Sharp Corporation, working in collaboration with Associate Professor Dr Sagnik Dey and Associate Professor Dr Gazala Habib of Indian Institutes of Technology, Delhi has demonstrated that Plasmacluster Ion (PCI) has the efficacy to remove PAHs (Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons), which are contained as toxic air pollutants in Indian cities.

This project started in 2018 by measuring the composition of particulate matter in air pollutants in New Delhi NCR region of India. As a result, many types of pollutants were identified, including PAHs, which are known to be toxic to the human body.

Using the results as a reference, IIT Delhi and Sharp selected three types of PAHs to test the effectiveness of Plasmacluster against these PAHs. The results showed that 91.1 per cent of Fluoranthene, 62.1 per cent of Chrysene, and 94.6 per cent of Dibenzo(a, h)anthracene were effectively removed by applying Plasmacluster.

Plasmacluster Ion is a revolutionary air purification technology from which positive ions [H+(H2O) n]] and negative ions [O2–( H2O) m] are released into the air simultaneously. These positive and negative ions instantly recombine on the surface of pollutants such as bacteria, viruses and chemical compounds floating in the air to form hydroxyl (OH) radicals, which have extremely high oxidation ability, and this chemical reaction decomposes the cellular compounds or chemical structures, thereby neutralizing their toxicity. Sharp is using the fact that higher ion concentration results in greater efficacy to decompose air pollutants. SHARP envisaged the potential application of this technology in other environments such as hospitals, offices, public areas, etc.

Sharp will continue its initiatives to contribute to society in the health domain through further evolution of PCI technology and additional demonstrations of its efficacy with the aim of lessening the burden of various contaminants in our life.

*1 Plasmacluster and Plasmacluster Ions are trademarks of Sharp Corporation.

Comments by Associate Professor Dr. Gazala Habib

From this test results, it is confirmed that PCI technology is effective in decomposing and reducing the carcinogenic PAHs, which are present in an inhalable fraction of particulate matter. It is expected that the usage of PCI technology will lead to the improvement of the indoor air environment and contribute to the healthier life of users around the world.

Comments by Associate Professor Dr. Sagnik Dey

Air pollution is one of the leading health risk factors in India. While it will take time to reduce exposure to air pollution through policy, the air purifier has emerged as one of the tools to protect personal exposure. The PCI technology of SHARP is experimentally proved to be successful in eliminating particle-bound PAHs from toxic air.

About PAHs

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are a group of organic compounds having two or more merged aromatic rings. There are more than 100 chemicals in PAHs and they are one of the major toxic air pollutants in India as well as other hydrocarbons. PAHs are produced by various anthropogenic activities with incomplete combustion of fuels such as diesel engines. Some PAHs are carcinogenic and mutagenic and some are related to chronic human health problems. The 3 PAHs tested this time are confirmed to be included in ambient air in Delhi, and Chrysene and Dibenzo[a,h]anthracene are known to be carcinogenic.

Test method of Plasmaclustrer’s effectiveness against air pollutant "PAHs"

A very thin layer of around sub-nm range of 3 types of PAHs was formed inside each glass-Petri dishes separately. Each sample were inserted in 4 L box for 1 sample. There were 2 types of boxes, one with a Plasmacluster Ion (PCI) generator (PCI ON) and another without Plasmacluster (PCI OFF). Inside of the PCI ON box, ion concentration of approximately 1,000,000 ions/cm3 were maintained during the test, to which the sample was exposed to. After the PCI exposure, samples were collected and the remaining PAHs were measured by GC-MS (Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectroscopy analysis).

The results showed that PAHs concentration decreased significantly when they were exposed to Plasmacluster ions for 10 days with ion concentration of approximately 1,000,000 ions/cm3 in the test boxes. The efficacy was 91.1 per cent on Fluoranthene, 62.1 per cent on Chrysene and 94.6 per cent on Dibenzo(a,h)anthracene.