How to Achieve Superior Air Purification with Activated Carbon Air FiltersIs protecting your family from chemical air pollution important to you?
Activated carbon air filters will prove to be your only real defense against chemicals and odors. No other air purifier technology even comes close to removing the volume of chemicals that activated carbon does.
Consider why we use activated carbon for air purification. Only activated carbon removes gaseous chemical pollutants. Many troubling effects chemicals can cause you and your family to suffer include:
- Cancer
- Depression
- Dizziness
- Dryness and irritation of the eyes, nose, throat, and skin
- Fatigue
- Headache
- Hypersensitivity
- Irritability
- Lightheadedness
- Multiple Chemical Sensitivity (MCS)
- Memory loss
- Nausea
- Symptoms similar to a cold
How Can Activated Carbon Air Filters Benefit You?
Featured Site What Is Activated Carbon? Learn more at Wikipedia
Most persons looking to buy an air purifier initially do so to relieve an allergy or asthma condition and often think only in terms of particulate irritants like dust, pollen, and dander.
With a little research they discover the substantial negative health effects of the odors and chemicals they are exposed to in their homes and workplaces. It’s because of the ill health effects of chemical contaminants and the need to control them that better quality air purifiers include activated carbon air filters.
Activated carbon air filters can adsorb some of almost any vapor; have a large capacity for organic molecules, especially solvents; adsorb and retain a wide variety of chemicals at the same time; work well under a wide range of temperatures and humidity levels; are inert and safe to handle and use; and are readily available and affordable.
Activated carbon air filters can make the air healthier for people in general, but especially asthma sufferers, babies, children, the elderly, and are particularly helpful to people with Multiple Chemical Sensitivity (MCS).
How To Choose The Best Activated Carbon Air Filters
Numerous air cleaners promise you the benefits of purification with activated carbon. What do you really need to know to judge your familys needs accurately?
First, differing chemicals and odors may require activated carbon with differing properties. These properties result from the source of the activated carbon, the methods used to create it, and any added chemisorbers and catalysts. These catalysts and chemisorbers enhance the adsorption of specific pollutants.
This allows you to select the specific activated carbon air filter for your needs. However, few air purifier manufacturers offer you any opportunity to select a custom carbon blend.
What about the quantity of carbon? Is an air cleaner offering only a simple activated carbon filter pad with a few ounces of activated carbon sufficient? Should you look for an air purifier that includes an activated carbon bed weighing many pounds?
For an activated carbon filter to be effective, there needs to be a sufficient amount of activated carbon so that the air passing through the filter is able to deposit its pollutant molecules.Most air cleaners on the market today include a foam or fibrous pad onto which a few ounces of carbon have been applied. This is so they can claim a broader range of air cleaning capabilities, but in reality such small quantities of carbon are ineffective.An activated carbon filter needs a deep bed consisting of many pounds of activated carbon to provide sufficient dwell time for the air passing through it to achieve maximum removal of pollutants.
The activated carbon pads found on most filters are also usually part of a pre-filter design that is intended to prevent large particles from prematurely clogging a higher efficiency filter placed behind the pre-filter. Unfortunately this allows fine dust particles to clog the micro pores of the activated carbon and results in very rapid reduction in its effectiveness.When choosing an activated carbon filter it is important to find one that provides a large bed of many pounds of activated carbon. Additionally the activated carbon media needs to be protected from premature clogging by being placed behind a pre-filter.An optimal flow of air needs to be available to pass through it. A cylindrical shaped design is an ideal solution for allowing maximum contact with the air.
To capture any carbon dust that may be lost from the activated carbon filter a post filter should be placed after the activated carbon and in front of any other high efficiency filter such as HEPA.
It is best if the air filter’s activated carbon bed and HEPA filter can be replaced separately as the activated carbon filter will typically have a shorter life than the HEPA filter. They both should be relatively easy to access.
Finally, you should be aware that while activated carbon is excellent for removal of highly volatile organic compounds (VOCs), less volatile compounds like formaldehyde and inorganic gases respond best to chemisorbers that break down the pollutants by chemical reaction. Thus, you should look for an activated carbon filter that is impregnated with appropriate media to control the particular pollutants that concern you.
I have found that Allerair air purifiers, with over forty different activated carbon blends available for almost any general application can meet anyone’s needs with ease. Allerair can also provide highly customized blends for special purposes to labs, industry, military or anyone with needs beyond the usual residential, healthcare, or commercial uses.
If you’re going to buy an air purifier, it only makes sense to purchase one that can control practically anything.