According to a recent Tech Shout article, scientists have developed an air filter that’s 99.8% effective against COVID-19. A team of researchers at Galveston National Laboratory published a study in Materials Today Physics, claiming that just one pass through a filter made from commercially available nickel foam heated to 200 degrees Celcius killed the COVID-19 virus. On top of that, it also killed 99.9% of anthrax spores.
The key to its success is that the virus can’t survive temperatures above 70 degrees Celcius, so heating it well beyond that kills the virus almost instantly. Nickel foam is an ideal material because it’s porous, which allows for air to flow through it, but it’s also electrically conductive, which means it can be heated. Zhifent Ren, a co-author of the study, says the filter could be used in airports, office buildings, schools, and cruise ships to control the spread of the virus.
