Study on the Light Field Regulation of UVC-LED Disinfection for Cold Chain Transportation

Abstract

In this paper, the pain point that cold chain transportation urgently needs for an efficient disinfection method is pointed out. Thus, this work aims at solving the problems and improving the disinfection efficiency in cold chain transportation. While Ultraviolet-C (UVC) irradiation is an effective method by which to kill viruses, it is difficult to apply the commonly used UVC-LED disinfection light source to ice-covered cold chain transportation due to its uneven light field distribution. Thus, the light field regulation of UVC-LED disinfection for cold chain transportation is studied. A UVC-LED chip with a wavelength of 275 nm was used as a light source, and parallel light was obtained by collimating lenses. Then, microlens array homogenization technology was used to shape the UVC light into a uniform light spot, with an energy space uniformity rate of 96.4%. Moreover, a simulation was conducted to compare the effects of the ice layer on the absorption of UVC light. Finally, an experiment was carried out to verify that the disinfection efficiency can be increased nearly by 30% with the proposed system by disinfecting E. coli (Escherichia coli), and the results indicate that the proposed system is an effective disinfection solution during cold chain transportation.