Public Funding for Air Quality Research Ltd

"AQR has identified a clear market opportunity for a viable, sustainable and reliable drinking water treatment process at small community and single household scale. Currently, the UK water industry heavily subsidises treatment in rural, smaller communities since the cost of providing effective treatment makes it unaffordable for these customers. The AQR Safe Water(r) process provides effective disinfection in raw surface waters that can be particularly challenging due to a high organic, coloured content. Additional pre-treatment is necessary for current disinfection processes to operate effectively. UV disinfection can only operate in clear water, has significant power requirements and requires regular replacement of bulbs. Chlorine disinfection has been trialled at small-scale but failed due to the dosage requirements causing ineffective disinfection by over- or under-dosing. This project is concerned with understanding the interaction between the AQR Safe Water(r) disinfection process and organic content in raw surface water, to confirm the treated water is safe for human consumption. Current regulation is based on UV and chlorine disinfection that requires UV Transmittance (UVT) to reach 100 % and organic content to be reduced to zero, so that UV disinfection can operate effectively and chlorine does not produce potentially carcinogenic byproducts. However, water is visibly clear above 60 % UVT and if not using chlorine, there is no risk of producing harmful byproducts. The outputs from this project will help inform regulation and expedite AQR's market entry and retain AQR's significant competitive advantage. Supply of safe drinking water is taken for granted by developed nations, but is becoming under threat from ageing infrastructure, an increasing global population and climate change. Water security is a global challenge, alongside strict global sustainability and resource-efficiency targets to be achieved by 2030 \[source: UN Sustainable Development Goal 6\]. Globally, 8 out of 10 people in rural areas still have no access to safe drinking water \[source: UN Millennium Development Goal 7\]. The demand for water is rising, set to exceed supply in the UK as early as 2025 in highly populated areas \[source: BBC\], while the rising cost of water creates incentives for water companies to explore water conservation and re-use. The AQR Safe Water(r) system is a low-power process that uses no added chemicals and has a flexible, modular unit assembly. It can be easily operated using mains, solar or wind power and is ideal for single households and small communities, i.e. in rural and dispersed environments, globally."

Air Quality Research Ltd (AQR) has developed a novel energy-saving non-chemical process for disinfection of fluids. This is achieved by generating a suite of charged radical species, including Hydroxyls, which are recognised as Nature’s most effective disinfection agents. To date, AQR lacks a detailed understanding of the suite of charged radicals generated by the novel AQR disinfection process, preventing further product enhancements and restricting AQR to markets with batch disinfection process needs. The proposed project aims to quantitatively measure the proportion of Hydroxyl radicals as a function of the system performance. This will help AQR optimise the disinfection process and improve this capability so that the current batch treatment process can be speeded up and scaled up. The project will also explore how to selectively generate Hydroxyls to maximise the disinfection potential for a single-pass treatment process, to deliver a higher value proposition. The project will enable AQR to offer an enhanced product in existing and new markets, targeting industrial wastewater treatment at the point of production, prior to discharge to sewer drainage or environmental waters. This will offer cost-savings for wastewater re-use and reduced wastewater treatment and environmental benefits in terms of compliance with strict environmental regulations and control of emerging chemical contaminants.

Air Quality Research Ltd has identified a clear need for a cost-effective energy-saving alternative to Ultra-High Temperature [UHT] processing in the dairy industry. The dairy industry is dominated by just a few large producers and processors while smaller-scale players are locked out of the supply chain, which is heavily reliant on refrigerated transportation (the 'Chill Chain') and energy-intensive operational treatment costs. The project is concerned with confirming the technical feasibility for a viable alternative to UHT milk sterilisation, using an energy-saving novel advanced oxidation process. Air Quality Research Ltd (AQR) has identified a clear market need for a cost-effective solution that enables both small and large-scale milk processing using either mains power or renewable energy. The AQR technology provides milk producers with the ability to process their milk at the farm, bringing the supply chain back to the local community and improving farmers' profitability for milk production. Farmers in rural regions in i.e. India and China will be able to process their milk effectively and sell safe, fresh milk directly to consumers, strengthening poorer communities and contributing to improved nutrition and health. The project will lead to a full scale industry trial towards commercialisation of this novel sterilisation process and contribute to strengthening the UK's manufacturing export sector.

The project proposed here is the optimisation of an energy saving air sanitisation device (ESASD), for applications to improve indoor air quality in a variety of market sectors. The project involves identifying and assessing the efficacy of different materials and coatings for key core components of Air Quality Research Ltd platform ionisation technology. Indoor air quality is an important global environmental issue that can affect any occupied indoor or enclosed space. Offices and schools are common examples of occupied spaces where there is evidence to suggest that public health is reduced due to poor air quality that can contain particulate matter, chemical pollutants and air-borne pathogens such as viruses (influenza) and fungal spores (anthrax). Non-residential buildings must comply with European legislation that ensures adequate ventilation and improved air quality, which provides a clear market opportunity for this technology Air Quality Research Ltd proposes an easy to install ESASD that operates with minimum energy consumption and minimum low cost replacement parts. The power may come from an already available renewable source, i.e. solar power, so the ESASD may also be used in remote and undeveloped environments.

Indoor air quality is an important environmental issue that can affect any occupied indoor space. Air filtration equipment is utilised in numerous applications globally (e.g. industrial, medical, hospitality, utility and commercial sectors); it protects people, processes, equipment and the environment.Industrial processes require atmospheric cleanliness, whether it is for removal of particles in textile manufacture or to remove bacteria from clean rooms. There is a requirement in the medical sector to remove superbugs from hospital wards. Commercial property managers are seeking low cost approaches to tackle sick building syndrome and bacterial circulation. Air Quality Research Ltd has identified a gap in the market for an energy saving air sanitation device. The units can be installed into existing air conditioning units for dispersal throughout buildings, or via discrete units installed in-situ to deal with localised targets.