UVC Air Conditioning for Offshore Oil and Gas Industries

Air hygiene for offshore oil and gas industries improves the health of employees by effectively destroying micro-organisms which build up in air conditioning systems through UVC and air oxidation. Effective UVC systems prevent health issues accruing in employees by providing air quality in accommodation rooms, offices and recreational areas.

While there are many different companies offering similar systems with the same benefits it can become a daunting task to appoint which system is best for you, your business and employees health. This article focuses on the issues that develop in offshore oil and gas systems particularly in heating, ventilation and cooling systems which then causes health problems among staff, we then look at the solutions and benefits of using UVC.

Advanced Air Hygiene state that their effective UVC and air oxidation will improve the air quality in HVAC systems. Below are the areas which are affected most by contamination:

Return Air and Fresh Air Mixing Chamber
Pre Filter and Mixing or Bag Filter
Cooling Coil Section and Drain Pan
Supply Air Ducting (From The AHU to the conditioned rooms)
Occupied Rooms
Return Air Ducting (From the conditioned Rooms to the AHU)

Return Air and Fresh Air Mixing Chamber 

This is where the contaminated air returns from occupied areas which may contain viruses and bacteria. The fresh air may also be contaminated depending on where it has come from, but will most certainly contain particulates.

Pre Filter and Mixing or Bag Filter 

Filtration is essential in any HVAC system to stop particulates. The normal system would have an F7 pre and bag filter. The bag filter is designed with concave chambers to increase the surface area so that the capacity of the filter to hold particulates is increased. The Filter density can be increased to HEPA which will filter very small particulates and some microscopic pathogens. Increasing filter density will increase the pressure drop within the system which in turn will increase the load on the Fan and therefore, increase the running cost of the system. Some HEPA Filters are impregnated with disinfectant but this can degrade very quickly in adverse conditions such as High Humidity.

The filters do not kill living organism which in fact double every 4 hours with viruses doubling every 2 hours. Due to the conditions within the cooling coil, chemical cleaning is not an option and will not prevent the increase of microbial colonies.

Cooling coil section and drain plan 

This is where the main cause of air pollution occurs within the HVAC system. Again chemical cleaning is not an option due to conditions within the cooling coil and the regularly this would have to take place to be effective.

UVC emitters should be fitted across the cooling coils which will then emit continual dose of light. Because the cooling coil is in a fixed position, a low amount of UVc will produce a large dosage over 24 hours. This will keep the cooling coil completely free of Bio-Film which in turn will significantly improve the general air quality.

Cooling coil without UVC 

Cooling coil with UVC

Over the past 5 years air oxidation has been developed to operate in high volume HVAC systems which you would find in the oil and gas industries. 

Supply Air Ducting

 a) A UVc Duct Module should be fitted into the discharge ducting. This can be either by a large plenum installed in between the AHU and the first division of the ducting or a number of smaller UVc Modules installed in each ducting leg. The most important point to understand when employing this method is that the UVc emitters must run in line with the duct. The Dosage of UVc applied must be calculated based on the size of the duct in section and the speed of the air as it passes through the duct. By offering the UVc emitters to run along the length of the duct we can ensure that the air is exposed to the UVc for as long a time as possible. b) When it is not possible to find the space for a UVc Duct Module or for a retro-fit, we can use Advanced Oxidation Probes to achieve the result.

Typical UVc Duct Module 

Occupied Rooms 

In sleeping quarters a build up of viruses and bacteria occurs often and can be prevented by utilizing of the Air Treatment as described above. In Modular Accommodation the deployment of a standalone UVc Air Disinfection Unit in each room will solve the problem.

Return Air Ducting

If it is not possible to deploy either UVc modules or Advanced Oxidation probes in the supply air ducting for occupied rooms, a reasonable alternative would be to fit UVc or Advanced Oxidation Probes into the return air duct. This method alone will not improve the general air quality without treatment to the cooling coil but it will prevent cross contamination by eliminating the Viruses before they can get into the supply air system.

You can find the full article on: www.aahygiene.com/news/uvc-air-conditioning-for-offshore-oil-and-gas-industries/

For more information on UVC, air oxidation and air hygiene systems please visit www.aahygiene.com

Disinfect the Air in your Office | Advanced Air Hygiene

Advanced Air Hygiene have been able to make large strives forward in air disinfection as they use the complex method of using UV technology to help make sure that air is fully disinfected. This complex system has a germicidal effect of UV-C radiation to prevent microbial build up in Air conditioning (HVAC) and refrigeration systems, in order to ensure that these areas are disinfected. Clean air in the work place has many advantages as is can help protect your staff from becoming ill as it will clean the recycled air from the office to make it fully disinfected to help reduce the spread of infection in the work place. This is just one of the many ways that Advanced Air Hygiene are able to help ensure that their innovative technology is useful in preventing the spread of illness and infection in the workplace. Based in Weaverham they offer their service to a range of areas such as Manchester, Liverpool, Wigan, Widnes and many other areas across the Northwest. 

Air Hygiene is very important for health reasons as airborne micro-organisms such as germs, bacteria, fungi and viruses which can trigger health problems for your staff and even contaminate raw materials and fresh food in food production, leading to premature spoilage and infection. Advanced Air Hygiene aim to help disinfect ventilation systems to prevent the spread of infection that travels through these vents but their systems can reduce the concentration of microbes and endotoxins by up to 99 % to help make the work place allot less prone to infection. This technology has been proven to be very effective as in a recent survey it has been shown that these systems can reduce an offices repository problems by 40%, thus showing how effective this technology can be in making a work environment much less prone to infected micro-organisms. Advanced Air Hygienes technology is suitable for a range of establishments such as health establishments, elite sport facilities, office blocks, food storage facilities and many other types of establishments, which shows how versatile and effective this technology can be in disinfecting air. Disinfection systems from Advanced Air Hygiene work on a purely physical basis as they ensure effective and continuous disinfection of the air to prevent the spread of infected microbes. There are many advantages of using this innovative air disinfection technology such as:

• Prevents germ build-up in HVAC systems by up to 99.9% on a long-term basis
• Fulfils the hygiene requirements of VDI 6022
• Disinfects 24 hours a day
• Is proven to reduce sickness figures helping to increase productivity
• Can extend Shelf Life of food
• Is practically maintenance-free
• Dispenses with the need for chemical cleaners which can be expensive and harmful to health and the environment
• Has an excellent price/ benefit ratio
• Are easy to integrate into existing and planned systems

Here is a testimony from one of their previous clients:

Carl Peaking : ''I am the owner of a business that has a large office where all the workers are in close proximity to each other which only helped to spread infected micro-organisms throughout the office. But since I purchased Advance Air Hygienes technology I have seen a 35% decrease in absences from my staff, which shows how effective this technology can be in making a working environment much cleaner in terms of air quality. Overall, I would highly recommend their service.''

To find out any further information about Advanced Air Hygienes innovative technology and to browse their different products, please click here.

Reasons to Use Advanced Air Hygiene's Technology

Advanced Air Hygiene aim improve the air quality of your establishment through their innovative technology that is able to clean the air of a building. They are the UK's leading specialists in Air Disinfection using UV Technology. Their systems use the germicidal effect of UV-C radiation to prevent microbial build up in Air conditioning (HVAC) and refrigeration systems. Pioneers in their field they can offer the best possible quality machines to help clean the air in your work place and insure that this is done effectively. Advanced Air Hygiene has a strategic partnership with Ferguson Engineering Northern Ltd to design and manufacture bespoke UV-C product decontamination tunnels for the food industry, thus ensuring that they can offer the best possible products. Based in Cheshire they can offer their service to a range of areas such as Warrington, Manchester, Liverpool and many other areas. Advanced Air Hygiene can also offer their service on an international level meaning that they can send their advanced technology to other countries as well.

3 reasons to use their technology:

Helps to prevent sickness- by simply having clean air rather than pumping the same air around the office you can prevent the spread of sickness by stopping germs from spreading around your office by simply using this technology.   

Keeps employees from taking sick leave - by reducing sickness in the office you are effectively preventing the number of people who call in sick as you will prevent sickness from spreading around the office, thus costing you money and time. 

UV-C Technology Increases Shelf Life of Food- Air Hygiene plays a key role in the longevity and food safety of raw materials and products because micro-organisms that cause spoilage and food poisoning are able to spread easily via the air causing contamination. The disinfection systems from Advanced Air Hygiene provide an efficient remedy to this problem.

Here are all the advantages of  UV-C Technology:

• Prevents germ build-up in HVAC systems by up to 99.9% on a long-term basis
• Fulfils the hygiene requirements of VDI 6022
• Disinfects 24 hours a day
• Is proven to reduce sickness figures helping to increase productivity
• Can extend Shelf Life of food
• Is practically maintenance-free
• Dispenses with the need for chemical cleaners which can be expensive and harmful to health and the environment
• Has an excellent price/ benefit ratio
• Are easy to integrate into existing and planned systems

Click here to find out more information about Advanced Air Hygienes technology.