Removal of Bacillus Subtilis Bioaerosols by Using the Novel Plasma System

The goal of this work was to inactivate Bacillus subtilis (B. subtilis) bioaerosols using carbon nanotube corona discharge plasma technology. Experiments were performed to confirm the Inactivating ability of the carbonnanotube plasma system in removing bioaerosols in a stainless-steel chamber equipped with a simplified chamber system. In the absence of the plasma system, the natural decay constant (k _n ) of B. subtilis bioaerosols approached 0.135 min⁻¹ at the conditions of a air exchange rate (ACH) of 1.0 hr⁻¹, and relative humidity (RH) of 30%. When the chamber system was equipped with a carbon-nanotube plasma system of 6 kV, the decay constant (k _a ) was 0.291 min⁻¹. The results further demonstrated that the inactivation efficiency increased as ACH and operating voltage increase.