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<p>Understanding and managing environmental processes governing indoor air quality in healthcare facilities is essential for mitigating health risks associated with airborne microorganisms. This study proposes an integrated experimental and life cycle assessment (LCA) framework to support sustainability-oriented process design and decision-making for indoor air disinfection systems, using electrochemically generated ozone as a representative case study. A proton exchange membrane (PEM) electrochemical reactor was used to generate controlled ozone gas streams (0.00, 0.24 and 1.16&#xa0;mg min<sup>− 1</sup>), which were applied to the continuous treatment of simulated hospital bioaerosols containing antibiotic-resistant Gram-negative (<i>Escherichia coli</i>) and Gram-positive (<i>Staphylococcus aureus</i>) bacteria under conditions representative of ventilation and air-handling systems. Disinfection performance was interpreted through mechanistic analyses, including membrane permeability alteration, DNA damage and attenuation of antibiotic resistance genes (<i>mec</i>A and <i>bla</i><sub>TEM</sub>). Experimental data were subsequently integrated into a scalable cradle-to-gate LCA model designed to evaluate environmental impacts across different room configurations, ventilation rates and energy supply scenarios. Environmental performance was assessed in terms of global warming potential, water footprint, human toxicity (non-cancer) and freshwater ecotoxicity. Electricity consumption was identified as the dominant contributor to most impact categories (80–89%), highlighting energy demand as a key environmental driver of indoor air treatment processes. Coupling the system with renewable electricity sources reduced the carbon footprint by up to 80% without compromising disinfection effectiveness. By linking disinfection performance with sustainability assessment, this work provides transferable insights for the evaluation and optimization of indoor air disinfection technologies in healthcare environments, supporting informed environmental and engineering decision-making.</p>

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A Design and Life Cycle Assessment Framework for Electrochemical Ozone-based Indoor Air Treatment in Hospitals

  • 期刊论文

  • 发表日期：

    2026年7月1日

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  • V. Pertegal,
  • S. E. Correia,
  • A. Rodríguez-Gómez,
  • C. M. Fernández-Marchante,
  • M. A. Rodrigo,
  • C. Sáez,
  • E. Lacasa

摘要

Understanding and managing environmental processes governing indoor air quality in healthcare facilities is essential for mitigating health risks associated with airborne microorganisms. This study proposes an integrated experimental and life cycle assessment (LCA) framework to support sustainability-oriented process design and decision-making for indoor air disinfection systems, using electrochemically generated ozone as a representative case study. A proton exchange membrane (PEM) electrochemical reactor was used to generate controlled ozone gas streams (0.00, 0.24 and 1.16 mg min− 1), which were applied to the continuous treatment of simulated hospital bioaerosols containing antibiotic-resistant Gram-negative (Escherichia coli) and Gram-positive (Staphylococcus aureus) bacteria under conditions representative of ventilation and air-handling systems. Disinfection performance was interpreted through mechanistic analyses, including membrane permeability alteration, DNA damage and attenuation of antibiotic resistance genes (mecA and blaTEM). Experimental data were subsequently integrated into a scalable cradle-to-gate LCA model designed to evaluate environmental impacts across different room configurations, ventilation rates and energy supply scenarios. Environmental performance was assessed in terms of global warming potential, water footprint, human toxicity (non-cancer) and freshwater ecotoxicity. Electricity consumption was identified as the dominant contributor to most impact categories (80–89%), highlighting energy demand as a key environmental driver of indoor air treatment processes. Coupling the system with renewable electricity sources reduced the carbon footprint by up to 80% without compromising disinfection effectiveness. By linking disinfection performance with sustainability assessment, this work provides transferable insights for the evaluation and optimization of indoor air disinfection technologies in healthcare environments, supporting informed environmental and engineering decision-making.