Industrial Air Filters: The Different Types

An air filter by definition is equipment or a machine which is so designed that it can trap and hence remove from air solid particles like mold, dust, bacteria and pollen from air. In any industry clean air is directly related to production quality. And there are strict standards that are needed to be maintained. Directly involved with the manufacturing process, they can mean a lot of money of the company rides on how they are functioning.

The various kinds of air purifiers in the industry are:

- Bag filters
- High Efficiency Particulate Air (HEPA) / Ultra Low Particulate Air (ULPA) filter
- Fan filters
- Box filters
- Panel filters
- Pre filters

Bag Filters

These are generally used for removing dust in industrial filter applications. The general flow is from outside to the inside of the filter. It also depends on the kind of application. The separation of the particles takes place on the external surface of the filter. However, generally with other filters the partition takes place on the inner surface of the bag filter.

High Efficiency Particulate Air Filters

High Efficiency Particulate Air Filters or more popularly known as just the HEPA filters are widely regarded as the best of all filters. If someone uses it in conjunction with activated carbon or zeolite canister, it becomes a complete filter being effective not only against particulates but also against odors and most gases. The history behind HEPA filters is that it was developed by the Atomic Energy Commission to allow their researchers work in a safe environment and provide them protection from radioactive dust particles. The High Efficiency Particulate Air filters are effective against particulates as small as 0.3 microns and they have an amazing efficiency rate of 99.97%. So what it basically means is that if there are 10000 particulates in air, only 3 particles would be not trapped by the purifier. The HEPA filters are mainly used for laminar airflow cabinets.

Fan Filters

These are made from fiberglass or some mesh-type substance. They are meant to remove lint and other large particles. Such filters are specifically used for industrial purposes.

As there are a lot many types of purifiers and space is limited, we here can discuss only a few. But there are plenty of literatures available on these filters in the Internet. If you are interested you can always do further reading on this. This was meant only to be an introduction.