Coronavirus Technology Solutions
October 7, 2021

ATI Introduces Automated Filter Tester With Higher Flow Rates

AAF Netherlands HEPA Manufacturing Facility Now Seven Years Old

Remploy has Been Testing Filters in Cumbria UK for More Than Ten Years

High Efficiency Residential Air Filters Do Not Significantly Increase Energy Consumption

SGS Expands Air Filter Testing Capability

INDA Forecasts Increasing Air Filter Market

Freudenberg Filtration Acquires Protect Plus Air Holding

Park Group in India Assures High Quality HEPA Products With Extensive Testing

ATI 100 X Has Been Extensively Used to Validate N95 Masks

HEPA Filter Leak Testing was Incorporated in ISO 29463

Recognition Growing of the Importance of  Fitted Filter Efficiency (FFE)

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ATI Introduces Automated Filter Tester With Higher Flow Rates

Air Techniques International (ATI), a global leader in the design and manufacture of specialized testing equipment for HEPA filters, media, filter cartridges, respirators, and protective masks, has introduced he High Flow EN 13274-7:2019 compliant Paraffin Oil option to its 100X Automated Filter Tester lineup.

The new High Flow option provides greater flexibility for testing a wider range of masks and cartridges, including PAPR cartridges, and increases production throughput vs. standard flow options.

“The High Flow option is a valuable feature for manufacturers looking to increase production rates while still complying with the strict standards for particle size and concentration specified in the EN 13274-7:2019 Paraffin Test,” said Gautam Patel, Global Product Manager.

By offering a flow rate of 170 L/min vs. the standard rate of 120 L/min manufacturers can benefit from increased production throughput by testing multiple filter cartridges at once.

The High Flow option also allows testing of a wider range of applications. “A common application that requires a higher aerosol challenge flow rate is the testing of PAPR (Powered Air Purifying Respirator) filter cartridges. PAPRs typically require flow rates much higher than standard filter cartridges,” said Patel. The High Flow option is ideal for EN 12941 and EN 12942 PAPR testing standards.

The High Flow option allows more cartridges to be tested at once vs. standard flow rate units. This is important to manufacturers using the 100X in their high-capacity automated production lines. Complete test cycles can be performed in as little as six seconds.

In addition to EN 13274-7:2019, the 100X Automated Filter Tester product range meets other major industry standards, such as NIOSH 42 CFR Part 84, GB 2626, ISO 23328, JICOSH/JMOL, ASTM F3502-21, and more. The 100X Automated Filter Tester is used worldwide in production, quality control, and R&D applications to test and validate filter media, cartridges, and respirators.

AAF Netherlands HEPA Manufacturing Facility Now Seven Years Old

The AAF cleanroom facility for HEPA filter manufacturing at its main European production location in Emmen, the Netherlands was built in 2013.

The cleanroom is constructed as a separate area inside the Emmen facility, AAF’s largest European manufacturing plant. The total floor area covers 900m² and consists of four core process steps: media pleating, filter assembly, testing and packaging. For pleating the media, assembly into HEPA filters and filter testing according to the EN1822:2009 standard, an ISO 7 controlled environment has been designed.

Packaging of the HEPA filters is done in an ISO 6 controlled environment to minimize any contamination risk from the filter itself, once it enters the cleanroom at the customer’s site. Both cleanroom areas are designed, constructed and validated following ISO 14644 principles.

https://cleanroomtechnology.com/news/article_page/AAF_inaugurates_new_cleanroom_facility_for_HEPA_filter_manufacturing/89162

Remploy has Been Testing Filters in Cumbria UK for More Than Ten Years

In 2011 ATI-DOP Solutions, designed, built and installed a filter-testing facility at Remploy Filters.

Remploy Filters, based in Barrow in Furness, Cumbria, UK, operates from a purpose-built 6,500ft² manufacturing facility and provides a complete range of soft filters, pre-filters, bag filters, pleated panel filters and media rolls.

The filter-testing facility includes a three-fan variable air handling unit capable of testing single or multiple filters up to 1,830 mm long, 915 mm wide, or 450 mm high, and at airflows up to 6,000 m³/hr.

The test bed, which can have two operators testing in tandem, is inside a pressurized clean area served by two ceiling-mounted UDAF canopies. With white lighting, white polypropylene test bed, wall ceiling panels and two clear perspex side panels and access doors it has been heralded by staff as an excellent working area.

DOP Solutions’ aerosol photometry equipment is fully integrated and gives audible and visual performance of each filter tested, and with KIMO airflow instruments installed, Remploy has every measurement it needs to confirm production quality.

With the downflow clean air and that from the filter being tested, the room air is changed more than 100 times every hour, thus maintaining the test environment at very low airborne particle levels. Coupled with a clever filter sealing and clamping arrangement, this allows for HEPA and ULPA grade filters to be integrity tested with confidence.

Special features include being able to test the filter with its gasket fitted in environmental conditions found in high ISO class cleanrooms, with integrated flow and differential pressure instruments and easy adjustment and control of air delivery. DOP Solutions’ data acquisition software is also included.

Altogether, these features allow fast, safe, accurate and recordable testing of Remploy’s air filters to meet or exceed the requirements of EN1822, the European specification for HEPA and ULPA filters used in all clean air and containment applications, says DOP Solutions.

High Efficiency Residential Air Filters Do Not Significantly Increase Energy Consumption

A comprehensive study was conducted  by Emerson Electric to understand: (1) the relationship between filter efficiency and CADR (clean air delivery rate) and reduction of the PM (particulate matter) concentration in a house with a forced-air residential HVAC (Heating Ventilation air-Conditioning and Refrigeration) system; and (2) the interaction between the event room, where the PM is generated, and other rooms based on different filters and RAP (room air purifier) configurations. 

This study concluded that: (1) high-efficiency filters had a negligible impact on HVAC energy consumption when compared to fiberglass filters; (2) high-efficiency filters maintained the same level of energy consumption throughout the designed service life; and (3) high-efficiency filters do not necessarily have higher pressure drop versus lower-efficiency filters, because the filter pressure drop depends mostly on the filter media and filter design, not necessarily on the filter efficiency.

  https://www.filtnews.com/impact-of-high-efficiency-filters-on-energy-consumption/

SGS Expands Air Filter Testing Capability

Post Covid-19, SGS IBR’s air filtration testing, certification and consultancy services have been in particular demand. Now, following significant investment, SGS IBR has extended these capabilities in China and the UK. The company’s new and expanded, laboratories in Suzhou and Milton Keynes are equipped with cutting-edge testing technology to offer enhanced performance tests with rapid turnaround and accurate results. These new facilities complement SGS IBR’s existing laboratories in Asia, the UK and USA, providing even greater presence and industry expertise.

INDA Forecasts Increasing Air Filter Market

Brad Kali of INDA is optimistic about the market for air filters in coronavirus-related mitigation efforts but also other applications. Consumer and workplace health and safety is creating new filtration needs and is raising the bar on performance. The assumption is that the filtration industry will be able to deliver the needed filters and masks.

The air pollution prevention benefits of masks, HVAC filters, and dust collectors are also greater due to the steady increase in wildfires. Concerns that media manufacturers have about building capacity, which will go unused after a vaccine is perfected, is somewhat unwarranted. Not only are there non-mask uses, but air pollution, indoor pollution, wildfires, and new viruses will boost mask demand.

Increases in filtration efficiency for commercial air systems and at residential locations will cause dollar sales to increase at a more rapid rate than units, given the higher cost per unit.

https://www.filtnews.com/core-applications-and-drivers-in-the-north-american-air-filtration-market/


Freudenberg Filtration Acquires Protect Plus Air Holding

Freudenberg’s Filtration Technologies business is acquiring Protect Plus Air Holding, Inc. from its current owner, the Indianapolis-based private equity firm HKW. Based in Hickory, North Carolina, Protect Plus Air is a producer of air filters that are mainly sold through retailers for residential buildings. The company has 940 employees and generated $118 million in revenue in 2020. Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.

“With the acquisition of Protect Plus Air, we are expanding our portfolio of filtration solutions in the important North American market by adding the attractive, fast-growing field of residential building ventilation,” said Dr. Mohsen Sohi, CEO of the Freudenberg Group. “Protect Plus Air is expanding and strengthening our already existing filtration portfolio for mobility and industrial applications worldwide.”

Park Group in India Assures High Quality HEPA Products With Extensive Testing

PARK Group specializes in  quality filtration media through globally accredited and renowned analytical instruments, such as Palas GmbH & Anton Paar GmbH, Mitutoyo [Japan] and RBM.

·         Quality Testing: In house testing lab with well-renowned equipment for Breathing Resistance, Tensile Strength, Elongation, GSM Test, Dust Holding Capacity, Particulate Efficiency, Pressure Drop, Pore Size.

·         Manufacturing Technologies: PARK excels in various manufacturing technologies, including meltblown, needle punch, chemical/thermal bond.

·         Air Filtration: PARK offers a variety of media for air filtration, including HEPA/ULPA/HVAC that meet or exceed different global standards, while also offering low pressure drop, energy-saving and longer media life.

PARK Group was incorporated in 1997 at Haryana, India where the group has its headquarters and a massive production plant. PARK Group specializes in the production of a variety of products under the nonwoven and polymer categories.

PARK serves 1,000+ customers in 25+ industries, exporting to 75+ countries with 10+ plants in all major cities of India.

ATI 100 X Has Been Extensively Used to Validate N95 Masks

The 100X has played a key role during the COVID-19 pandemic to perform the sodium chloride (NaCl) aerosol challenge required to test and validate the filtration efficiency of N95/FFP2,3/KN95 style respirator masks. As the COVID-19 pandemic began to spread in early 2020, demand for respirator masks far exceeded supply. With this increased demand came the need for test equipment to validate the filter media and masks to the relevant regional standards such as NIOSH 42 CFR Part 84, GB 2626, EN 13274-7, etc. ATI has experienced an unprecedented surge in requests from filter media and respirator mask manufacturers seeking its technology to perform the critical tests required by global standards.

An essential requirement of an automated filter tester is its ability to accurately test filter media for resistance and penetration. Precise, repeatable results are vital to minimizing false failures while at the same time not failing product that is within spec. ATI’s 100% Sampling Aerosol Detection System is designed to produce accurate results and can test a wide range of HEPA and ULPA grade filters, up to 99.9995% efficiency, respirator masks and high-efficiency filtration media.

https://www.filtnews.com/high-accuracy-low-maintenance-filter-testing/

HEPA Filter Leak Testing was Incorporated in ISO 29463

In 2015 global standard, ISO 29463: High Efficiency Filter and Filter Media for Removing Particles in Air was developed. Although having roots in the prevailing European norm, EN 1822 (1), the new ISO standard has similarities to current testing practices and filter classification of the major standards in use around the world.

Part 4: Test method for determining leakage of filter elements (Scan method)
Among test methods for filters, leak testing is unique to HEPA and ULPA filters. This section of the standard prescribes a normative method for all filter classes that requires leak to be determined at the MPPS of the filter. In recognition of prevailing methods in many parts of the world, the standard also allows two alternate normative methods for testing filter classes < ISO 40. One method common in the U.S. and pharmaceutical, military, and nuclear industries around the world uses the photometers and polydisperse aerosols. The other method uses the oil thread and visual leak detection procedure common in many European countries.

https://www.filtnews.com/iso-29463-a-global-standard-for-hepa-and-ulpa-filters/

Recognition Growing of the Importance of Fitted Filter Efficiency (FFE)

“A year ago we could say that we were concerned about shortages for health care workers, so we were telling people to make your cloth mask, and any mask is better than no mask,” says Linsey Marr, an environmental engineer and aerosol science expert at Virginia Tech. But given what scientists know now—especially with the virus’s highly transmissible Delta variant spreading and people spending more time indoors in schools, for example—“I think the CDC should be recommending high-performance masks for everyone when they’re in these risky indoor situations,” she says

When it comes to mask effectiveness, the most important parameters are filtration, fit and comfort. Filtration generally refers to the percentage of particles the mask material blocks. For example, an N95 filters at least 95 percent of airborne particles. But that does little good if gaps around the mask let air in freely. A well-fitted mask should sit snugly against the face and over the chin, with no gaps around the nose or mouth. Comfort is also an extremely important metric: a mask does no good if people simply find it intolerable to wear.

In the absence of more specific guidance from health authorities such as the CDC as to which brands of respirators and other masks provide the best protection, some skilled amateurs have  stepped in to fill the gap.

Aaron Collins, aka “Mask Nerd,” is a mechanical engineer at Seagate Technology with a background in aerosol science. In his free time, he makes YouTube videos in which he tests and reviews high-filtration masks made by various manufacturers. Collins says he does not earn any money from mask manufacturers or his videos themselves—he considers them a service and wants them to be objective.

Collins has a mask-testing setup in his bathroom, where he assesses masks’ filtration efficiency by generating aerosols of sodium chloride (salt). He then uses a condensation particle counter—a device that measures the concentration of particles inside and outside a mask he is wearing—to determine the total inward leakage through and around the mask. (For comparison, NIOSH’s N95 standard requires manufacturers to measure leakage through the respirator material itself. And OSHA measures how a respirator fits on someone’s face, which often involves wearing an N95 in an enclosed space with saccharin or another distinctly flavored test aerosol sprayed in: if the wearer reports tasting the substance, the mask fails the fit test.)

Collins also tests “pressure drop,” which is basically how easy it is to breathe while wearing a mask. If doing so is too difficult, a wearer might not only find the mask less comfortable but also suck in air around its sides, negating its filtration. Some cloth masks—including those outfitted with coffee filters—have this problem. “There’s a reason N95s aren’t made from cloth,” Collins says.

In general, he recommends KN95s made by Chinese company Powecom and others, a variety of KF94s such as the Bluna FaceFit and N95s made by reputable brands such as 3M, Moldex or Honeywell. All of these masks had close to 99 percent filtration efficiencies and fairly low pressure drops in Collins’s setup. (For comparison, he found that a surgical mask alone had between about 50 and 75 percent filtration efficiency, depending on the fit, and a good cloth mask had about 70 percent.) But when choosing the best mask, comfort should be a deciding factor, he says. Not everyone needs to wear an N95.

“To me, the minimum I want to see people wear is a KN95 or KF94 with the Delta variant,” Collins says. “I don’t think surgical masks are good enough anymore, and we should’ve gotten rid of cloth masks last summer—they’re not even in the spectrum” of good filtration. (To be clear, some studies have found that surgical and cloth masks can provide at least some protection against COVID. A recent large, randomized study in Bangladesh found that surgical masks significantly lowered the risk of infection; cloth masks did not have a measurable benefit, although other studies suggest they provide some protection.)

With children starting school in-person, many parents are understandably worried about their kids, especially those who are too young to be eligible for vaccination—and particularly in states where politicians have tried to ban mask mandates in schools. These parents might find Collins’s recommendations for high-filtration kids’ masks particularly helpful. There is no N95 standard for children, but plenty of manufacturers make KF94 or KN95 masks for them. Such masks are designed for small faces and are easy to put on. Collins sees no reason why kids could not tolerate them. “I have my own son,” Collins says. “He’s five years old. He wore them all summer.”

An issue with commercially available high-filtration masks is that they may not come from reputable suppliers. The CDC’s Web site warns that about 60 percent of KN95 respirators available in the U.S. are counterfeit. To find ones that are legitimate, Prather recommends the Web site Project N95. Masks can also be ordered directly from suppliers such as Bona Fide Masks, which sells KN95s made by Powecom. “That’s the one people swear by,” Prather says. They cost around $1 each. DemeTECH sells N95s for around $4 apiece, as well as other types of masks.

One reason people may be reluctant to use KN95s and similar masks is because they are usually considered disposable. But several experts say they can in fact be worn multiple times. “You can probably reuse it until it becomes visibly damaged or soiled,” Marr says. Collins’s amateur testing suggests mask can be used for up 40 hours with no decrease in their filtration efficacy (he recommends using them within six months of opening a package). The virus likely does not survive long on these masks, but it is not a bad idea to have a few in rotation, reusing one every three days or so, Collins says.

One popular way to increase effectiveness is to wear a cloth mask on top of a surgical mask. This strategy, which the CDC has recommended, combines the filtration efficiency of the surgical mask material with the fit of a cloth mask. But how well does it actually work?

According to Collins, pretty well. He measured a filtration efficiency of upward of 90 percent for a cloth mask (with nose wire) over a surgical mask. But the pressure drop was almost twice as high as that of an N95. One reason the CDC and others have recommended against the use of N95s by the general public, apart from their previous scarcity, is that they can be difficult to breathe through—so Collins finds it “baffling” that the CDC would recommend double masking. “So does double masking work? Yes, but … I think there are better solutions,” he said in one of his videos.

Another way to get a better fit is to use masks with straps that go around the back of the head or to use a mask brace if one only has access to a surgical mask.