florida.HIGH.TECH florida.HIGH.TECH 2017 | Page 32

Destroying Dangerous Pollutants

Bacteria , mold , viruses and chemicals – these are some of the most common pollutants that affect the quality of indoor air and impact our health . In fact , the Environmental Protection Agency ( EPA ) estimates that indoor air can be five times more polluted than outdoor air , leading a team of researchers from the University of South Florida ( USF ) to invent a novel solution .
More than 20 years ago , Dr . Yogi Goswami was motivated to improve indoor air quality after watching his son suffer from debilitating asthma and allergies . He tried traditional air purifiers , but found that these devices only capture pollutants rather than eliminate them , meaning they can easily mix back into the air .
Feeling dissatisfied with current technology , Goswami was determined to find an answer – and that ’ s exactly what he did . With a background in solar energy research , Goswami realized he could use UV light as a way to eliminate harmful pollutants .
“ Using solar technology I had developed , I invented a filter that cleaned the air more effectively ,” said Goswami , who was recently inducted into the Florida Inventors Hall of Fame in Tampa . “ The only difference is , instead of using solar energy , the filter utilizes UV-A blacklight lamps to destroy pollutants as air passes through it .”
The air filter utilizes photocatalysts , which generate a chemical reaction using light energy . When dangerous pollutants come in contact with photocatalysts on the filter surface under the presence of UV light , they are immediately broken down and eliminated .
Having developed the first-ever molecular air purifier , Goswami and his wife , Lovely , took the technology to market and launched a successful company by the name Molekule . But Goswami and his team weren ’ t satisfied yet — they discovered a way to make the technology better and partnered with USF through a Matching Grants Research Program ( MGRP ) project to do so .
“ Our current research is a further advancement of the technology based on the company ’ s initial idea funded by the EPA ,” said Dr . Lee Stefanakos , director of USF ’ s Clean Energy Research Center and lead investigator on the project . “ The idea was , ‘ How can we make this more efficient ?’ That ’ s when we discovered we could use another form of photocatalyst to achieve better results .”
Rather than using the original photocatalysts , the filter surface would instead be coated with a new catalyst formulation , which can trap gaseous pollutants and destroy them . Though Goswami ’ s current technology is incredibly effective , the new formulation has been shown to improve the process by 30 percent . Thanks to funding from The Corridor ’ s MGRP , the team is working to commercialize the new technology .
“ These matching funds were critical in helping us expand the project further ,” said Lovely Goswami . “ We are excited about the success we ’ ve had with Molekule , and we are confident we will have the same success with the improved technology .”
30 florida . HIGH . TECH 2017