Biozone Air Purifiers are unlike any other air purifiers available. They clean the air of biological contaminants like bacteria, viruses, and mold, destroy hazardous fumes, remove harmful particulates, and neutralize all unpleasant odors. Biozone’s advanced and extremely powerful photoplasma method of purifying indoor environments provides the ultimate in clean air technology.

1. When airborne contaminants enter a Biozone unit they are channeled into the Air Purification Chamber where they are immediately exposed to high intensity ultraviolet light that creates a photochemical process to kill bacteria, viruses, and mold, and help breakdown unhealthy gases.
2. Inside the Purification Chamber particles such as dust and smoke are removed from the air by electrically charging them with negative ions and photoelectrons. These particles are continually broken down by the powerful ultraviolet light and oxidized so there is never a need for cleaning or changing filters.
3. In the Purification Chamber, wavelengths from our special ultraviolet lamp also energize the air creating a highly active gaseous state containing excited atoms and molecules, ionized gases, radicals and free electrons. We call this our Purifying Plasma, and it will destroy biological contaminants, gaseous impurities, remove particles, and neutralize unpleasant odors.
4. The “ultra-pure” air is circulated back into the room carrying with it the full power of our Purifying Plasma that will continually seek out and destroy contaminants and unpleasant odors regardless of where they hide.

Biozone Scientific Air Purifiers removes contaminants from air and surfaces by utilizing the principles of photochemistry, photoplasma, and photoionization through the photoelectric effect. While these methodologies have been well studied and documented by the scientific community, the synergy of their interaction produces a unique and a superlative way of cleaning air and surfaces of contaminants.

Photochemistry is the chemical reaction or change in material caused by exposure to light energy. The process typically requires the use of photons in the ultraviolet spectral range. Ultraviolet radiation serves to excite or cleave chemical bonds and leads to the desired photoinduced reaction. Energetic ultraviolet radiation is useful for disinfection purposes. For this application, the fundamental physical requirement for the ultraviolet light source is sufficiently high photon energy (wavelength) at the required intensity. When sufficient photon energy is present, ultraviolet light becomes particularly useful in the destruction of contaminating organic compounds. Almost all indoor contaminants are organic. Organic compounds are carbon based. Many common organic compounds are based on the carbon and hydrogen combination, or hydrocarbons. Hydrocarbons can be toxic volatile organic compounds such as formaldehydes and benzenes. Airborne, indoor dust particles like dander, hair, dust mite feces, etc. are based upon organic compounds generally associated with the lipid group. Biological contaminants like bacteria, viruses, and fungi are carbon based. Photochemistry can break down these harmful organic molecules. Ultraviolet light with enough energy such as in the 100 – 280 nanometer wavelength range can break down the electron bonds of an organic molecule. The shorter the ultraviolet wavelength the more energy created to break molecular bonds. All organic material is photodegradable at certain wavelengths.

Ultraviolet wavelengths in the 100 – 280 nanometer bandwidth not only break down electron bonding of an organic molecule, but also initiate the formation of a photoplasma. A plasma is an excitation of gas by radio frequency energy. In our case, we excite gases by the energy from ultraviolet light waves. We create a highly energized gaseous state. The plasma, or highly energized gaseous state, is aggressive and highly reactive and contains excited atoms and molecules, ionized gases, radicals, and free electrons. It can destroy just about all organic contaminants. The destruction mechanism primarily involves the photodissociation of molecular oxygen leading to the formation of highly oxidizing species, such as atomic oxygen, molecular singlet oxygen and ozone. These agents interact with contaminants converting most to volatilized carbon dioxide and water. The UV radiation also creates electron ejection of organic molecules that produces additional free radical creation. The radicals react with oxygen producing hydroperoxide ions. The hydroperoxide process activates a chain reaction with organic compounds triggering further oxidation. When additional hydrogen is added as in the form of water or water vapor (humidity), the highly oxidative species hydroxyl radicals is created. These radical ions are stable but a very potent one-electron oxidant. They are very destructive to organic contaminants because they steal hydrogen atoms from the organic materials, leaving decaying carbon ions. The theft of hydrogen from organic molecules forms even stronger hydroxyl radical bonds with even higher oxidation potential. This entire process turns into a chain reaction – the breakdown and formation of new hydroxyl radicals results in the continual decay of organic material.

While the photoelectric effect created by high energy ultraviolet light is ejecting electrons from a molecule, it is further enhanced by irradiating what is called a “photoelectron emitting member” with ultraviolet light. A photoelectron emitting member may be made of any material that emits photoelectrons upon exposure to ultraviolet radiation. Such a photoelectron emitting member is contained in Biozone Air Purifiers. The photoelectrons ejected from the photoelectron emitting member are used to charge fine particles in a gas which are then removed from the air stream as they attach to oppositely charged surfaces. This electrically charging of dust and other particulates can remove particles as small as .001 micron. It should be noted that each of the electron ejections can cause multiple ionization events. For example, in the photoelectric effect, the photon undergoes only one interaction, yet thousands of ionizations can be caused by the resultant electron and its products.

The combination of ultraviolet light and plasma has been reported to be extremely potent in removing contaminants from surfaces. As an example and for comparative purposes, it has been estimated that removing biological contaminants from surfaces by corona discharge created ozone may take 10 hours. Ultraviolet light in the highly bactericidal range of 253.7 nanometers would take 1 hour for the same result. Corona discharge ozone and ultraviolet light combined would achieve the same result in 1.5 minutes. However, the use of a broader and more energetic ultraviolet bandwidth combined with the resulting plasma would clean the same surface in 20 seconds.