NEWS RELEASE June 2020
Air Treatment Tools to Deal with the Coronavirus
We are in the midst of the worst economic crisis in more than 80 years and unless countries stop ignoring mask and other COVID mitigation opportunities we could face a worse situation that we did in the 1919-35 period.
For those involved in the air treatment industry there are two initiatives which are now relevant. One involves masks and filters to combat COVID and the other has to do with climate change.
The magnitude of the problem was conveyed in the latest International Monetary fund forecasts that World GDP will fall by nearly 5% this year. This will be in part due to an 8% decline in the U.S.
The global economy will contract the most since World War II this year and emerging nations’ output will shrink for the first time in at least six decades due to the Covid-19 pandemic, reducing incomes and sending millions of people into poverty, the World Bank said.
The air treatment industry can be proactive with mask and filter programs which will allow return to near normal life without viral spread. Filtration experts have heretofore not been influential. The first government advice was that masks were not necessary. Now the advice is that the masks are necessary but without appreciation of the differences between masks. When both the transmitter and recipient wear masks there is a huge difference in virus particles inhaled. When both wear a 30% efficient mask 49% of the viruses are inhaled. When both wear a 95% efficient mask the percentage is only 0.25%. So with inefficient masks the viral inhalation is 396 times greater than with efficient masks.
We now know that small aerosols are the main transmission route for COVID. So wearing masks which virtually eliminate aerosol transmission will go a long way solve the problem. This situation is analyzed on a daily basis in Coronavirus Technology Solutions Click here for more information.
Relative to climate change there is pressure being exerted on developing countries e.g. Indonesia, Philippines, Vietnam, India and others to abandon coal fired power projects. Many lenders are refusing to fund them. These projects are a quick route to electrification which will in turn lead to better living conditions for citizens of these countries.
Masks to combat COVID will cost hundreds of dollars per year per person. Upgrading hospitals with more isolation units and ventilators is costly. Expanded hospital capability also means expanded electricity requirements. Reliability needs to increase. For a hospital with many patients in critical condition 12 hours without electricity can be a death sentence.
Delaying electricity supply for a few years until wind and solar can be implemented will result in deaths and disabilities. In a country such as India the resources to fight COVID need to be prioritized.
The basis for abandoning coal fired projects is the tipping point theory. This theory states that there is a tipping point for CO2 levels and once that level is reached all sorts of dire events will occur. This would not be the case if there were a way to actually remove CO2 from the air. Fortunately that is now the case Opportunistic Biomass - CCS Program is the Route chosen by the UK and Japan. Developing countries can build coal fired power plants with the potential to switch to biomass and sequestration in twenty years and remove as much CO2 in each of the following 20 years as they emitted in the first twenty years. Details on this program are provided in Utility Tracking System http://home.mcilvainecompany.com/index.php/databases/42ei-utility-tracking-system
These two air treatment initiatives can be instrumental in dealing with COVID. Bob McIlvaine is available to answer your questions at 847 226 2391 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
