Typical applications - HPP271

HPP271 User Guide

Document code
M211888EN
Revision
E
Language
English
Product
HPP271
Document type
User guide

The probe is not intended for safety level measurement.

The probe is not intended to be used in vacuum applications.

Vaporized hydrogen peroxide is used for bio-decontamination in several applications from healthcare and pharmaceutics to food and beverage industry. Vaporized hydrogen peroxide is an easy-to-use and effective bio-decontaminating agent that destroys the full spectrum of biological contaminants including micro-organisms such as bacterial spores, mycobacteria, and non-enveloped, non-lipid viruses. Bio-decontamination with vaporized hydrogen peroxide is a low-temperature, environmentally friendly process that leaves no real residues, only water vapor and oxygen. One of the benefits also is that the bio-decontamination process can be validated.

Common vaporized H2O2 bio-decontamination applications include isolators, transfer hatches, closed Restricted Access Barrier Systems, and room bio-decontamination (for example, in hospital environments, cleanrooms, decontamination tents, aircrafts, ships, and shipping containers).

The bio-decontamination process typically has the following phases:
  1. Optional dehumidification, where relative humidity is decreased to a desired level, for example, by warming the space.
  2. Conditioning, where vaporized H2O2 mixture is introduced into the space to be bio-decontaminated.
  3. Decontamination, where H2O2 concentration is maintained at a desired level for a certain time.
  4. Aeration, where H2O2 is removed from the bio-decontaminated space.
Figure 1. Example behavior of H2O2 concentration, relative saturation (RS), and relative humidity (RH) in a vaporized H2O2 bio-decontamination cycle (non-condensing conditions)
In the non-condensing bio-decontamination cycle example shown in Figure 1:
  • In the dehumidification phase, RH (and RS) decreases.
  • When the conditioning phase starts, H2O2 concentration rises rapidly. There is also a rapid increase in RS, which indicates the humidity caused by both H2O2 vapor and water vapor. Because the generated H2O2 vapor is typically mixed with water vapor, RH also starts to rise.
  • In the decontamination phase, H2O2 concentration is steady. However, RS level rises slowly close to 100 %RS, i.e. condensation point, due to rising RH level.
  • In the aeration phase, H2O2 concentration, RS, and RH all decrease. When H2O2 concentration is zero, RS equals RH.