Rapid Inactivation of Virus Aerosols by Dielectric Barrier Discharge in Air at Atmospheric Pressure

The transmission of infectious airborne diseases and related outbreaks is rapidly evolving and is of growing global concern as recently illustrated by the dramatic spread of COVID-19. Non-equilibrium plasma can be a novel and highly effective mitigation technology for combating aerosolized virus. Here, we report on the successful inactivation of aerosolized porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome (PRRS) virus using a volume dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) reactor. The experiments were carried out in a laboratory scale single pass wind tunnel at a volumetric airflow rate of ∼ 110 liters per minute. The aerosolized virus particles were sampled both upstream and downstream of the plasma reactor, where the virus aerosols were directly exposed to the highly reactive short-lived species, such as OH radicals and singlet oxygen, for a short particle residence time of 15 milliseconds.
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