How does negative ion work?

Negative ions are ions with one or more negative charges. The atoms that make up a molecule have a certain number of electrons moving around the central core (nucleus). Some electrons are positively charged. Others are negatively charged. When an electron is removed from an atom, the atom becomes a positive ion. However, if an extra electron is pushed into the atom so that it has too many electrons, it becomes a negative ion. Negative ion generators are an impressive piece of technology when it comes to air quality and indoor environmental purification.Purisystems brand dust collectors have a built-in negative ion generator that makes them uniquely suited to clean the air and provide a healthier indoor environment. In this article, we will detail how negative ions work, what they do, and their application in dust collectors.

Working principle

Ionization

The negative ion generator is internally equipped with an ionizer that ionizes the molecules or atoms in the air by means of a needle tip discharge or glow discharge, etc., so that they acquire additional electrons and thus form negatively charged ions.

Acceleration by the Electric Field

During ionization, the negative ions are accelerated by the electric field. This gives them sufficient kinetic energy to overcome air resistance and diffuse into the surrounding air.

Binding with Particles

Diffused negative ions attach to airborne particles, bacteria, viruses and other pollutants to form composite particles. The increase in size of these composite particles, makes them easier to capture and remove.

Application in dust collectors

The installation of a negative ion generator in a dust collector offers the following advantages:

Air Purification

PM is the main pollutant in cloudy weather. There is evidence that PM 2.5, in particular seriously affects human health. Based on 2010 data, about 3.2 million people die each year from exposure to particulate matter. Globally, 2.1 million people die each year due to elevated PM 2.5 levels. Negative air ions are unipolar ions that charge PM and deposit faster than uncharged PM because charged PM can attach to nearby surfaces, settle faster, or sink faster due to gravity. In an unoccupied office space (50m3), PM concentrations were reduced by two orders of magnitude after 2 hours of treatment with an anion generator.

Disinfection and Bacteriostasis

Negative ions have been shown to help purify the air of harmful gasses such as formaldehyde, benzene and sulfur dioxide. The electrons generated by the negative ions are able to combine with the molecules of these gasses, forming larger composite particles, which reduce their concentration and contribute to the subsequent purification treatments.

Many research articles have described the effects of negative ions on microbial growth. Most studies have focused on bacteria, with high concentrations of negative air ions inhibiting bacterial growth. An early study showed that negative ions caused massive biological decay in the bacterium Serratia marcescens. Exposure to negative ions inactivates or inhibits growth of bacteria such as Escherichia coli, Candida albicans, Staphylococcus aureus, and Pseudomonas fluorescens, and is lethal to starved cells of Pseudomonas verticillata. Negative ions prevent 60% of tuberculosis infections (TB) infections and 51% of tuberculosis. In addition to their inhibitory effect on bacteria, reports have shown that negative ions also inhibit the growth of fungi and viruses.

Improvement of the Environment

Negative ions are often said to add a feeling of freshness to the atmosphere, similar to the air in forests and waterfalls in nature. Although this subjective feeling is difficult to measure quantitatively, people often feel "fresh" and "energized" when exposed to negative indoor air, which improves their motivation to work.

Besides animals/humans and microorganisms, plants can also be affected by negative ions. Negative ions activate biological enzymes and hormones in plants and increase plant cell division and tissue differentiation, promoting overall plant growth. Negative ions improve the rate of electron transfer and the opening and closing of stomata in plant leaves, thereby increasing carbon dioxide uptake and photosynthesis efficiency. This helps to increase the growth rate and yield of the plant. Plants provide you with more refreshing oxygen.

Health Benefits

When using Purisystems dust collectors, the negative ion generator provides a more comfortable and refreshing indoor environment, which helps reduce stress and anxiety and improves the emotional and psychological state of the occupants.Negative oxygen ion concentrations above 1000 ions/cm 3 are considered a threshold for fresh air, and concentrations should be high enough to boost human immunity. Exposure to negative ions has a variety of effects on animal and human health, antimicrobials, and plant growth. The effects of negative ions on human and animal health focus on the cardiovascular and respiratory systems, as well as mental health. The effects of negative ions on the cardiovascular system include improving the deformability of red blood cells and aerobic metabolism, and lowering blood pressure.

Krueger and Reed (1976) reviewed important reports on the biological effects of negative air ions and proposed the serotonin hypothesis for the biological effects of negative air ions. Serotonin is a very potent and versatile neurohormone. It exerts profound neurovascular, endocrine, and metabolic effects in humans and animals. It plays an important role in basic life patterns such as sleep and mood regulation. There is evidence that negative air ions can significantly lower serotonin levels in the blood or brain.

Conclusions

The Negative Ion Generator, the core technology of Purisystems brand dust collectors, provides several benefits by generating negative ions: It improves air purification, provides a healthy and comfortable indoor environment, and promotes respiratory health. The application of this technology creates fresher and healthier indoor environments for users and promotes further development and innovation in air purification technology. Negative ion generators are expected to play an increasingly important role in indoor air purification as technology continues to advance.