Informing Building Strategies to Reduce Infectious Aerosol Transmission Risk by Integrating DNA Aerosol Tracers with Quantitative Microbial Risk Assessment.

Using aerosol-based tracers to estimate risk of infectious aerosol transmission aids in the design of buildings with adequate protection against aerosol transmissible pathogens, such as SARS-CoV-2 and influenza. We propose a method for scaling a SARS-CoV-2 bulk aerosol quantitative microbial risk assessment (QMRA) model for impulse emissions, coughing or sneezing, with aerosolized synthetic DNA tracer concentration measurements. With point-of-emission ratios describing relationships between tracer and respiratory aerosol emission characteristics (i.e., volume and RNA or DNA concentrations) and accounting for aerosolized pathogen loss of infectivity over time, we scale the inhaled pathogen dose and risk of infection with time-integrated tracer concentrations measured with a filter sampler. This tracer-scaled QMRA model is evaluated through scenario testing, comparing the impact of ventilation, occupancy, masking, and layering interventions on infection risk. We apply the tracer-scaled QMRA model to measurement data from an ambulatory care room to estimate the risk reduction resulting from HEPA air cleaner operation. Using DNA tracer measurements to scale a bulk aerosol QMRA model is a relatively simple method of estimating risk in buildings and can be applied to understand the impact of risk mitigation efforts.

Continuous nitrous oxide abatement in a novel denitrifying off-gas bioscrubber.

The potential of a bioscrubber composed of a packed bed absorption column coupled to a stirred tank denitrification bioreactor (STR) was assessed for 95 days for the continuous abatement of a diluted air emission of N2O at different liquid recycling velocities. N2O removal efficiencies of up to 40 ± 1 % were achieved at the highest recirculation velocity (8 m h(-1)) at an empty bed residence time of 3 min using a synthetic air emission containing N2O at 104 ± 12 ppmv. N2O was absorbed in the packed bed column and further reduced in the STR at efficiencies >80 % using methanol as electron donor. The long-term operation of the bioscrubber suggested that the specialized N2O degrading community established was not able to use N2O as nitrogen source. Additional nitrification assays showed that the activated sludge used as inoculum was not capable of aerobically oxidizing N2O to nitrate or nitrite, regardless of the inorganic carbon concentration tested. Denitrification assays confirmed the ability of non-acclimated activated sludge to readily denitrify N2O at a specific rate of 3.9 mg N2O g VSS h(-1) using methanol as electron donor. This study constitutes, to the best of our knowledge, the first systematic assessment of the continuous abatement of N2O in air emission. A characterization of the structure of the microbial population in the absorption column by DGGE-sequencing revealed a high microbial diversity and the presence of heterotrophic denitrifying methylotrophs.