Industrial air filters are essential to maintaining appropriate air quality in a variety of environments or systems. All filters are built using a frame, a filter media and potentially a screen that protects the face of the filter. These components are necessary to filter out particles, sometimes all the way down to the molecular level. Choosing the right air filter comes down to a few key attributes, so check the following when looking through industrial air filters Richmond VA options.
Type of Filtration
There are three classification groups for industrial air filters. Mechanical filtration strains, intercepts or diffuses particles through physical means. Electrostatic filtration employs fibers that are electrostatically charged to attract particles in the air and can be up to 96% efficient when used in the right conditions. Electronic filtration is the most complex and expensive, as well as being noisy and challenging to repair. This filter type runs a current through electrodes so that contaminants moving through the filter become positively charged and collected in a specific area of the filter.
Particle Size
Different applications require filters that can trap particles down to a specific size. For example, cleanrooms and pharmaceutical manufacturing applications are required by various standards to use high efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filters that can prevent the circulation of 99.97% of particles larger than 0.3 nanometers. Other applications, like air conditioners or general residential building use, can use other types of filter.
Filter Material
Most filters come in a variety of materials that are suited to particular needs. The most common include acrylic, activated charcoal, fiberglass, paper and polyurethane foam. The effectiveness of a given material can also increase depending on the number of layers built into the filter. A filter with three layers will capture more particulate than one with a single layer, although there is typically a tradeoff in airflow.
If you need to order industrial air filters but aren’t sure of the best type for your application, be sure to consult an expert to make sure you’re getting your money’s worth.