College Installs New Air Purification System

Students, faculty and staff will breathe a little easier when they return to campus for the start of the fall semester on Sept. 7.

Thanks to the purchase of advanced bipolar ionization technology, all seven of the college's buildings on its four campuses will have improved air quality.

Bipolar ionization, explained Dannie Alexander, vice president for campus planning and operations, is the process of creating negatively and positively charged ions that are injected into building air streams, which then bond to particulates, such as spores, viruses, odorants, bacteria and dust, in the air.

"It is the most cutting edge technology we can install in a commercial building for improved air quality," Alexander said. "As part of the bonding process, these ions alter the viruses and odorants, rendering them inert. Simultaneously, by bonding to particulates, the mass of particles increase, so it is easier to capture in air filters and/or the particles will simply fall out of the air. The process greatly improves air quality."

Installation of the system, which costs nearly $500,000, began in July.

"To cover the entire college foot print - more than one million square feet - will take approximately six to eight weeks," Alexander said. "Assuming we don't encounter any delays, installation will be complete by the fall semester."

Alexander and his team started researching the bipolar ionization process in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

"Throughout the pandemic, we have strived to be a leader in providing a safe space for all," he said.

Over the last two-and-a-half years, the college increased the cleaning of high- traffic areas and high-touch surfaces such as handrails, benches, tables, handles and restrooms. At a minimum of once per day, all surfaces are being wiped and disinfected using products that kills the COVID family of viruses. Additionally, cleaning kiosks and hand sanitizer are available in or near all classrooms and labs and consistent signage was developed covering aspects regarding cleaning practices, social distancing and traffic flow. Free COVID-19 at-home test kits were also made available to students, faculty and staff. A number of additional distribution dates for at-home kits are planned for the fall semester.

"The pandemic created an opportunity for us to really look at our processes," he said. "Bipolar ionization was the logical next step to ensure the continued health and safety of our students, faculty and staff."