Novel design of the solar disinfectant closet (device) for inactivation of COVID-19 virus

Solar drying is one of the important application of out of several applications of solar thermal technologies. Solar drying is generally preferred for the drying of different agricultural products and several designs of such dryers are developed and investigated around the globe. However, the solar dehydration/disinfection of the cloths/utensils (clothes drying rack/device) and development of appropriate designs for the same is one of the neglected aspect. Such designs of "solar cloth dehydrators and/or devices"may play an important role in the humid and cloudy weather conditions. More importantly, in the present pandemic of COVID 19, solar dehydrators/disinfectors can be a crucial device for disinfection of cloths and other utensils. Thus, the present work is aimed to design, develop and investigate the novel design of Solar Disinfectant Closet (SDC)/Solar Disinfection Device (SDD) for inactivation of COVID-19 Virus (SARS-COV-2). A primary small prototype of SDC/SDD made of metallic structure is designed and fabricated which can be used during day as well as night. The present design of SDC/SDD is manufactured taking into account the heat inactivation protocol of 5- log viral load reduction (56°C-30min and 60°C-60min) and can be modified to follow the protocol 6-log viral load reduction (92°C -15min). The present experiments discusses the disinfection of stainless steel utensils (SSUs) using the proposed device. The primary results depicts that the novel design of SDC/SDD can reach a temperature of 70°C within 30 minutes and able to dehydrate/disinfect the rated load of cloths/utensils in short span of 70 to 90 minutes. It is proposed that the same device can be used for the inactivation for the different crucial viruses like Tuberculosis, Influenza etc.