Particles in a cleanroom environment must be removed. Particles that can reproduce themselves can become a difficult part of the problem to address.

Cleanroom environments place extreme demands on the control of airborne contaminants. HEPA and other higher-end filters provide effective means of removing particulates—but don’t address destruction of biologicals in that airstream. Living organisms can represent major problems in maintaining an adequate manufacturing environment. Ultraviolet applications can be applied, but are expensive and efficacy can be difficult to quantify. A new form of electrically enhanced air purificationoffers an approach that captures and kills a variety of organisms.

Even the most robust air filtration systems are just that—filters designed to capture airborne matter. Pathogens however, remain alive and the filters can become a fertile breeding ground. What happens when a technician raises a ceiling panel that was wetted long ago and previously quiescent mold spores get aerosolized? The ones that do get captured in current filtration technologies can take on a self-sustaining life of their own. Multiplying germs can dislodge from the filters and re-enter the surrounding air. As air is recirculated, pathogens have easy access to the entire building.