Centrifugal isolation of SARS-CoV-2: numerical simulation for purification of hospitals' air

Coronavirus and its spread all over the world have been the most challenging crisis in 2020. Hospitals are categorized among the most vulnerable centers due to their presumably highest traffic of this virus. In this study, centrifugal isolation of coronavirus is successfully deployed for purifying hospitals' air using air conditioners and ducts, suggesting an efficient setup. Numerical simulations have been used to testify the proposed setup due to the complexities of using experimental investigation such as high cost and clinical hazards of the airborne SARS-CoV-2 in the air. Results show that a 20-cm pipe with an inlet velocity of 4 m/s constitutes the best choice for the separation and purification of air from the virus. The proposed scalable method also efficiently separates larger particles, but it can separate smaller particles too. Numerical results also suggest installing the air purifying system on the floor of the hospitals' room for maximum efficiency.

Automated summary

This study successfully deployed centrifugal isolation for purifying hospital air, with numerical simulations verifying its efficiency. The recommended 20-cm pipe with 4 m/s inlet velocity was found to be the best choice for separating and purifying air from the virus, with the proposed setup also able to efficiently separate larger and smaller particles. The numerical results also suggest placing the air purifying system on the floor of hospital rooms for maximum efficiency.