Mr. Greg Fenton reports

ZENTEK ANNOUNCES TEST RESULTS VALIDATING ZENGUARD ENHANCED AIR FILTERS AS A HIGH-PERFORMANCE SOLUTION FOR ASHRAE STANDARD 241 COMPLIANCE

Zentek Ltd. has released new independent test results comparing the viral filtration efficiency (VFE) of ZenGuard enhanced air filters against the bacteriophage MS2 compared with equivalent minimum efficiency reporting value (MERV) rated filters without ZenGuard. The testing was performed by the third party ISO 17025:2017 certified lab LMS Technologies Inc., which specializes in the testing and certification of filter manufacturers across the world in line with American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) standards.

Test results

ZenGuard enhanced air filters achieved an average infectious aerosol removal efficiency (epsilonPR) of MS2 bacteriophage of 42 per cent compared with an untreated filter, which achieved an average epsilonPR of 16 per cent. These strong results align with previous tests performed with bacteriophage Phi6, which is often used as a surrogate for SARS-CoV-2 and other enveloped viruses.

This milestone adds to a growing body of third party validation demonstrating ZenGuard enhanced air filter's unique combination of effectiveness and simplicity. To highlight this, the company believes ZenGuard enhanced air filters are the only technology that can accomplish the following simultaneously:

• Highly effective at controlling infectious aerosol in line with ASHRAE 241;
• Achieve this without an increase in pressure drop, energy consumption and carbon emissions;
• Work with existing heating, ventilation, and air conditioning units;
• Not require any additional equipment;
• Extend filter life and reduce changeout frequency compared with more dense filters reducing labour and waste disposal costs.

ASHRAE Standard 241-2023: control of infectious aerosols

ASHRAE Standard 241 is new guidance designed to help buildings reduce the spread of airborne viruses, like SARS-CoV-2, influenza and other respiratory illnesses. It sets clear guidelines for equivalent clean airflow (ECA) (from ventilation, filtration or air cleaning) that is needed to lower the risk of infection in indoor spaces. This is important because it gives schools, offices and other public buildings a science-based way to improve indoor air quality and the health of building occupants. ASHRAE 241 focuses specifically on health and infection control, making it a key tool for creating safer indoor environments.

The standard includes the use of MS2 bacteriophage as a standardized surrogate for evaluating the control of infectious aerosol. Its inclusion ensures a consistent benchmark for assessing the effectiveness of technologies such as ZenGuard enhanced air filters.

Based on these new test results using MS2 bacteriophage, the company now has science-based, directly comparable data demonstrating that ZenGuard is highly effective at controlling infectious aerosols and is fully aligned with ASHRAE Standard 241 testing methodology.

ZenGuard's higher epsilonPR translates to a higher ECA, making it a practical and effective option for inclusion in building readiness plans prepared by facility managers and building operators.

Importantly, ASHRAE 241 assigns an epsilonPR of zero to any filter rated below MERV 11A. However, ZenGuard, which has been independently tested with MS2, can be assigned an EPR of 42 per cent, even when applied to a lower-rated MERV 9A filter. This allows facility managers to confidently adopt ZenGuard technology without needing to upgrade to MERV 11A or higher filters, which may be incompatible with existing HVAC systems.

"These exciting new test results not only reinforce ZenGuard's proven ability to improve indoor quality without increasing energy consumption -- they highlight how our solution meets the requirements of ASHRAE 241, the most recent and relevant third party guidance for controlling infectious aerosols in buildings," said Greg Fenton, chief executive officer of Zentek. "Conventional panel filters -- like electrostatically charged MERV 13s -- are designed to trap dust and often fall short over time when it comes to impacting aerosols responsible for respiratory infections. In contrast, our filters were specifically designed to enhance mechanical filtration of infectious aerosol via the unique properties of our patented ZenGuard technology -- and we have now demonstrated our ability to do this in line with the only standard focused solely on infection control. As building operators face growing pressure to meet new air quality standards and carbon reduction targets, we're proud to offer our unique technology that is proven to effectively keep indoor spaces safe, while also reducing total cost of ownership and carbon emissions."

About Zentek Ltd.

Zentek is an ISO 13485:2016 certified intellectual property technology company focused on the research, development and commercialization of novel products seeking to give the company's commercial partners a competitive advantage by making their products better, safer and greener.

Zentek's patented technology platform ZenGuard, is shown to significantly increase the bacterial and viral filtration efficiency for surgical masks and aims to do the same with HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning) filters Zentek's ZenGuard production facility is in Guelph, Ont.

Zentek, through its wholly owned subsidiary, Triera Biosciences Ltd., has a global exclusive licence to the aptamer-based platform technology developed by McMaster University, which is being jointly developed by Zentek and McMaster for both the diagnostic and therapeutic markets.

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