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A few days ago, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) approved the use of copper and copper alloy surfaces to help prevent the spread of COVID-19 (hat tips on K10 on Twitter). The use of copper alloy is an ancient technology. Compared with steel, it requires less energy for production and is highly recyclable. This is not only a technology that is good for bacteria, but also a technology that is good for the environment.
"Providing Americans with new tools and information to fight the virus that causes COVID-19 is one of EPA's top priorities," said Michal Freedhoff, Acting Assistant Director of the EPA's Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention. "Today's action marks another step forward in EPA's efforts to listen to science and provide effective tools to help protect human health."
Companies that want to claim the health benefits of their products need to pass the EPA and other government agencies to submit proof of the effectiveness of the product to actually provide the advertised benefits. In this case, the test certificate provided by the Copper Development Association shows that 99.9% of the viruses that are harder to kill than COVID-19 become inert within two hours of staying on the surface. After obtaining this approval, copper-plated products or products made of the correct copper alloy are advertised as good for health and safer in law.
The only problem here is that the alloy must be 95.6% copper, which will limit their use because copper is very ductile unless it is mixed with more tin (making bronze) or zinc (making brass) alloys. For products that do not require a lot of force, such as door handles, a high-copper mixture will work. In addition, many surfaces can be coated with high-copper alloys, allowing them to obtain the benefits of the alloy on the surface, and use the strength of other materials below to obtain the required structural strength.
This is not the first time we have seen the clean technology community show interest in this technology to stop the spread of bacteria. An example is Twitter user @CafeElectric, who made his own copper-clad door handle for a Tesla Model S.
Copper-clad antibacterial door handle. I predict here that the latest packaging fashion is copper tape. 😁#covidwrap #tesla #model3 https://t.co/f2YblCxMgb pic.twitter.com/flJFFAXcaP
There is a great article in Smithsonian Magazine about the way copper surfaces kill viruses and bacteria. British microbiology researcher Bill Keevil (Bill Keevil) provided them with a lot of information about how this all works.
"The irony is that people [install] stainless steel because it looks clean, and to some extent, it does," Keevil told them. "But the argument is how often do you clean? We do not clean enough frequently."
This is the greatness of the copper surface. On glass, plastic, and steel, deadly viruses and bacteria, including antibiotic strains such as MRSA, can survive for several days and still infect people. Copper, due to its unique properties, can kill these deadly bacteria as long as it is there. The EPA warned in its press release that copper surfaces are not a substitute for cleaning, masks and social distancing, but they do help reduce the chance of losing bacteria on the surface.
Copper can kill bacteria because it has an extra electron as its atomic composition in the outermost orbit. This electron reacts with what falls on it and quickly kills bacteria. The ions explode the bacterial cell membrane and the coating that protects the virus, making them inert. Most viruses and bacteria will die within a few minutes, but the stubbornness of COVID will only buy it some extra time. It also eventually died.
Scientists who have spoken to Smithsonian Magazine say that the antiviral properties of the copper surface will never disappear. Even a surface that has been used and frequently touched by people for 100 years can still kill bacteria. Even though the railings at Grand Central Station in New York City are old, they still kill bacteria like new ones.
The knowledge of using copper and its alloys can be traced back at least 7,000 years ago. We don't know who did it first, because this kind of metal processing is at least 2500 years earlier than the text. Ancient societies also knew that copper could cure various infections, but they did not know why. They only know that copper can resist diarrhea and even cuts on the battlefield.
The reason why prehistoric humans could use copper is its low energy consumption. Without modern technologies such as the Bessemer process, blast furnace, and arc welding, steel is largely out of reach except for some limited applications that started after 3000 years. You just don’t need to be as hot as a fire to melt and shape copper, or mix it with other metals to make alloys such as bronze or brass. We even consider that part of ancient history as the Bronze Age because it marked a departure from the Stone Age.
The only reason why copper alloys are reduced to steel is the hardness and durability of many applications (such as swords). Thanks to the newer metals, buildings and cars have become possible to a large extent. Obviously, this does not mean that copper will disappear. For electrical conductors, decorative purposes, and antibacterial surfaces, copper and its alloys are still very useful.
Today, with the industrial revolution and concerns about climate change, we are now looking for ways to do things with low energy consumption. New technologies like lithium-ion batteries are more exciting, but sometimes just looking back to improve energy efficiency is a good move. The less energy we use to process metals, the less impact on the environment.
Therefore, if objects such as copper coatings and door handles start to be made of copper alloys more than they are now, we will see a net improvement in environmental impact.
Low energy is not the only benefit of copper alloys to them. According to an earlier article by the Copper Development Association, it is also highly recyclable and is recycled in large quantities. Copper alloys retain their physical properties even when they are melted to make new things, so there is much less waste. In addition, the cost of copper makes it unlikely that anyone intentionally throws it away, so it is almost always recycled.
I see people entering abandoned vehicles looking for copper to steal. In the dump, you see employees looking for any metal that enters the trash and trying to pull it out of the dump and sell it to recyclers, thereby saving operating funds.
In view of the fact that energy requirements are low, easy to recycle, and almost always recyclable, it is a very environmentally friendly material, especially in the long run. Although not new or particularly innovative, seeing wider use is something cleaner technology enthusiasts should definitely encourage.
Jennifer Sensiba is a long-term efficient car enthusiast, writer and photographer. She grew up in a transmission shop and has been testing vehicle efficiency and driving Pontiac Fiero since she was 16 years old. She likes to explore the Southwestern United States with her partner, children and animals. Follow her latest articles and other random content on Twitter: https://twitter.com/JenniferSensiba
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