Self-Decontaminating Surfaces
Self-decontaminating surfaces can be used to protect against harmful biological and chemical substances, but also to stop the carrying of disease at hospitals, or for a safer handling of food or manufacturing processes.
Some of the clients with which FOI has co-operated are the Armed Forces, the National Swedish Defence Materiel Administration, the Swedish Environmental Research Institute and 3nine AB.
FOI offers methods and knowledge for the combination and integration of self-cleaning surfaces in a number of applications: We have for example developed a maintenance-free surface which decontaminates chemicals and bacteria, where all that is needed to make the process work is sunlight or lamps. We have also developed a maintenance-free filter with a self-decontaminating surface that cleans air and water
If you work with protective materials, our method amounts to a reinforced protection for both man and environment. The cleaning characteristics of the self-decontaminating surface decreases the need of environmentally and health hazardous chemicals.
The product decreases the contact propagation of dangerous substances and provides an improved protection for people. It also provides increased quality where there is a great demand for cleanness. Self-decontaminating surfaces decreases the need for the spread of dangerous chemicals and bacteria, both in closed and general areas. This helps you and your clients save both time and money by avoiding expensive and time-consuming decontamination measures .
In short, this technology is all about a light-absorbing material initiating a chemical surface reaction when being illuminated with sunlight or an ordinary lamp. Organic chemicals and bacteria getting into contact with the surface is then decomposed into harmless end products.
The material can be re-used for a long time without any maintenance. The development of new and improved materials goes on continuously, but we already have very useful methods and materials for self-decontaminating surfaces.
We can offer our clients specially adapted solutions, in close co-operation, within this area. FOI also has its own patents describing how to optimise the decomposition of organic contamination on a photo catalysator by directing humidity and the temperature of the catalysator, and how to utilise this in technical equipment for air cleaning.
Feel free to contact us so that we can jointly review how self-decontaminating surfaces can solve some of your problems.