Space Station (ISS) as inspiration and develop a system to monitor and/or purify indoor air. It is entirely up to you whether the system you design is able to be used on Earth (for example in homes, businesses, transportation, etc.) and/or in space.

WindPipe: Decontamination and Air Purification unit with ultraviolet and ozonator.

Summary

Purifying the Air Supply, Air Purification is of extreme importance in combating Covid -19 due to its high contamination and resistance for several days on metal, glass or plastic surfaces and air conditioning equipment, etc. We developed Windpipe, an air duct decontamination unit, using a process that neutralizes microorganisms, with ultraviolet lamps and a sensorized chamber that monitors the level of quality and releases ozone to eliminate impurities and bad odors.

How We Addressed This Challenge

Covid-19 has become the biggest modern global challenge, prompting several countries to take steps to prevent the spread of the virus. One of the measures that impacted the world lifestyle is confinement, this new reality has increased the length of stay of people in closed environments, loaded the environment with CO² carbon dioxide causing changes in the organisms such as tiredness, fatigue, changes in mood, besides proliferation of respiratory diseases. Thinking about this problem, it was possible to create a decontamination unit with the purpose of being universal. It consists of adapters, which are suitable for various air conditioning, residential and vehicle ducts, eliminating pathogens, including Sars-Cov2. Improving people's quality of life during and after the isolation period.

How We Developed This Project

We developed the Windpipe, an air duct decontamination unit, using ultraviolet radiation and ozone.

With the purpose of being universal. It consists of adapters, which are suitable for various air conditioning, residential and vehicle ducts, eliminating pathogens, including Sars-Cov2.

Project Demo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JQdXrtMduKE

Data & Resources

Jonathan Clark, a former NASA surgeon who worked on the space shuttle program, says that viruses, like the flu or even the new coronavirus, can be even more easily transmitted in a microgravity environment like the ISS. "The absence of gravity prevents the particles from settling, so they are suspended in the air and can be transmitted more easily. To avoid this, the compartments are ventilated and the HEPA filters in the air remove the particles," he explains.

Tags
# air quality, # hardware, # ozone, # ultraviolet
Global Judging
This project was submitted for consideration during the Space Apps Global Judging process.