The Open Air Factor A Story of OAFs and SODs, Sausages and circumstances

The Open Air Factor  History  First identified in the 1960’s at Porton Down – Microbiological Research Establishment- MRE  Recorded as a Patent Specification in March Druett & Packman (MRE)  Nature 26 th Oct “An Unstable Germicidal Pollutant in Rural Air”- Druett & Packman (MRE)

The Open Air Factor (1968)  “ Substances known collectively as “The Open Air Factor” which kill bacteria, exist in the atmosphere at Porton”  “The Properties of the open air factor are similar to… ozone-olefin reactions”  “Some viruses are susceptible to an open air factor which is constant from night to night the nature of which is unknown”

The Open Air Factor (1988)  Lincolnshire Sausages made with fresh English Sage have a much longer shelf-life than those made with dried sage  Prof D.C. Ellwood- “If only someone could design an Open Air Factor Generator”

The Open Air Factor (1992-3)  Experiments with ozone in gaseous and solution forms  1992 First Open Air Factor generator built using an ozone emitting UV tube and Essential Oils extracted from herbs- Sage and Rosemary  Experiments at a UKAS Accredited Lab showed average bacterial cell death of % in 60 seconds compared to control.

The Open Air Factor (1993)  Patent Granted!

The Open Air Factor (1998)  Experiments carried out by  MRE Porton Down (Benbough and Bennett)  S.C. Johnson& Son Inc. ( Racine WI.) (Sadler)  Harry Reid Centre for Environmental Studies, University of Nevada, Las Vegas (Jacoby-Garrett, Bishop and Stetzenbach)  All variously showed 3-5 log reductions against controls vs Staphylococcus, Micrococcus, E.coli, Klebsiella, and significant reductions in Bacillus spp and Clostridium.

The Open Air Factor  We have identified at least 40 kinetic stages  The products of each kinetic stage are capable of reacting with their own precursors and progeny  Its not taught to microbiologists in Universities  Atmospheric Chemists know all about it  Microbiologists don’t read papers on atmospheric chemistry

The Open Air Factor -Actives  HOCH 2 OOH HYDROXYMETHYLHYDROPEROXIDE  CH 3 OOH METHYL HYDROPEROXIDE  CH 3 CH(OH)OOH HYDROXYETHYL HYDROPEROXIDE  C 2 H 5 OOH ETHYL HYDROPEROXIDE

The Open Air Factor - Actives  H 2 O 2 HYDROGEN PEROXIDE  Plus Many, Many more…..  AND…

The Open Air Factor OH The Hydroxyl Radical

The Open Air Factor  Problems with OAFs  In anything other than very low concentrations it generates a particulate “fog”.  Detectable Ozone must be present in the initial stages  The By-products are difficult to characterise because they are so reactive

The Open Air Factor  The solution to the problems  “Plasmalyser”  A non thermal plasma generates the ozone, destroys the particulates, creates hydroxyl radicals, prevents fouling of:  A UV/catalysis stage, which further removes unwanted contaminants increases hydroxyl radicals  Finally residual ozone is blended with terpenes to create Open Air Factor

The Open Air Factor- Chestnuts!  “If it kills bacteria and viruses so effectively it must be harmful to animals”  “Its Ozone that’s the biocide”  “It contains ………..(fill in the blank) which has been shown in some studies to be harmful/irritant/ deadly…”

Open Air Factor  In 2008 tests at the Building Research Establishment’s Indoor Air Quality Monitoring Unit Ozone –below 30ppb No hazardous by-products when compared to international standards

The Open Air Factor- Effectiveness  It kills airborne virus and bacteria, often within seconds of exposure  It kills on surfaces  It does not require all of the air in a room to constantly pass through a device  It works 24/7  It is benign to humans and other animals.  It is neutralized by Superoxide dismutases (SODs)

The Open Air Factor- Plasmalyser Generated.

Open Air Factor- The Next Generation Picture Courtesy of Tri-Air Developments Ltd.