APPARATUS AND PROCESS FOR FOCUSED GAS PHASE APPLICATION OF BIOCIDE

1 . A method of oxidizing, sanitizing, disinfecting, and/or sterilizing a target comprising:

ejecting a gas stream of a gaseous mixture comprising 50 to 30,000 ppm v chlorine dioxide from a gas source at a velocity of 150 ft/sec to 700 ft/sec; and contacting the gas stream with the target.

2 . The method according to claim 1 , wherein the gaseous mixture comprises 2,000 to 10,000 ppm v chlorine dioxide.

3 . The method according to claim 1 , wherein the gas stream is ejected from the gas source at a velocity of 250 ft/sec to 700 ft/sec.

4 . The method according to claim 1 , wherein the target is selected from:

(i) at least a portion of a ceiling or wall;

(ii) at least a portion of a medical instrument; and

(iii) at least a portion of a medical procedural area.

5 . The method according to claim 1 , wherein the gas stream contacts the target at a velocity of 15 to 500 ft/sec.

6 . The method according to claim 5 , wherein the gas stream contacts the target at a velocity of 200 ft/sec to 500 ft/sec.

7 . The method according to claim 1 , wherein the gas source is a nozzle.

8 . The method according to claim 1 , wherein the gas source is positioned 0.5 to 25 cm from the target during ejection of the gas stream.

9 . The method according to claim 1 , wherein the contacting is performed in an application zone, wherein circulation of air per minute in the application zone is at least 5 ft/sec, and wherein the velocity of the gas stream at the target increases due to the circulation of air in the application zone.

10 . The method according to claim 1 , wherein the contacting is performed in a contained application zone that contains the gas source and the target, wherein the application zone is maintained under a negative pressure.

11 . (canceled)

12 . The method according to claim 10 , wherein the application zone is sealed and comprises the gas source, the target, and a source of a vacuum.

13 . The method according to claim 12 , wherein the vacuum retrievess spent gaseous mixture, and wherein the spent gaseous mixture is recycled for one or more subsequent ejection cycles from the gas source.

14 . A device for oxidizing, sanitizing, disinfecting, and/or sterilizing a target, the device comprising:

a chlorine dioxide inlet configured for intake of a gaseous mixture comprising 50 to 30,000 ppm v chlorine dioxide;

a gas source configured to eject a gas stream of the gaseous mixture at a velocity of 150 ft/sec to 700 ft/sec,

a containment mechanism that contains an application zone for contacting the gas stream with a target and

a source of vacuum for withdrawing spent gaseous mixture and creating negative pressure in the application zone.

15 - 18 . (canceled)

19 . The device according to claim 14 , wherein the device is configured to recycle the spent gaseous mixture for one or more subsequent ejection cycles from the gas source.

20 . (canceled)

21 . (canceled)

22 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the contacting is for a concentration-time (CT) of 25 ppm v -hours to 2,000 ppm v -hours.

23 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the gas stream is ejected from the gas source at a velocity of 600 ft/sec to 700 ft/sec.

24 . The method according to claim 8 , wherein the gas source is positioned 0.5 to 10 cm from the target during ejection of the gas stream.

25 . The method according to claim 1 , wherein the contacting is performed for an exposure time of 30 seconds to 5 minutes.

26 . The device as claimed in claim 14 , further comprising a stripper for removing chlorine dioxide from a chlorine dioxide solution.

27 . The device as claimed in claim 14 , comprising a receptacle containing chlorine dioxide in solution and a stripper for removing chlorine dioxide from the solution.