Carrier Corporation

Stephen O Hay

Timothy N Obee

Joseph J Sangiovanni

Wayde R Schmidt

Thomas Henry Vanderspurt

Treese Hugener-Campbell

Norberto O Lemcoff

Susan D Brandes

Robert J Hall

Di Wei

Zissis A Dardas

Michael A Kryzman

Thomas E Drago

Olivier Josserand

Kevin Bryant Dunshee

James D Freihaut

Thierry Jomard

Allen Murray

Bradley Reisfeld

David F Ollis

Susanne Marie Opalka

Foster Philip Lamm

Mary D Saroka

Gregory M Dobbs

Jared B Hertzberg

Robert Hong Leung Chiang

Darren S Sheehan

Jeffrey T Benoit

Catherine Thibaud-Erkey

Robert H L Chiang

Meredith B Colket

Albert T Pucino

James A Davies

Robert C Hall

Leland G Brandes

An air purification system for a heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system includes an ozone generating device that is used to introduce ozone into an air stream flowing through the ozone generating device. The ozone is used to remove contaminants, including volatile organic compounds (VOCs), from the air stream. The purification system includes sensors in various locations within the HVAC system to measure a concentration of constituents in the air. In some embodiments, the constituents may include ozone and VOCs, such as toluene, butene, and propanal. To control an amount of ozone generated, the purification system controls an amount of electrical power to the ozone generating device. To control a concentration of ozone generated, the purification system controls a flow rate of air through the ozone generating device.

Method and system for using an ozone generating device for air purification

An air purification system that comprises a substrate, and at least one layer of photocatalysts. The at least one layer of photocatalysts further comprise a plurality of metal clusters.

Air purification system

A contaminant removal system is disclosed for selectively removing contaminants from a fluid stream. The contaminant removal system has a catalytic reactor of the type that is susceptible to deactivating agents, and is configured to remove contaminants from a fluid stream. The contaminant removal system has a first adsorbent device positioned upstream, with respect to the fluid stream direction, of the catalytic reactor, that is configured to chemically bind with and remove the deactivating agents from the fluid stream. The contaminant removal system can have a second adsorbent device positioned downstream, with respect to the fluid stream direction, of the catalytic reactor. The second adsorbent device is configured to remove undesirable byproducts that may be generated when the catalytic reactor removes contaminants from the fluid stream.

Systems and methods for removal of contaminants from fluid streams

A catalytic device comprises a mixed structure of photocatalyst and silica. The mixed structure may be comprised of alternating layers of photocatalyst and silica, a layer having a uniform mixture of photocatalyst particles and silica particles, or a layer having a graded mixture of photocatalyst particles and silica particles.

Photocatalytic device with mixed photocatalyst/silica structure

The present disclosure relates to a fluid purification device that has a deactivation resistant photocatalyst having nanocrystallites of less than 14 nanometers (nm) in diameter with at least 200 msurface area/cmof skeletal volume in cylindrical pores of 5 nm in diameter or larger, with the mode of the pore size distribution 10 nm or more.

Deactivation resistant photocatalysts

A photocatalyst system for volatile organic compounds with two parts that include a photocatalyst layer on a substrate and a porous overlayer. The photocatalyst layer is reactive with volatile organic compounds when UV light is projected on it. The overlayer is situated on the photocatalyst layer. The overlayer is UV transparent and has an interconnected pore network that allows contaminated air to pass through the overlayer. The size and the shape of the interconnected pores acts to selectively exclude certain contaminants that can deactivate the photocatalyst.

Preparation and manufacture of an overlayer for deactivation resistant photocatalysts

A gas treatment system for treating a gas stream containing contaminants includes first and second gas treatment members in fluid communication with each other. Each of the first and second gas treatment members is selectively controllable between an on and an off condition. A third gas treatment member is in fluid communication with the first and second gas treatment members, and the third gas treatment member selectively retains or releases the contaminants based upon the on or off condition of at least one of the first or second gas treatment members.

Photocatalyst protection

A photocatalytic air purifier is disclosed. The photocatalytic purifier includes filter structures coated with a catalytic material such as titanium dioxide. One or more UV lamps are interposed between the filter structures. The catalytic layer reacts with airborne VOCs and bioaerosols when activated by the UV lamps to thereby oxidize the VOCs and destroy the bioaerosols. The photocatalytic air purifier does not need to be replaced or regenerated after a period of continuous usage. The photocatalytic purifier of the present invention substantially eliminates odors, VOCs, and bioaerosols from air directed through the fan coil. The photocatalytic air purifier includes a control system that optimizes operating costs. Because of these features, service, maintenance, and filter replacement are reduced to a minimum. At the same time, the well being of persons living in the space conditioned by the photocatalytic air purifier is improved.

Photocatalytic air purifier for a fan coil unit

The present disclosure relates to nanocrystalline titanium dioxide (TiO) photocatalysts having nanocrystallites of less than 14 nanometers in diameter, which are substantially defect-free. The TiOphotocatalysts form porous particles having a very large mass transfer surface area, large cylindrical pores, and low mass transfer resistance. The nanocrystalline TiOphotocatalysts provide at least 75% of the photocatalytic activity of commercially-available TiOcrystals having diameters greater than 20 nm. The nanocrystalline TiOphotocatalysts may be doped with a metal, metal oxide, or non-metal dopant. A process for preparing the nanocrystalline TiOphotocatalysts is disclosed. The present disclosure also provides methods for using nanocrystalline TiOphotocatalysts to remove contaminants.

Long-lived high volumetric activity photocatalysts

Modular photocatalytic air purifier

An air treatment system includes a filter and heating element, a plasma device, and a photocatalyst and UV light that cooperate to purify an air stream flowing through the air treatment system and protect the photocatalyst from passivating effects of certain contaminants. The air treatment system operates in two different modes. In the first mode, the air treatment system primarily draws air from and returns air to a space, and the heating element and plasma device are selectively shut off. In the second mode, the air treatment system regenerates the filter using the heating element to selectively heat the filter and release adsorbed contaminants. The plasma device is selectively turned on and chemically transforms the released contaminants into solid contaminant products. The solid contaminant products are deposited on a biased electrode of the plasma device. The UV light is turned off to ensure that the photocatalyst is inoperable during the release and transformation of the contaminants. Once deposited, the essentially immobile and inert solid contaminant products are unlikely to damage the photocatalyst.

A system is disclosed which incorporates low pressure drop contaminant removal from gas phases or streams, which advantageously can be used to enhance efficiency, improve humidity characteristics, and reduce capital cost of air handing systems such as HVAC systems and the like. Placement of the low pressure drop contaminant removal mechanism for enhancing effectiveness of same is also disclosed.

Gas phase contaminant removal with low pressure drop

A photocatalytic coating oxidizes volatile organic compounds that adsorb onto the coating into water, carbon dioxide, and other substances. When photons of the ultraviolet light are absorbed by the coating, reactive hydroxyl radicals are formed. When a contaminant is adsorbed onto the coating, the hydroxyl radical oxidizes the contaminant to produce water, carbon dioxide, and other substances. A humidity sensor or a temperature sensor detects the humidity or temperature, respectively, of the air entering the air purification system. Information about the optimal microwave wavelength and intensity for various humidity and temperature levels are stored in a control of a microwave actuator. The microwave actuator determines the optimal wavelength or intensity based on the sensed humidity and temperature level and sends a signal to a magnetron to emit a microwave of the desired wavelength or intensity. The microwaves are only absorbed by the water, desorbing the water from the photocatalytic coating and creating additional photooxidation sites for the contaminants.

System to enhance the photocatalytic oxidation rate of contaminants through selective desorption of water utilizing microwaves

A lamp including a reflective portion is utilized in a fluid purification system to maximize the light delivery to a photocatalytic coating that oxidizes gaseous contaminants that adsorb onto the surface to form carbon dioxide, water, and other substances. An ultraviolet light source positioned proximate to the honeycomb activates the titanium dioxide coating. In one example, the reflective portion is a reflective coating. Light directed out of the non-reflective portion of the lamp travels towards the honeycomb and absorbs onto the photocatalytic coating. Light directed towards the reflective portion on the lamp is reflected off the surface of the reflective portion and passes through the non-reflective portion of the lamp to also absorb onto the photocatalytic coating. The reflective portion reflects light towards the honeycomb that would otherwise be misdirected away from the honeycomb, increasing efficiency of the fluid purification system.

Reflective lamp to maximize light delivery to a photoactive catalyst

A tungsten oxide/titanium dioxide photocatalyst coating oxidizes contaminants in the air that adsorb onto the coating into water, carbon dioxide, and other substances. The tungsten oxide forms a monolayer on the titanium dioxide. When photons of the ultraviolet light are absorbed by the tungsten oxide/titanium dioxide photocatalyst coating, an electron is promoted from the valence band to the conduction band, producing a hole in the valence band. The holes in the valence band react with water applied on the tungsten oxide/titanium dioxide photocatalyst coating, forming reactive hydroxyl radicals. When a contaminant in the air is adsorbed onto the tungsten oxide/titanium dioxide photocatalyst, the hydroxyl radical attacks the contaminant, abstracting a hydrogen atom from the contaminant. The hydroxyl radical oxidizes the contaminant, producing water, carbon dioxide, and other substances. The tungsten oxide/titanium dioxide photocatalytic coating has low sensitivity to humidity variations.

Growing community of inventors

Tolland, CT, United States of America

Stephen O Hay