AIR TREATMENT FILTERS
CLASSIFICATION OF AIR FILTERS
Filters for air treatment are essential to maintain its quality and take care of the health of living beings. Just as we give special importance to the food and drinks we consume, it should be noted that humans breathe close to 0.7 kg of air per hour, thus becoming a vitally important factor for our well-being.
Air is made up of particles (salt, pollen, fibers,…) and gases (N2, O3, O2, CO2, SO2,…), often imperceptible to the human eye, which can have different characteristics such as weight, size, speeds, etc. Although our respiratory system filters these particles, as they are smaller they enter our body more easily, for example particles of 10 µm would stay approximately in the respiratory passages, while particles of 2, 5 µm would reach the lungs, 1 µm particles could enter the bloodstream and 0.1 µm particles could cross the cell membrane.
According to information provided by Camfil at Pharmaceutical Solutions Day, 99.9% of airborne particles are less than 1 µm in diameter and, as published in the ASHRAE Handbook, in these sizes of particles we would find diesel particles, oil fumes, tobacco fumes, asbestos and bacteria, among others. Therefore, its control is essential especially in fields such as health, the food industry or the pharmaceutical industry. Next we find the synthesized classification of the different filters according to ISO 29463 and the EN 1822:2009 standard:
|
Grup
|
Class EN1822 & EN16890
|
Class ISO29463
|
Application
|
Integral value
|
Local value
|
||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
% effic.
|
% pen.
|
% effic.
|
% pen.
|
|||
|
PRE
|
G1
|
-
|
Pre-filters insects, fibers, dust, sand
|
n/a
|
n/a
|
-
|
-
|
|
PRE
|
G2
|
-
|
Pre-filters insects, fibers, dust, sand
|
n/a
|
n/a
|
-
|
-
|
|
PRE
|
G3
|
-
|
Pre-filters insects, fibers, dust, sand
|
n/a
|
n/a
|
-
|
-
|
|
PRE
|
G4
|
-
|
Pre-filters insects, fibers, dust, sand
|
n/a
|
n/a
|
-
|
-
|
|
-
|
M5
|
-
|
Workshops, factories, warehouses
|
n/a
|
n/a
|
-
|
-
|
|
-
|
M6
|
-
|
Offices, warehouses, pre-filters E10 & E11
|
n/a
|
n/a
|
-
|
-
|
|
-
|
F7
|
-
|
Data centers, hospitals, pre-filters H12 to H14
|
n/a
|
n/a
|
-
|
-
|
|
-
|
F8
|
-
|
Data centers, hospitals, pre-filters H12 to H14
|
n/a
|
n/a
|
-
|
-
|
|
-
|
F9
|
-
|
Data centers, hospitals, pre-filters H12 to H14
|
n/a
|
n/a
|
-
|
-
|
|
EPA
|
E10
|
-
|
Food, pharmaceuticals
|
85
|
15
|
-
|
-
|
|
EPA
|
E11
|
ISO 15 e 20 E
|
Food, pharmaceuticals
|
95
|
5
|
-
|
-
|
|
EPA
|
E12
|
ISO 25 e 30 E
|
Food, clean rooms
|
99,5
|
0,5
|
-
|
-
|
|
HEPA
|
H13
|
ISO 35 e 40 H
|
Sterile environments, nuclear, pharmaceutical
|
99,95
|
0,05
|
99,75
|
0,25
|
|
HEPA
|
H14
|
ISO 45 H e 50 U
|
Electronics, pharmaceuticals
|
99,995
|
0,005
|
99,975
|
0,025
|
|
ULPA
|
U15
|
ISO 55 e 60 U
|
Electronics, pharmaceuticals
|
99,9995
|
0,0005
|
99,9975
|
0,0025
|
|
ULPA
|
U15
|
ISO 55 e 60 U
|
Electronics, pharmaceuticals
|
99,99995
|
0,00005
|
99,99975
|
0,00025
|
|
ULPA
|
U17
|
ISO 75 U
|
Laboratories, pharmaceuticals
|
99,999995
|
0,000005
|
99,9999
|
0,0001
|
One of the characteristic factors of air filters is that since it is an element located in the middle of the air flow (within HVAC systems, Air Treatment Units, impulse boxes, extraction boxes of ‘air or air purifiers), involve a load loss that, with a greater degree of filtering, this can increase considerably with the consequent energy cost.
For this reason, the selection of the type of filter, beyond effectiveness, must also be assessed in terms of efficiency, resistance and useful life. Contact us and we will help you select your filtering system.