Researchers in the United States have announced that they have developed an effective air filter that can immediately trap and destroy the new coronavirus.

The researchers, led by physics professor Zifeng Ren of the University of Houston in Texas, who published the study in the journal Materials Today Physics, said tests performed at the Galveston National Laboratory in the United States showed that in 99,8% of coronavirus particles are killed by a single pass of contaminated air from the filter.

The filter is made of – commercially available – nickel foam that is subjected to a temperature above 200 degrees Celsius.

“The filter could be useful in airports and airplanes, office buildings, schools, hospitals and cruise ships, helping to stop the spread of Covid-19”, Dr. Ren said.

In addition to using the filter in central ventilation, cooling and heating systems, the researchers also suggest a filtering table device that will clean the coronavirus in the air of an office.

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The coronavirus can remain in the air for about three hours, while it is transmitted from person to person by air, according to the indications so far.

The coronavirus, however, does not appear to survive in temperatures above 70 degrees Celsius, so the filter, which heats up to 250 degrees, can destroy it immediately.

The nickel foam, which is porous and flexible, allows air to flow and it is electrically conductive, was chosen as the filter material, making it possible to be heated.