Converting a food oven into a thermal sanitizer for Personal Protective Equipment against COVID-19: Computational Fluid Dynamics simulation

  • Eleonora Bottani,
  • Roberto Montanari, 
  • Andrea Volpi 
  • Federico Solari,
  • Letizia Tebaldi
  • a,b,c,d,e  Department of Engineering and Architecture – University of Parma, Parco Area delle Scienze 181/A, 43124, Parma (Italy)
Cite as
Bottani E., Montanari R., Volpi A., Di Maria G., Solari F., Tebaldi L. (2021). Converting a food oven into a thermal sanitizer for Personal Protective Equipment against COVID-19: Computational Fluid Dynamics simulation. Proceedings of the 7th International Food Operations and Processing Simulation Workshop (FoodOPS 2021), pp. 1-7. DOI: https://doi.org/10.46354/i3m.2021.foodops.001
 Download PDF

Abstract

COVID-19 brought several management problems, and among these surely the topic of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) turned out to be crucial. Indeed, in the light of mandatory measurements adopted by governments both for private individuals and companies, their demand has rapidly increased, thus generating shortages, increased waste and unbalanced prices. In response to that, many industrial fields offered their tools and know-how for trying to partly face this issue, and in this paper part of a solution of this kind is presented. Specifically, it is meant the redesign of a food oven produced by an Italian company operating in the food sector (Nilma S.p.A.) for thermal sanitization against the virus in question. In this paper, the simulation of the temperature distribution inside the chamber is simulated, with subsequent experimental validation at 95°C.

References

  1. Celina, M. C., Martinez, E., Omana, M. A., Sanchez, A., Wiemann, D., Tezak, M., and Dargaville, T. R. (2020). Extended use of face masks during the COVID-19 pandemic – Thermal conditioning and spray-on surface disinfection. Polym. Degrad. Stab., 179: 109251.
  2. Cook, T. M. (2020). Personal protective equipment during the coronavirus disease (COVID) 2019 pandemic – a narrative review. Anaesthesia, 75:920-927.
  3. Fischer, R. J., Morris, D. H., van Doremalen, N., Sarchette, S., Matson, M. J., Bushmaker, T., Kwe Yinda, C., Seifert, S. N., Gamble, A., Williamson, B. N., Judson, S. D., de Wit, E., Lloyd-Smith, J. O., and Munster, V. J. (2020). Effectiveness of N95 Respirator Decontamination and Reuse against SARS-CoV-2 Virus. Emerg. Infect. Dis., 26(9): 2253-2255.
  4. Kasloff, S. B., Leung, A., Strong, J. E., Funk, D., and Cutts, T. (2021). Stability of SARS-CoV-2 on critical personal protective equipment. Scientific Reports, 11:984. 
  5. Liang, Y., Song, Q., Wu, N., Li, J., Zhong, Y., and Zeng, W. (2021). Repercussions of COVID-19 pandemic on solid waste generation and management strategies. Front. Environ. Sci. Eng., 15(6):115.
  6. World Health Organization (2020). Shortage of personal protective equipment endangering health workers worldwide. Available online: www. who.int/news-room/detail/03-03-2020-shortage-of-personal-protec-tive-equipment-endangeringhealth-workers-worldwide (Accessed May 2021).
  7. Xiang MB, Y., Song MSc, Q., and Gu MSc, W. (2020). Decontamination of surgical face masks and N95 respirators by dry heat pasteurization for one hour at 70°C. Am. J. Infect. Control, 48(8): 880-882.
  8. Zimmerling, A., and Chen, X. (2021). Innovation and possible long-term impact driven by COVID-19: Manufacturing, personal protective equipment and digital technologies. Technol. Soc., 65:101541.