With COVID-19 prompting a higher standard of sanitization, an Airdrie company has created a new system for disinfecting spaces.
According to Doug Sprague, founder and vice-president of Aqua de Terra, the company has used a patent from the United States Department of Energy to develop an aerosol fogger that kills bacteria, viruses and mold spores on contact.
“Why it’s so unique is it puts out a dry fog,” said Sprague, who has a background as a mechanical engineer.
Aqua de Terra’s aerosol foggers are composed of two components, Sprague said. The first component is a micro-aerosol generator (MAG) – which resembles a large black bowl sitting on top of the system – that converts a solution into a high volume, sub-micron sized aerosol.
Sprague said most fogging technologies release droplets between five and 50 microns in size, making the droplets heavier than air and causing them to land on the nearest flat surface.
“The droplet size of the MAG is 0.2 to 2 [microns], which means it’s lighter than air and it acts like a gas, so it gets in all the corners and crevices and underneath the table and around the back of the washing machine,” he said.
The fog permeates the room and kills bacteria, viruses and mold spores. Sprague claimed the aerosol fogger is 80 per cent more effective than bleach at killing pathogens.
The second component, according to Sprague, is the solution used in the system. The foggers use a fluid called hypochlorous acid (HOCL), which he said is a naturally occurring molecule used by the human immune system.
“When you cut yourself, white blood cells rush there to protect you. What they deliver is HOCL,” Sprague said. “You manufacture this in your body as part of your immune system. Every warm-blooded mammal does. We’re not putting anything in the air that you don’t have already in your body.”
Therefore, the solution has no risk to human contact. Even so, Sprague said studies are still evaluating the safety of inhaling the HCLO while the machines are running.
“Our recommendation is that you’re not in the room,” he said.
Sprague said the company has secured a Drug Identification Number with Health Canada, and the fluid has been approved by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency.
“We’ll be on the Health Canada list for COVID specifically in the middle of October,” he said.
The aerosol foggers cost slightly less than $4,000 to purchase, Sprague said, while the fluid is purchased separately.
Aqua de Terra has already delivered some systems to nearby municipalities. According to Ted Coffey, Chief Administrative Officer of Irricana, the Town purchased two of the systems, which were delivered in late September.
“We were approached by our Early Childhood Services (ECS) teacher,” Coffey said. “She had found this contact who was manufacturing this brand new system of disinfectant.”
According to Coffey, the Town spent $10,000 for two of the foggers and a year’s supply of hypochlorous acid for each. The funds for the foggers came from a COVID-19 grant the town received totalling $35,000, he said.
One of the foggers is being used to disinfect the playschool and ECS spaces at Irricana’s Community Hall. The second fogger will do double duty at the library and the municipal offices, Coffey said.
Ben Sherick, AirdrieToday.com
Follow me on Twitter @BenSherick
