Air Disinfection of Premises: Why and How Should It Be Done?

In the workplace—whether in industrial facilities or offices— air disinfection is a major concern. Healthy indoor air ensures not only the protection of employees but also the safety of products, particularly in the food industry.

Compared to traditional solutions such as fumigation, misting, or ozone treatment, what are the advantages of the Photoclean method?

Air Disinfection by Fumigation: Principles and Limitations

As the name suggests, fumigation involves introducing “smoke” (actually a gas) into the premises. The process consists of three steps: introduction of the product, contact time, and removal.

While this technique has proven to be extremely effective against surface contamination, it does have some drawbacks:

• fumigation is incompatible with any human presence, which means the premises must be evacuated—a real obstacle for facilities operating around the clock, for example;
• fumigation disinfectants are often highly toxic, making their use complicated in the food industry;
• as soon as employees return, the risk of contamination arises again.

Air Disinfection via Misting: How It Works and Limitations

This method involves dispersing a disinfectant into the air using a compressor. In the form of microdroplets, the product settles on all surfaces and decontaminates them.

While also highly effective for disinfecting surfaces, this process has the same limitations as fumigation: the need to treat empty premises, the toxicity of the products, and the return of the risk of contamination once people are present.

Ozone Air Disinfection: Method and Drawbacks

Compared to the first two techniques mentioned, ozone disinfection of premises offers clear advantages. In addition to its effectiveness (comparable to sterilization) against a wide range of microorganisms, it acts on both surfaces and the air. It also eliminates unpleasant odors. Finally, it does not require the use of a specific device, since the ozone is emitted by a generator that uses oxygen present in the air.

However, ozone also has its limitations. It requires the evacuation of the premises, their complete sealing, and the shutdown of all ventilation, heating, and air conditioning systems. Furthermore, it is incompatible with the presence of food, and—just like fumigation or misting—its effect is temporary: as soon as staff return, contamination is possible again.

UV Air Decontamination: The Benefits of Photoclean

This leaves only one solution for effective air disinfection: the use of UV rays. Photoclean has designed and developed an exclusive, high-performance method that utilizes the biocidal properties of UV-C rays, optimized by a specialized filter medium. The operating principle is simple: the filter medium captures and traps contaminants, and the UV lamp destroys them through photolysis.

This combination provides a continuous air decontamination system. Because UV-C light acts only on contaminants—without affecting inert particles—our solutions are both cost-effective and space-saving.

Most importantly, our technology prevents the release of chemicals into the air and provides ongoing treatment, whereas solutions such as misting, fumigation, and others are curative and temporary. With Photoclean, you prevent the risk of contamination, which makes a big difference.

Finally, our modules can operate continuously without interrupting your business, which is yet another real advantage.

The result: an airborne disinfection method for professional settings that is compatible with human activity and food contact, is more than 95% effective, and can treat very large volumes of air without the use of chemicals or rinsing.