JP2001321431A - Sterilization method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a sterilization method which can be carried out simply and easily and can kill bacteria and viruses floating in the air at low cost. SOLUTION: An appropriate concentration of ozone and a suitable concentration of negative ions are released into an environment to be sterilized.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a method for sterilizing ozone by using ozone and negative ions in combination.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In hospitals and welfare facilities, nosocomial infections and mass infections have occurred.
Food poisoning incidents such as -157 have occurred. In order to prevent such an accident, it is necessary to kill bacteria and viruses floating in the air, and bacteria adhering to buildings, furniture, clothes, and the like.

For this reason, various researches have been carried out in the past, but the feasible methods, if implemented, are costly and impractical, and those which can be implemented at low cost require satisfactory deodorization. Many of them had problems such as not being able to obtain an effect or a bactericidal effect.

[0004]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned prior art, and provides a sterilization method which can be carried out simply and easily and which can kill bacteria and viruses floating in the air at low cost. That is the subject.

[0005]

Means for Solving the Problems In order to solve the above problems and to develop an effective sterilization method, the present inventors have conducted intensive studies and as a result, have set the relative humidity in the environment to be sterilized to an appropriate level. It was found that the desired effect could be obtained by releasing an appropriate amount of ozone and an appropriate amount of negative ions into this environment, and completed the present invention.

That is, the sterilization method of the present invention is characterized by releasing an appropriate amount of ozone and an appropriate amount of negative ions into an environment to be sterilized.

In the present invention, the negative ion source may be any source capable of easily generating negative ions. However, there is no danger in the living environment of human beings, etc. Inexpensive materials such as water and air are preferred. In the case of water, it may be moisture in the environment to be sterilized, that is, moisture.

[0008] Although ozone and negative ions originally have bactericidal activity, ozone must have a considerably high concentration atmosphere in order to obtain a bactericidal effect by itself.
In addition, when using ozone at a high concentration, danger must be considered due to its oxidizing property.
On the other hand, even if the concentration of the negative ion is extremely high, there is no adverse effect on humans, but the effect of the negative ion alone is only about fungicide prevention, and the bactericidal effect is not so large.

As described above, it is not possible to obtain an excellent sterilizing effect by using ozone and negative ions alone, but it is possible to obtain an extremely high sterilizing power by using ozone and negative ions together. . This is because the ozone and negative ions are reacted strongly radical oxidation and sterilization power than ozone (e.g., negative ions OH ^- case, hydroxyl radicals "OH radicals") is generated, which attacks the bacteria It is thought to be killed.

The amount of ozone released depends on the season, location, and other factors.
Depending on the conditions, if too small, the desired bactericidal effect can be obtained.
It cannot be obtained, and even if it is too much, only the bactericidal effect is saturated
However, as described above, it is
Because of the dangers that occur, they are generally
Less than 0.05 ppm, preferably 0.03-0.05 ppm
An amount that gives a distillate concentration is suitable. Negative ion release
Depends on the season, location and other conditions.
Depends on the type of negative ion
No, but generally, 10 ^FourPieces / cm^ThreeAbove, preferably
Is 10^Four~Ten⁶Pieces / cm^ThreeIs suitable.

[0011] The number of negative ions is not significantly affected by temperature, but varies greatly by humidity. For example, at room temperature (about 25 ° C.), the relative humidity is 25% to 5%.
As it increases to 0%, the number of negative ions decreases by about 50%. Even if the temperature is changed, if the absolute humidity is the same, the number of negative ions maintains substantially the same value. As described above, the number of negative ions has extremely low temperature dependence and tends to be uniquely determined by the relative humidity.

Therefore, in the present invention, if the relative humidity in the environment to be sterilized is too high, the number of negative ions becomes too small, and not only the above-mentioned OH radicals and the like cannot be effectively generated. Since the growth of bacteria may also be promoted, it is suitable in the present invention that the content be 60% or less. In the present invention, if the relative humidity is too low, not only does the living environment of humans deteriorate, but also depending on the type of bacteria or virus, growth may be promoted, so the lower limit is about 40%. Suitable to be.

Further, in order to generate negative ions, an electrode needle is generally used. In this case, scattering of the negative ions has directionality. That is, FIG.
And the amount and the plane angle of the negative ions scattered from the electrode needle 1, and scattered in a conical area having the tip of the electrode needle 1 as a vertex and having an angle of 45 degrees with respect to the axis 1 a of the electrode needle 1. . At this time, negative ions within 45 degrees with respect to the axis 1a gradually decrease outward from the negative ion irradiation source, but the decrease outside 45 degrees becomes extremely large. On the other hand, ozone is easily maintained at a relatively uniform concentration throughout the environment to be sterilized by stirring by convection of air or the like.

Moreover, since the half-life of ozone is relatively long, about one and a half hours, it is relatively easy to control the concentration of ozone in the entire environment to be sterilized. 45 with respect to the axis of the electrode needle (negative ion emission source)
Even within the range, it is extremely difficult to control the concentration of negative ions in a space far from the negative ion emission source.

Therefore, even if the size of the environment to be sterilized is, for example, a space that can be covered by one ozone emission source, a plurality of negative ion emission sources (electrode needles) are required. In consideration of the installation mode of the negative ion emission source, considering that the effective sterilization range of one electrode needle is 45 degrees with respect to the axis of the electrode needle, for example, (1) emission with only one electrode needle Source
Multiple units are installed on each of the wall surface, ceiling surface and floor surface, at equal intervals, on two opposing wall surfaces, and on the ceiling surface and floor surface, so that they are alternately positioned in a staggered manner, (2)
In the case of an emission source provided with a plurality of (for example, four) electrode needles, an emission source in which each electrode needle is set so as to emit in four directions at a tip angle of 90 degrees, for example, on a wall surface,
In each of the four corners of the ceiling surface, floor surface, or in the middle of these,
It can be installed.

[0016] In addition to the case where the sterilization method of the present invention is carried out for each room, as well as when it is carried out in one building or in a plurality of building groups, ozone in the environment to be sterilized is negatively affected. It is necessary to control the amount of released ions and the relative humidity within the above ranges. This control
For example, a control unit (small computer) in the sterilization method implementing apparatus of the present invention in which an ozone emission source (ozone generator), a negative ion emission source (negative ion generator << electrode needle >>), and a humidity controller are integrated into one. May be carried out by incorporating
As described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 991, the apparatus can be installed in each room of one building or a group of buildings, and these apparatuses can be connected to a single computer online to perform centralized operation.

[0017]

Next, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a plan view showing the amount and angle of negative ions when negative ions are scattered using an electrode needle. FIG. 2 is a closed space for testing a room (length × width × height = 2 m × 2 m × 2 m). The ozone generator 3 and four electrode needles (each tip of each needle is at a 90 ° angle downward) are mounted on the ceiling surface 2 of one side of which is provided with air inflow / outflow means (not shown). Set so as to spread radially in the four directions of FIG.
FIG. 4 is a side view showing a state in which an ozone / negative ion emission source having only two electrode needles 41 and 42 is installed and sterilization is performed.

In practicing the present invention, first, the relative humidity inside the room is adjusted to 60%, and ozone is released from the ozone generator of the ozone / negative ion emission source 1 to make the inside of the room an atmosphere having an ozone concentration of 0.03 ppm. , in this atmosphere, 10 ⁴ /
Electrode needles 41, 42,... so that cm ³ negative ions (OH ^{− using} room moisture << moisture >> as a negative ion source) exist.
... released negative ions.

On the other hand, at the time of this operation, the inside of the room was sterilized by blowing hot air at 100 ° C. for 30 minutes in advance.
About 100 MRSA (Mesitylin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus)
It was supplied together with the air flow at a rate of 0 pieces / 1 cc. Inside the room, the sterilization method of the present invention was carried out under the above conditions, and 1 cc of room air was extracted every minute from 1 minute after the implementation, and the number of MRSA was observed to be almost 0 in 5 minutes. (Ie, almost die).

When the sterilization method of the present invention was carried out in the same manner as described above except that H. influenzae was used instead of MRSA, it was confirmed that H. influenzae was almost completely killed in 10 minutes.

Furthermore, in the above sterilization, even if a bad smell drifts inside the room, the bad smell can be effectively removed at the same time as the sterilization, unless there is a peculiar bad smell.

In the above embodiment, the relative humidity inside the room was adjusted to 60%, but it may be within the range of 40 to 60%.
ppm, but may be in the range of 0.01 to 0.05 ppm. Similarly, the negative ion concentration in the room is set to 10 ⁴ / cm ³ , but it may be in the range of 10 ⁴ to 10 ⁶ / cm ^3. For example, the same result as described above could be obtained.

[0023]

The sterilization method of the present invention is as described above, and the concentration is appropriately set in the environment to be sterilized, for example, from 0.03 to 0.3.
05 ppm ozone and appropriate concentration, for example, 10 ⁴ to 10 ⁶ / cm
^Because of the release of negative ions of ³ , the release of these negative ions reacts with ozone to produce, for example, hydroxyl radicals, which are more oxidizing and germicidal than ozone, and attack and kill bacteria. it can. Therefore,
If the sterilization method of the present invention is carried out in hospitals, welfare facilities, food factories, etc., it is possible to prevent in-hospital infections in hospitals and the like and also prevent food poisoning due to bacteria in food factories with extremely simple equipment. .

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing an electrode needle used in the present invention and the amounts and angles of negative ions scattered from the electrode needle.

FIG. 2 is a side view showing a state in which an ozone generator and an electrode needle are installed on a ceiling of a room to perform sterilization.

[Description of Signs] 1,41,42 Electrode needle 2 Ceiling surface 3 Ozone / negative ion generator

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page F term (reference) 4C058 AA02 AA05 AA21 AA23 BB06 BB07 JJ14 KK01 KK11 KK21 KK50 4C080 AA07 BB05 HH02 KK02 LL02 MM08 QQ11

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A sterilizing method comprising releasing ozone and negative ions into an environment to be sterilized. 2. The relative humidity in the environment to be sterilized is from 40 to
The sterilization method according to claim 1, wherein the sterilization method is set to 60%. 3. The sterilization method according to claim 1, wherein the amount of released ozone is such that the residual concentration of ozone in the environment to be sterilized is 0.05 ppm or less. 4. The sterilization method according to claim 1, wherein the amount of the released negative ions is such that the concentration of the negative ions in the environment to be sterilized is 10 ⁴ / cm ³ or more. 5. The method according to claim 5, wherein the negative ions are released by using an electrode needle such that the tip of the electrode needle is the apex and the region to be sterilized is positioned within a range of 45 degrees with respect to the axis of the electrode needle. The sterilization method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein: