iJen AIR Series – Air sanitization with UVC

Systems for sanitizing the air in rooms avoiding direct exposure to UVC light

The health emergency linked to COVID-19 highlighted the importance of hygiene and cleanliness of the environments we frequent every day, from our home, to the workplace, to our car.

Hygiene and cleanliness represent the starting point for living in the best way, as they tend to ward off respiratory disorders, rhinitis, allergies and infections.

A simple cleaning operation, however, does not always manage to really heal an environment, especially if it is small (like a car) or frequented by many people. It is for this reason that it becomes essential to sanitize the environments, with specific procedures and techniques.

Most of the population spends about 85% of their time indoors such as offices, schools, homes and gyms.

We must know that in many environments such as offices, food sector plants, accommodation and health facilities and schools, we cannot limit ourselves to ordinary cleaning but we must always aim to make the places healthy and free from contamination risks.

With this in mind that air (or environmental) sanitation plays a fundamental role in improving the quality of our life.

There is no correct time to carry out environmental sanitation: it is correct that it be constant, both in winter and in summer. Environmental sanitation, in order to have effects, must be carried out in the rooms periodically and consistently.

The main advantages of environmental sanitization are:

  • Elimination of bacteria, viruses, molds, fungi;
  • Elimination of chemical / biological pollutants;
  • Allergen elimination;
  • Reduction of fine particles;
  • Elimination of bad smells;
  • Respect rules and regulations.

The set of sanitation activities, aimed at making the environments comply with hygiene standards to reduce the microbiological load, are to be applied in all environments, especially in the following sectors:

  • Restaurants / hotels: to guarantee guests healthier and more pleasant spaces in which to stay, ensure that the food is prepared in optimal hygienic-sanitary conditions to protect the health of everyone, from staff to customers.
  • Hospital: to guarantee patients and technical staff a healthcare environment less exposed to bacterial and viral contamination.
  • Offices: to reduce the disease rate and therefore achieve well-being in workers and have greater productivity.
  • Workplaces and large meeting points: it is important that periodic sanitization takes place in very busy places such as gyms, characterized by environments with a high degree of humidity. The steam contributes to the development of mold and mildew.
  • Food: sanitation is essential to ensure the best preservation of food and avoid causing contaminated administration. Food easily becomes a vehicle for diseases and infections. Sanitizing kitchens and means of food transport ensures that the products are kept well and that contamination by bacteria and other pathogenic elements is avoided.
  • Residential: to ensure a more comfortable and healthy environment for people. In recent years, statistics related to indoor air quality (IAQ) have shown us a sharp increase in physical and microbiological pollutants in private environments and a worsening of air quality

Air (or environmental) sanitization is an operation aimed at thoroughly eliminating pathogenic microorganisms (bacteria, viruses, molds …) and contaminating agents that are responsible for most of the respiratory system diseases (pertussis, measles, acute lung infections …).

We must bear in mind that biological contaminants are very difficult to control, due to the following factors:

  • Most microorganisms have dimensions smaller than one µm (some viruses measure a few thousandths of a µm), therefore even very high efficiency filters may prove insufficient;
  • When the systems are switched off, due to the temperature and pressure differentials between the environment and the system, a “counter-current” convective motion is established which transports environmental contaminants inside the ducts, an ideal environment for the growth of infecting colonies.
  • The presence of cracks inside the channels favors the development of the infecting colonies.
  • In the event of contamination of the ducts, radical cleaning and germicidal treatment is carried out, which rarely maintains a satisfactory level of cleanliness for more than three months

To maintain a level of air sanitation in the rooms or at the exit of treatment plants in the air, the use of UVC radiation (in the UVC spectrum – 200-280 nm) has spread.

To meet the need for sanitizing the air in environments such as homes, offices, shops, gyms .., Silap offers the iJen AIR series which uses UVC radiation, known as germicide.

How the germicidal UVC system works

Ultraviolet germicidal irradiation (UVGI), is a sanitizing method that uses ultraviolet (UV) light at the UV-C wavelength (“UV germicidal”), which modifies DNA or l ‘RNA of pathogenic microorganisms (bacteria, viruses, molds…) and therefore prevents them from reproducing or being harmful.

Ultraviolet radiation is provided by a lamp that emits UV at two wavelengths (254 nm and 185 nm):

  • At 254nm, the energy emitted has a maximum peak that allows the destruction of the molecular bonds of the DNA / RNA of the microorganisms, preventing their growth and reproduction, thus rendering them harmless.
  • At 185nm, the energy emitted is lower but sufficient to ensure that a small amount of ozone is produced, which with its oxidizing power makes viruses and bacteria inactive by inhibiting the bond with the cell wall to be invaded. Ozone also has an effect of eliminating bad odors

To know more

The photons of UV light react directly with the nucleic acids of the microorganism, damaging them. These nucleic acids are in the form of DNA or RNA.

DNA serves as a database (or memory) of the life form while RNA regulates metabolic processes within the cell.

Generally, DNA has a double helical structure that contains 4 types of nucleotides, ADENINE, GUANINE, THYMINE, CITOSINE.

Ultraviolet light damages DNA by dimerising the molecules of THYMINE-THYMINE or CITOSINE-CITOSINE or CITOSINE-THYMINE, inhibiting the subsequent transcription of the cell’s genetic code.

Product range

IJen AIR products are versatile and meet different air sanitization needs both in small rooms such as domestic ones and in large crowded environments such as reception rooms or for conferences, doctors’ offices, gyms …

The operating principle of the iJen AIR series products consists in forcing the air into a duct where debacterization occurs by UVC radiation; by exploiting the natural circulation of air, a controlled bacterial load environment can be obtained.

 

The products of this series, iJen AIR Table, Plus and Extended, are equipped with a double lamp, ozone free and ozone generating, which can be turned on respectively in the presence of people or in the absence of people (for example during the night) allowing sanitation. deeper than the environment thanks to the combination of the germicidal effect of UVC light with the inactivation effect of bacteria and viruses due to the presence of ozone (<2ppm).

The products of the iJen AIR series are painted with special powders that contain titanium dioxide (TiO2).

The germicidal action of TiO2, irradiated by the UVC light generated inside the iJen Air structure, allows for a sanitization of the treated air considerably higher than 99%. Titanium dioxide (TiO2) is a semiconductor material, used as a photocatalyst or photopromotor for the degradation of organic or inorganic compounds in solution or gas phase under UV irradiation.

The ability to promote these chemical transformations make it very interesting for applications in the field of environmental depollution and for air sanitization

 

The use of the iJen AIR Table, Plus and Extended, with UVC lamp at 254 nm and 185nm, helps to sanitize the filters and air ducts of the air conditioner, if this is kept on.

The iJen AIR series is available in 4 models:

  • AIR Table
    portable air sanitization system suitable for domestic environments, studios, small shops – with double lamp (ozone free o ozone generating) 
  • AIR Plus 
    wall-mounted or free-standing air sanitization system suitable for domestic environments, medical offices, locker rooms, small shops, reception rooms – with double lamp (ozone free o ozone generating)  
  • AIR Extended 
    wall-mounted air sanitization system suitable for rooms with large sizes such as gyms, restaurants, warehouses, etc. – with double lamp (ozone free o ozone generating) 
  • AIR Conditioning 
    air sanitization system for air recirculation and air conditioning systems

Effectiveness

The effectiveness of the germicidal action depends on many factors:

  • The power variations of the UVC source: The lamps used in the iJen AIR series have been sized in such a way as to be able to guarantee sanitation up to 60 cubic meters of air per hour.
  • The presence of particles (such as dust) can decrease the germicidal efficacy of UV light on microorganisms, so it is recommended to use iJen AIR in clean environments.

iJen AIR series – Datasheet

iJen AIR series – Brochure


iJen AIR Table

The iJen AIR Table product is a portable air sanitization system suitable for domestic environments, studios, small shops.

It is 300 mm high and, being handy and light, it can be placed directly on the table.

iJen AIR Table is powered by 220V AC and is equipped with two UVC lamps, which emit at 254 and 185 nm, of 10W each:

  • an ozone free lamp, which can be turned on in the presence of people, obtaining an environment with time-controlled bacterial load
  • an ozone generating lamp, which, if used in the absence of people, allows a deeper sanitization of the environment thanks to the combination of the germicidal effect of UVC light with the inactivation effect of bacteria and viruses due to the presence of ozone (<2ppm).

The two lamps cannot work simultaneously as the switching on and off of each is regulated by a single switch.

It is advisable not to keep the ozone generating lamp on for a long time; if this lamp remains on for a long time, the iJen AIR Table sanitizer deactivates it for safety after 30 minutes.

The ozone concentration can be poorly tolerated: in this case it is advisable to air the room for a few minutes before staying there.

We always recommend running pre-set treatment programs with Ozone, in order to identify the correct time of use also according to the level of presence of the Ozone itself in the environment at the end of the treatment.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Do not expose yourself and animals directly to UVC light as it is harmful to humans and other forms of life (prolonged exposure can cause temporary damage such as dermatitis or conjunctivitis or very serious damage such as tumors or blindness)


iJen AIR Plus

The iJen AIR Plus product is a wall or free-standing air sanitization system, suitable for domestic environments, studios, locker rooms, offices, small shops, waiting rooms, medical offices …

Thanks to its modern design, it is 600 mm high and can be installed on any wall at about 1.5 meters in height. It is able to sanitize up to 40 cubic meters / hour.

iJen AIR Plus is powered by 220V AC and is equipped with two UVC lamps, which emit at 254 and 185 nm, of 21 W each:

  • an ozone free lamp, which can be turned on in the presence of people, obtaining an environment with time-controlled bacterial load
  • an ozone generating lamp, which, if used in the absence of people, allows a deeper sanitization of the environment thanks to the combination of the germicidal effect of UVC light with the inactivation effect of bacteria and viruses due to the presence of ozone (<2ppm).

The two lamps can work simultaneously or individually as the switching on and off of each is controlled by an intelligent switch connected to the wi-fi network, configurable and programmable via the Home-io app (downloadable for Android and iOS systems). Alternatively, one lamp can be turned on individually at a time by using the manual three-position switch on board.

iJen AIR Plus is not equipped with an inlet filter as laboratory tests carried out by the Politecnico di Milano have shown that its presence at the inlet of the device penalizes the bactericidal efficacy of the iJen AIR Plus system, the filter not being irradiated by UVC light could disperse the particles it captures into the air. The absence of this filter, on the other hand, allows all the incoming air to pass in front of the UVC lamp and therefore undergo the germicidal treatment.

iJen AIR Plus is equipped with a safety mechanism, so it is not possible to turn on the UVC lamps when the door, necessary for cleaning and maintenance of the lamps, is open.

We always recommend running the same treatment programs with Ozone Lamp, in order to identify the correct time of use also according to the level of presence of the Ozone itself in the environment at the end of the treatment.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Do not expose yourself and animals directly to UVC light as it is harmful to humans and other forms of life (prolonged exposure can cause temporary damage such as dermatitis or conjunctivitis or very serious damage such as tumors or blindness)


iJen AIR Extended

The iJen AIR Extended product is a wall-mounted air sanitization system, and suitable for large areas such as gyms, restaurants, etc.

Thanks to its modern design, it is 1500 mm high and can be installed on any wall at a height of about 1.5 meters. It is able to sanitize up to 60 cubic meters / hour.

iJen AIR Extended is powered by 220V AC and is equipped with two UVC lamps, which emit at 254 and 185 nm, of 55 W each:

  • an ozone free lamp, which can be turned on in the presence of people, obtaining an environment with time-controlled bacterial load
  • an ozone generating lamp, which, if used in the absence of people, allows a deeper sanitization of the environment thanks to the combination of the germicidal effect of UVC light with the inactivation effect of bacteria and viruses due to the presence of ozone (<2ppm).

The two lamps can work simultaneously or individually as the switching on and off of each is controlled by an intelligent switch connected to the wi-fi network, configurable and programmable via the Home-io app (downloadable for Android and iOS systems). Alternatively, one lamp can be turned on individually at a time by using the manual three-position switch on board.

iJen AIR Extended is not equipped with an inlet filter as laboratory tests carried out by the Politecnico di Milano have shown that its presence at the inlet of the device penalizes the bactericidal efficacy of the iJen AIR Extended system, the filter not being irradiated by UVC light could disperse the particles it captures into the air. The absence of this filter, on the other hand, allows all the incoming air to pass in front of the UVC lamp and therefore undergo the germicidal treatment.

iJen AIR Extended is equipped with a safety mechanism, so it is not possible to turn on the UVC lamps when the door, necessary for cleaning and maintenance of the lamps, is open.

We always recommend running the same treatment programs with Ozone Lamp, in order to identify the correct time of use also according to the level of presence of the Ozone itself in the environment at the end of the treatment.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Do not expose yourself and animals directly to UVC light as it is harmful to humans and other forms of life (prolonged exposure can cause temporary damage such as dermatitis or conjunctivitis or very serious damage such as tumors or blindness)


iJen AIR Conditioning

As is known, if not properly sanitized, air treatment systems (for example air conditioners, air conditioners ..) can act as a potential vehicle for infectious charges, or themselves become a diffusive hotbed, in cases of poor or no maintenance.

The iJen AIR Conditioning product is an air sanitization system for air recirculation and air conditioning systems, installed directly inside the ducts, before the air is immersed in the environment.

For more information and to customize your iJen Conditioning system contact us without obligation.