An Electric Incinerator for Sterilization of Small Volumes of Air

A hot-air sterilizer capable of exposing airborne microorganisms to elevated temperatures with an almost instantaneous heating time was developed and evaluated. With this apparatus, aerosolized Bacillus subtilis var. niger spores were killed in about 0.02 sec when exposed to temperatures above 260 C. This is about 500 times faster than killing times reported by others. Extrapolation and comparison of data on the time and temperature required to kill B. subtilis var. niger spores on surfaces show that approximately the same killing time is required as is necessary for spores in air, if corrections are made for the heating time of the surface.

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“…The rate at which bacterial spores in air are inactivated by high temperature (dry heat) has been the subject of other publications (1,2).…”

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Thermal Inactivation of Aerosolized Bacillus subtilis var. niger Spores

Mullican¹,

Buchanan²,

Hoffman³

1971

Applied Microbiology

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“…This requires the movement of contaminated air that must be treated before being released to the atmosphere. Electric air incinerators have been described for sterilizing air at flow rates up to 100 ft3/min (3,5,6). As requirements increased beyond this point, it became economically advantageous to use other sources of heat for sterilization.…”

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confidence: 99%

Microbiological Evaluation of a Large-Volume Air Incinerator

Barbeito¹,

Taylor²,

Seiders³

1968

Applied Microbiology

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Two semiportable metal air incinerators, each with a capacity of 1,000 to 2,200 standard ft3 of air per min, were constructed to sterilize infectious aerosols created for investigative work in a microbiological laboratory. Each unit has about the same air-handling capacity as a conventional air incinerator with a brick stack but costs only about one-third as much. The units are unique in that the burner housing and combustion chamber are airtight and utilize a portion of the contaminated air stream to support combustion of fuel oil. Operation is continuous. Aerosols of liquid and dry suspensions of Bacillus subtilis var. niger spores and dry vegetative cells of Serratia marcescens were disseminated into the two incinerators to determine the conditions required for sterilization of contaminated air. With the latter organisms (concentration 2.03 X 107 cells/ft3 of air), a temperature of 525 F (274 C), measured at the firebox in front of the heat exchanger, was sufficient for sterilization. To sterilize 1.74 x 107 and 1.74 X 109 wet spores of B. subtilis per ft3, the required temperature ranged from 525 to 675 F (274 to 357 C) and 625 to 700 F (329 to 371 C), respectively. Air-sterilization temperature varied with each incinerator. This was because of innate differences of fabrication, different spore concentrations, and use of one or two burners With dry B. subtilis spores (1.86 X 108/ft3), a temperature of 700 F was required for sterilization. With dry spores, no difference was noted in the sterilization temperature for the two incinerators.

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Aerosol Challenge of Animals

Jemski¹,

Phillips²

1965

Methods of Animal Experimentation

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An Electric Incinerator for Sterilization of Small Volumes of Air

Cited by 6 publications

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Thermal Inactivation of Aerosolized Bacillus subtilis var. niger Spores

Thermal Inactivation of Aerosolized Bacillus subtilis var. niger Spores

Microbiological Evaluation of a Large-Volume Air Incinerator

Aerosol Challenge of Animals

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