National facilities management organisation ServiceFM has been appointed the national distributor of Airofresh air purification units, aiming to work with schools, childcare, health, airports and other facilities across Australia.

According to Airofresh, university testing has found the Australian-first technology used by Airofresh in its full-circle air purification systems can reduce 99.99999 per cent of airborne viruses.

Testing undertaken by Australian universities found the carbon neutral Airofresh unit was able to remove virus particles, ensuring workplaces, health and aged care services, schools and other public and commercial buildings could be better protected from pathogens including MS2, a surrogate test for SARS Cov-2, along with fungi, mould, bacteria and gasses.

Jon Taylor, managing director of Airofresh, said the air purification units were designed to clean an environment by generating single-oxygen hydrons and hydroxyl ions, which destroy airborne viruses, bacteria and atmospheric contaminants.

“The unique process Airofresh uses provides a capability not found in units such as ozone oxidisers, or single-approach processes such as filters,” Taylor said.

Taylor said the Airofresh system was able to eliminate airborne contaminants, reduce disease and cross contamination, manage infection control, clean toxic gasses and remove unpleasant odours.

The system could also work in parallel with reverse-cycle air conditioners.

James Pollock, CEO of ServiceFM, said with COVID-19 and concerns about the highly-contagious Delta strain shutting borders, closing schools and sparking a mass exodus from offices and forcing people to work from home, the past two years had shown the need to remove contaminants from ambient air was more important than ever.

“The filterless system means contaminants aren’t stored and the full-circle air purification ensures the entire environment is continually safe for workers, clients and staff.”

“There has never been a greater need for pure, safe air in the spaces we live, work and play. This Australian-made technology has come along at just the right time.”

Airofresh requires maintenance once every two years and its filterless system doesn’t require PPE when it is being serviced, nor the disposal of dirty, contaminated HEPA filters.

ServiceFM is also currently working with a national supermarket chain with widespread plans to install Airofresh units.

An audit of ventilation is also underway across thousands of schools in NSW and in South Australia, coinciding with the return of students in both NSW and Victoria, demonstrating the need to ensure students have access to clean, pathogen-free air.

He said ServiceFM has been working with several schools nationally, including Somerset College on the Gold Coast.

“We want parents to rest assured their children are studying in the cleanest possible environment, with Airofresh units removing pathogens such as COVID-19, mould, bacteria and fungi,” Pollock said.

“We’ve been working with schools in several states, with food producers, office building owners, health and aged care service providers and airports, and they understand the need to provide the highest possible air quality to keep their premises and their people safe.”

David Thornton, COO, Somerset College, said the school had partnered with Airofresh over the past year to demonstrate the benefits of its air purification technology.

“The technology has been safe and effective in classrooms, effectively remediating some challenging air quality issues and providing excellent air quality for both students and teachers,” Thornton said.

“The benefit to indoor air quality has been validated by our investment in real-time, multimodal air quality monitoring in the Airofresh treated classrooms. This allows us to track air quality prior to, and when the Airofresh units are operating.”

The Airofresh system also has positive applications for the agricultural industry, Mr Pollock said, with university testing also finding that purifying the air had been shown to extend the shelf life of fruit and vegetables, shortening the length of time needed in cold storage and keeping produce fresher for longer for local and export markets.

Airofresh is also being used in the Riverland in South Australia by the Costa Group, Australia’s largest citrus grower, to purify air within its storage facilities.

Sunraysia Citrus Packing Operations Manager Ben Cant said Costa Group had undertaken trials at Murtho of Valencia oranges in shipping containers, comparing normal storage conditions with Airofresh purified air, and found an improvement of the shelf life, moisture retention in the fruit and flavour enhancement.

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