Category: Air Purification

Today, the issue of industrial air pollution has become a significant concern due to its adverse effects on both human health and the environment. As a result, the demand for efficient industrial air purification technologies has grown substantially to improve air quality and endorse sustainable practices.

This blog post will delve into the subject of industrial air purification and sustainability, exploring the obstacles faced in attaining clean air in industrial environments, the significance of technology in resolving these obstacles, and the advantages of sustainable air purification practices.

Upon finishing this post, you will gain a comprehensive understanding of how technology is revolutionizing the industry of industrial air purification, and how adopting sustainable practices can contribute to a healthier environment.

The impact of industrial air pollution

Industrial air pollution poses a hazard to your business, environment, the economy, and human health. Exposure to air pollution in industrial surroundings can result in respiratory problems, cardiovascular diseases, and cancer. Air pollution can also cause harm to crops, forests, and aquatic habitats, leading to ecological imbalances and reductions in biodiversity.

The economic repercussions of industrial air pollution cannot be disregarded. Industrial air pollution can lead to reduced worker productivity, increased healthcare expenses, and even legal liabilities for companies. It is clear that there is a growing need for effective industrial air purification technologies that can counteract the negative effects of air pollution.

The role of technology in industrial air purification

Technology has played a key role in improving industrial air purification over time. Various technologies have been developed to address the increasing need to avoid the negative effects of air pollution. The most commonly used air purification technologies in industrial settings include electrostatic precipitators, baghouses, and scrubbers.

Electrostatic precipitators operate by applying an electrical charge to particles in the air, which are then collected on charged plates. Baghouses use fabric bags to filter out particles from the air, while scrubbers use a liquid solution to remove pollutants from the air.

However, each technology has its own advantages and limitations. Although electrostatic precipitators are efficient at removing small particles from the air, they are ineffective in removing gases. Baghouses are effective in capturing large particles, but not as efficient in capturing small particles. Scrubbers are effective in removing gases but are not efficient in removing particulate matter.

It is evident that technology has been crucial in enhancing air quality in industrial settings. As the demand for cleaner air increases, technological advancements will continue to play a significant role in improving industrial air purification.

The future of industrial air purification and sustainability

The future of industrial air purification holds promising advancements in sustainability, driven by the growing awareness of environmental concerns and the need for clean air solutions. As industries continue to expand and air pollution becomes a pressing issue, there is a critical demand for innovative technologies that not only purify the air but also align with sustainable practices.

In the coming years, we can expect to see significant developments in industrial air purification systems that prioritize energy efficiency and promote overall sustainability. For instance, advancements in filtration technologies will play a vital role in enhancing industrial air purification. Improved filtration materials and designs will enable more efficient removal of harmful particulate matter and pollutants from industrial emissions. As well as the integration of smart sensors and real-time monitoring capabilities will allow for optimized operation, reducing energy consumption and minimizing the environmental impact.

Advancements in industrial air purification should also emphasize on a circular economy approach to promote a more sustainable future. This means designing systems with the ability to recover and reuse materials, minimizing waste generation, and implementing responsible end-of-life disposal practices. Manufacturers should increasingly prioritize the use of recyclable or biodegradable materials in the construction of air purification systems, ensuring a reduced environmental footprint throughout their lifecycle.

Partnerships and collaborations between industry stakeholders, research institutions, and regulatory bodies will also be instrumental in driving the future of sustainable industrial air purification. These collaborations can foster knowledge sharing, innovation, and the establishment of robust standards and regulations that promote sustainable practices and ensure the long-term success of air purification initiatives.

The future of industrial air purification is poised to be closely intertwined with sustainability. Through advancements in filtration technologies and in the adoption of circular economy principles, industrial air purification systems will become increasingly efficient, eco-friendly, and aligned with sustainable practices. By prioritizing sustainability in the development and implementation of air purification technologies, industries can contribute to a cleaner and healthier work environment.

Aeroex’s Commitment to Industrial Air Purification and Sustainability 

Aeroex Technologies recognizes the importance of addressing air pollution, which poses significant risks to human health and the environment. Our commitment to sustainability means that we prioritize developing products and technologies that not only purify the air but also minimize energy consumption for businesses that utilize manufacturing processes that produce harmful airborne contaminants. 

One of Aeroex’s key approaches to sustainability is the utilization of advanced filtration technologies. Aeroex employs innovative air purification systems that efficiently capture and remove a wide range of airborne pollutants, including dust, particulate matter, volatile organic compounds (VOCs), and other harmful contaminants. By effectively removing these pollutants, Aeroex helps to create cleaner and safer work environments.

Moreover Aeroex’s multi stage filtration system features non-consumable filters – greatly reducing waste and long-term maintenance costs for businesses. This is in direct alignment with the focus on the circular economy approach mentioned in the previous section.

Aeroex further promotes sustainable practices by encouraging their customers to adopt hyper customized energy-efficient solutions. We offer customized air purification systems that are designed to meet our clients’ unique business needs to optimize energy consumption. By providing efficient solutions, Aeroex helps their customers reduce energy costs and ultimatelminimize their environmental impact.

Final Thoughts

In sum, the combination of technology and sustainability is revolutionizing the field of industrial air purification. The adverse impacts of industrial air pollution on human health, the environment, business owners and the economy necessitate effective solutions. Technological advancements have significantly improved air purification systems, offering various technologies to address the specific challenges of industrial pollution.

Aeroex Technologies exemplifies a company committed to sustainability in industrial air purification. Through the utilization of advanced filtration technologies, Aeroex efficiently captures and removes a wide range of pollutants, creating cleaner and safer work environments. Additionally, Aeroex encourages energy-efficient solutions, helping customers reduce energy costs and assist in minimize their environmental footprint.

Ultimately, the future of industrial air purification lies in sustainable practices and technologies. By prioritizing sustainability and leveraging advancements in air purification, industries can contribute to a healthier work environment while mitigating the impact of air pollution on human health and the planet.

 

 

Fan Filter Units To Improve Indoor Air Quality of Schools and Other Public Buildings 

Schools and other public institutions like hospitals are among the critical infrastructure that delivers services we all depend on. The ability to access and leverage these services depends on properly functioning infrastructure like structural, electrical, and mechanical building elements, all of which require funding and maintenance to operate. This includes the mechanical ventilation and heating/cooling systems in schools and other public buildings. Without proper ventilation, several undesirable air quality indicators can arise including stale air from low oxygen, the air being too hot or too damp, the accumulation of pollutants, and the presence of airborne bacteria and viruses including coronaviruses.

The State of School Ventilation Systems

A common trend among Canadian schools and other similar jurisdictions is a growing backlog of maintenance leading to poor performing infrastructure and ventilation. For example in Ontario, it was reported that 28% of schools and 45% of hospital assets are not in a state of good repair. The backlog of maintenance for schools alone would cost $3.7 billion in 2020 dollars. This figure includes a significant amount of mechanical ventilation systems.

If you think back to a Canadian school you attended as a child, this experience probably resonates with you. You likely attended a post-WW2 school with older infrastructure that is now aging and was always too hot and stuffy or too cold – many of these schools don’t even have air conditioning. With budget shortfalls every year and an aging portfolio, ventilation systems are getting worse all the time and reinvestment by the government is barely keeping up.

Impacts of the COVID-19 Pandemic

There was a growing awareness of ventilation issues in schools and some incremental investments to mitigate the issue prior to the pandemic, but everything changed during the global pandemic of 2020. When it was discovered that COVID-19 was airborne and could be mitigated by proper ventilation and air purification, there was suddenly a great interest in improving the indoor air quality of schools.

Governments are now aggressively trying to tackle the ventilation problems in schools that have been growing for decades. Everyone wants to keep kids safe and schools open, meaning that if investments in ventilation can improve this outcome then there is a strong case to do so. But the scale of the problem, the urgency of the situation, and the competing interests for limited funds challenge this goal. Therefore, there is a clear need for affordable and scalable solutions that can immediately improve the air quality of schools.

Challenges with HVAC Retrofits

Given schools already have an HVAC system, retrofits to improve air exchanges and provide more filtration are a common approach. This is often borne out of a desire to avoid a full system replacement, which is costly and disruptive for schools with classes in session. However, retrofits have their own challenges and may not bring the desired outcomes.

First is the matter of filtration – HEPA filters are widely accepted as a gold standard for capturing particles transmitting coronaviruses, and there are already encouraging investments by governments in deploying them. However, HEPA filters are often being used to augment the retrofit or overhaul of existing ventilation systems. This is where problems can arise, as old ventilation systems typically were not designed to incorporate a HEPA filter. This leads to significantly higher costs for schools with limited funds.

Second is the matter of air handling capacity. To move the air through HEPA filters retrofitted to the existing ventilation system, air handling also needs to be increased. Blowers usually need to be replaced in order to generate enough cubic feet per minute and static pressure to move air through the HEPA filters. This then expands the scope of the ventilation upgrade and adds cost. Adding capacity can be a complicated process because of the integrated nature of mechanical ventilation – if done incorrectly, not all rooms get the needed airflow. Therefore, a more cost-effective and practical solution for schools is desired.

Portable Air Purifiers for Indoor Air Purification

Some may ask, why not just use the portable air purifiers commonly seen in school classrooms already? Portable air purifiers are an important part of the toolkit because they are easily deployed, are affordable, and can be moved between areas. They were popular early in the pandemic because of the need for a quick solution.

Aeroex provides portable air purifiers and continues to advocate for their importance. But in a situation like schools where a permanent solution is desired and there is a backlog of ventilation repairs, portable air purifiers don’t address some of the root causes or provide the desired level of service. Portable units have more opportunity for human error, and they sometimes get turned off by the user because of the background noise they make when compared to traditional ventilation. Ambient control measures in the ventilation system are near the ceiling where they are less disruptive and become a permanent fixture providing constant air circulation and filtration.

Fan Filter Units – High Capacity and Cost Effective Air Filtration

To solve the problem of costly retrofits to a backlog of mechanical ventilation systems in schools with an immediate need for air filtration brought on by a public health challenge, Aeroex proposes the use of fan filter units.

Fan filter units equipped with HEPA filter units provide both additional air circulation and air filtration thanks to the high performance filters. Typically a fan filter unit is installed in the ceiling but it can act as a standalone unit, rather than completely retrofitting an existing system. A fan filter unit will easily integrate into the conduits of existing utilities in a school. The ease of installation and the comparable performance to upgraded ventilation with filter retrofits make fan filter units the clear choice. A fan filter unit will give the same result for less money! 

The AIR FIT Fan Filter Unit

Fan filter units like Aeroex’s Air Fit come equipped with HEPA units. Designed for a range of uses including clean rooms in healthcare or specialty manufacturing, the Air Fit is known to meet the requirements of critical industries. And what is more critical than keeping our kids safe? Money should be no object, but in a resource constrained school system fan filter units are the clear choice to meet the current shortfalls of our school ventilation systems when compared to more costly ventilation retrofits.

Contact Aeroex To Learn More

If you’d like to learn more about our advocacy for clean air, public education, and the proper use of air purification systems, check out our social media. To get in touch with the team or learn more about our fan filter units, visit our website to contact us today.

Important Facts About Air Filters and Filtration

Aeroex is continuing our campaign to arm you with facts about air purification! You can use the same information we use to design our purification systems to understand the types of filters companies offer and the underlying filtration technology used.

Filter Type and Filter Depth

In our last blog, we discussed what air purification is and the importance of not just looking at filter efficiency but also the capacity of filtering a sufficient volume of air to achieve your target number of air exchanges. Another important factor in air purification performance is the filter depth and material.

Previously, we explained the HEPA industry standard. HEPA certifies a filter as being capable of capturing 99.97% of 0.3 micron particles, usually achieved through a series of randomly aligned fibers. Unfortunately, the HEPA standard only certifies the ability of a filter to perform this filtration under ideal conditions and does not certify the long-term performance of the filter. This leads to filters that technically meet the HEPA standard but not your expectations for performance. The common distinction for systems are whether they use depth filters or membrane filters.

Comparing Depth Filters and Membrane Filters

While depth filters and membrane filters can both be HEPA certified, they do not operate the same. Membrane filters are thin but intricate, stopping nearly all particles above the uniform filter size. Unfortunately, they also clog easily because only a small amount of filter media is available. Conversely, a depth-loading filter has a much “thicker” interface for contaminant particles, creating more filtration opportunities. The nature of depth loading means this does not clog the filter and impede performance.

Source: G.J. Curiel, H.L.M. Lelieveld, in Encyclopedia of Food Microbiology

Don’t Get Stuck With Cheap Pleated Filters!

Membrane filters in other industries have many essential uses but in air purification, membrane filters tend to be cheap pleated HEPA filters that clog easily. So, it is common to see claims about the performance of the HEPA standard that ignore how often these filters need to be replaced. It is for this reason that Aeroex instead uses a depth-loading filter along with multi-stage filtration – so that when you pay for a HEPA filter, you are using its true purpose of only removing the smallest particles. 

When you see a discussion of HEPA filters, remember the information shared by Aeroex and other trusted sources! If you ever have questions about the science of air purification, do not hesitate to contact Aeroex.

Common Misconceptions about Air Quality

Indoor air quality is widely recognized as a key strategy for mitigating airborne viruses, but in the rush to learn about air purification there have been instances of disinformation or misleading claims about what works and what doesn’t. Aeroex has been in the business for over 20 years but we are seeing newcomers jump on the COVID opportunity, misleading their customers. We want to arm you with the facts so you can restore confidence in the promises of air purification. 

What is Air Purification?

Air purification is the process of filtering and removing suspended particles. So, air purification relies on ways of removing these particles, most commonly through filtration. While this seems simple, the range of pollutant types and particle sizes means air purification quickly gets challenging without the right tools.

So If Some Bad Particles Are Small, All You Need Is A Small Enough Filter Right?

Wrong! Understanding particle science is the first step but it misses something. Having a very fine filter is good, but if it can’t filter particles faster than they are spreading you’re not sufficiently purifying the space. This is why air exchanges are important, the frequency that a volume of filtered air is replaced – it must be higher than the source in order to maintain air purification (depicted below). Often, many times that frequency. Not to mention factors like the volume of the facility/room. Before doing a detailed analysis of airflow, it’s good to start with a simple calculation of air volume in a room.

Source: Hong Kong Training Portal on Infectious Control

Know Your Filters

Companies may try to confuse you with proprietary naming, but knowing the international standards for filtration will help you navigate their claims. The two main types you should know are MERV and HEPA. MERV is a standard certified by the EPA for 95% particles from 10 to 0.3 microns – for some applications, this is effective enough. HEPA goes further, capturing 99.97% of 0.3 micron particles. Start by learning the particle size of your contaminants and reference this against the filter rating. Consider this in the context of other filter characteristics like filtration type (pleated membrane vs depth filter, another Aeroex passion!) and air handling capacity (commonly measured in cubic feet per minute).

Don’t Be Fooled

Air exchanges are a critical factor many vendors conveniently ignore – you can have the best filter for small contaminant particles in the world and if it doesn’t have air exchange capacity your room could be full of impurities. And, this is before even considering how to handle a ranging mixture of particle sizes! At best this leads to the wrong purchase, but at worst many people are making decisions with false promises that risk health and safety. Make sure to consider both filter size and exchange rate, plus the many other tips Aeroex has. Stay tuned for more!

 

The use of clean rooms for sterilization and air purification is a global practice that has expanded with new technologies, increasing expectations for safety in traditional sectors like pharmaceuticals, and expanding applications in industries like nanotechnology. However, each sector and jurisdiction can have varying requirements. This is clearly demonstrated by ISO 14644 – Cleanrooms and associated controlled environments, which provides nine levels of classification for clean rooms (each with a magnitude difference in particle concentrations). What can be considered a “clean room” in one jurisdiction or sector may be considered vastly above or below a standard or regulation in another sector. So, it is important to understand what are the microbial limits for clean rooms in Canada or neighboring jurisdictions like the United States, and therefore what air purification you will need to meet the microbial limit.

Canadian Microbial Limits for Clean Rooms 

Canadian requirements for microbial limits and clean room conditions are determined by the Health Canada through the Food and Drug Act and the embedded regulations. Clean room requirements are described in Food and Drug Regulations (C.R.C., c. 870). Division 2 for Good Manufacturing Practices includes a definition of Sterile Products which requires manufacturing in separate and enclosed areas under the supervision of personnel trained in microbiology by a method scientifically proven to ensure sterility. Note this does not explicitly state the need for a clean room although a clean room is an obvious way to meet this definition.

It is not until a supporting document to the Canadian regulation that clean rooms are explained. The Good Manufacturing Practices Guide for Drug Products (GUI-0001) includes an annex specific to clean rooms and other sterile manufacturing requirements. Here, Health Canada defines four types of clean rooms (note this differs from the ISO standard which uses 9 definitions). However, Health Canada references the equivalent ISO standard and also requires the use of ISO methods for sampling and demonstrating clean room conditions. Health Canada also takes a nuanced approach by distinguishing clean room limits when the facility is “at rest” versus when operations are ongoing. The four levels of microbial limits for clean rooms in Canada are:

• Grade A – Limits of 3,520 particles per cubic meter with a size of 0.5μm or greater.
• Grade B – Has the same limits of 3,520 particles per cubic meter with a size of 0.5μm or greater as Grade A, but allows for a higher tabulated size (20 in Grade A vs 29 in Grade B). This is equivalent in concentration and size to the ISO-5 standard of ISO 14644.
• Grade C – Limits of 352,000 particles per cubic meter with a size of 0.5μm or greater. This is equivalent to the ISO-7 standard.
• Grade D – Limits of 3,520,000 particles per cubic meter with a size of 0.5μm or greater. This is equivalent to the ISO-8 standard. 

American Microbial Limits for Clean Rooms

Aeroex also supports American industries and suppliers subject to American regulations. Those familiar with the Canadian system of regulation will see similarities to the American counterpart. Per the Houston Chronicle’s small business guide, clean room requirements set by the Food and Drug Administration are provided through the Current Good Manufacturing Practices series of regulations. Specifically, Code of Regulation 210 and 211 provide requirements for the production of sterile products, notably for:

• Equipment for control over air pressure, micro-organisms, dust, and humidity.
• Air filtration systems, including prefilters and particulate matter air filters.

This set of regulations provides the “overhead” requirements. Additional requirements are typically attached to individual product approvals. 

Beyond these regulatory requirements, Aeroex understands that clean rooms can have varying requirements and challenges for different types of industry applications. Read more here to learn how we are considering and tackling these applications. 

How to meet the Canadian Microbial Limits for Clean Rooms

The Air-Fit by Aeroex is a ceiling-mounted fan filtration unit that delivers air circulation with a centrifugal fan and filtration using HEPA filters to meet all clean room standards. The use of HEPA filters guarantees an efficiency rating of 99.99% for particles as small as 0.3 μm, delivering high volumes of HEPA filtered air to your clean room! The Air-Fit should be incorporated into a clean room design for a given standard of air purification, depending on the desired or regulated microbial limits. It is notable from the above discussion that Canada uses a 0.5um particle size threshold, whereas some industries in the United States only go to a 1.0um particle size. The Air-Fit is equipped to exceed Canadian standards by filtering particles as small as 0.3 μm (there is evidence HEPA is effective for smaller particles than this too but this is not guaranteed). 

Given the efficiency and particle size threshold of the Air-Fit, Canadian standards for clean rooms can be achieved. The deployment method of the Air-Fit will depend on the size of the facility and required air handling. Aeroex offers different sizes of units ranging from 500 to 1000 cubic feet per minute of capacity and can incorporate multiple units in a series to fully augment your existing mechanical ventilation system. A central control panel is provided in these instances to allow you to monitor and configure multiple units simultaneously.

Ready to Help You Meet Microbial Limits for Clean Rooms in Canada

All our Aeroex units are designed and manufactured in Canada. We support a wide range of Canadian industries and value our local partners. Aeroex is committed to meeting your regulated requirements in a way that provides you the maximum value. If you are seeking a partner in clean room air purification, contact Aeroex today to help us understand your unique needs.

The performance standards of clean rooms and clean room air purification systems are often an area of significant focus for those in the environmental health and safety industries. This is often in reference to decisions about the design of facilities, or standards and regulations when making decisions about what industries to service and what infrastructure this requires. However, when was the last time you thought about how your existing systems are performing? In industries where clean rooms are used, deploying a system for your intended level of service is not sufficient assurance unless you have also tested its configuration to meet your standard and conduct ongoing monitoring to confirm ongoing compliance. Without monitoring, it is impossible to know whether the system you are using is meeting the promised standard and if you are in continued compliance with a regulatory requirement or supplier agreement. Therefore, the environmental monitoring of clean rooms is an important consideration for Aeroex and those in the quality or health and safety industries. 

Requirements for Environmental Monitoring

Some regulatory environments require ongoing environmental monitoring, meaning that irrespective of the benefits (see below) you will need to do it. You should be aware of your ongoing monitoring requirements at the outset when establishing a clean room. 

In Canada, Annex 1 to the Good Manufacturing Practices Guide (GUI-0119) outlines how to do monitoring depending on the class of clean room you operate, with higher levels requiring constant monitoring and lower levels requiring more periodic monitoring. There is some flexibility in sample size when compared to the definitions in ISO 14644. In the United States, an independent standard was maintained until 2001 when the General Services Administration adopted ISO 14644 for internal use as the standard for environmental monitoring of clean rooms.

Benefits of Environmental Monitoring of Clean Rooms

Environmental monitoring of your clean room may seem like an added expense or undue workload when it is first considered. However, this proactive measure brings many benefits to the organization and the client. It can even help save you money or find opportunities. Some of the benefits include:

• Performance Guarantees. If you have a good supplier of air purification systems like Aeroex, your purchase agreement will likely include expectations about the minimum standard of performance under ideal operating conditions. 

• Items Under Warranty You may also have purchased a limited or extended warranty. If you do not check the performance of your air purification system through clean room environmental monitoring, you may miss a malfunctioning part that could be easily replaced under your warranty. Take advantage of the warranty with monitoring for signs of any issues. 

• Save Money on Filters Changes and Purification System Maintenance Even with Aeroex air purification systems that use large volumes of filter media to prolong filter changes and avoid clogging, all systems eventually require filter changes. Typically, manufacturers will provide approximate timelines between changes but how do you know when exactly to do so? Some environments with heavy contaminants require frequent changes to keep performance up to par while others may last longer than expected due to other beneficial sterilization measures taking place. If you do environmental monitoring, you can use the changes in conditions to correspond with a change in filter with clear justification. So long as you meet performance standards, you may be able to save money by waiting on a filter change. 

• • Clean Room Design Features. Air purification systems are one aspect of clean room design, and performance is impacted by other features like airlocks, doors and furnishings, appliances, garments, etc. If environmental monitoring shows a slide in performance and your air purification system is fully functional you may need to take a look at the other clean room inputs. Continued monitoring during retrofits can help to quantify the benefits of changes you make to your clean room operation or detect when a new process positively or adversely impacts your environment. 

• Compliance. Environmental monitoring logs can help to easily demonstrate compliance with a regulatory requirement or supplier agreement, or even to prepare you for an ISO 14644 certification.

• Data. When you perform environmental monitoring, the data you get provides an immediate snapshot into the state of your clean room and air purification systems. However, the value of this data grows over time as it turns from a snapshot to a historical trend report. As you get more data, you will be able to see trends in how your clean room performs which can lead to inquiries that result in failure finding, root cause analysis, optimizations and savings, etc. 

How to Conduct Environmental Monitoring

The aforementioned GUI-0119 provides practical advice on how to conduct environmental monitoring. Devices like portable particle counters can be used, provided that the tubing is not too long (which can cause condensation in the tubing while traveling to the sampler). The unidirectional airflow requirement of high-level clean rooms can pose additional sampling challenges, resulting in the need for isokinetic sample heads. A monitoring system could use multiple airborne sampling points, which could feed one or more particle counters. Typically, the system used depends on the expected particle sizes you will encounter and are trying to regulate. Some materials have greater risks, such as radiopharmaceuticals. 

Once you have selected the equipment you wish to use, you will want to create a sampling plan including identifying the particle types you need to detect, designating your sample points, and establishing a baseline of background conditions. Once operational, continue monitoring while recording your sanitation practices as well as any issues you detect.

Your Clean Room Experts

At Aeroex we are advocates for environmental monitoring of clean rooms. We design our systems for a long life of high performance and know models like the Air-Fit will hold up to continued monitoring. We are partners committed to your success and appreciate any dialogue or observations that come out of your monitoring efforts. When selecting your clean room air purification system, we will keep environmental monitoring considerations front of mind and make recommendations about how best to achieve your targets. If you are seeking a partner committed to the long-term success of your clean rooms, contact Aeroex today.

Clean rooms are widely understood as engineered spaces within facilities that have stringent levels of sterilization and air purification. But what actually defines a clean room? Clean rooms are a general term for what are actually a series of room types with meaningful differences in the level of service provided, and what constitutes a “clean room” will vary significantly by industry or application. What is considered clean room for a less stringent industry may be wholly inadequate for precision applications like nanotechnology. Definitions of clean rooms can also raise issues when supplier agreements or legislative requirements expect a certain level of cleanliness, or when trying to validate the claims or guarantees of a technology or a clean room service. It is for this reason that clean room classifications and classification charts are an important industry source of standardization.

Industry Standard Clean Room Classification

Aeroex is fully aligned with the international best practices for clean room classification. ISO 14644 provides a series of standards for clean room classification and cleanliness. There are fourteen documents within the series that cover topics including design, microbial air concentrations, testing methods, particle sizes concentrations, and air cleanliness. Notably, ISO 14644-1 provides clean room classifications by air cleanliness. Aeroex uses ISO 14644-1 when designing clean room air purification systems like the Air-Fit or when working with clients on a deployment plan for their target level of clean room classification. See below for Aeroex’s industry-standard clean room classification chart:

How to Read and Use the Clean Room Classification

The clean room classification chart provides 9 classes of clean rooms. These are itemized down the side as ISO-1 to ISO-9, the definitions provided by ISO 14644. Here, ISO-9 is the “dirtiest” and ISO-1 is the “cleanest”. 

Across the top are a series of particle size concentrations, measured in microns (depicted as μm). A micron is a particle 1×10−6 meters in length. Particle sizes considered by ISO 14644 range from 0.1 to 5.0 μm, meaning these particles are very small. This is why Aeroex air purification systems like the Air Fit use HEPA filters capable of removing 99.99% of particles as small as 0.3 μm. These particle size concentrations list the maximum allowable number of particles of the given size category within a cubic meter of air in a clean room.

To read the table, start with your required ISO classification target, and read across. In each column with a value, the number listed in the cell corresponds to the total number of particles of that micron/sub-micron size within a cubic meter of the room. Note that each clean room classification allows a few similar particle size categories, which is reflective of most size distributions for contaminants. These values should be used as the basis for your targets in designing your clean room, selecting your air purification technology, or monitoring your air quality for ISO compliance.

There are a number of ways to use the clean room classification chart depending on your progress with implementing your clean room. You may be in the very early stages of designing your clean room and may wish to study the different levels from ISO-1 to ISO-9 used in industries you could support as clients. Or, a regulatory requirement in your industry may be informing your target. Even after your clean room is designed, operators continue to reference the chart when monitoring their performance.

Transitioning from FED STD 209E

FED STD 209E is the American precursor to ISO 14644. Titled Airborne Particulate Cleanliness Classes in Cleanrooms and Cleanzones, 209E was superseded by the new international standard. Some legacy applications still work with 209E, and Aeroex is comfortable working with both classification charts interchangeably as needed. The corresponding 209E equivalent is provided in our chart for reference.

Why are Clean Room Classifications Important?

Understanding the various contaminant limits for different levels of clean rooms or different jurisdictions are important to help manage your business and maintain your facility. By knowing how to navigate the various standards, you can keep your business resilient and positioned to get new opportunities. Consider the following reasons:

• It’s the Law. In regulated jurisdictions like pharmaceutical manufacturing, government agencies set specific standards for sterilization and air purification that need to be followed. Knowing what designation from the chart is expected will inform the clean room air purification system you require along with other design features. 

• ISO Certification and Business Reputation. When you establish a clean room for a given cleanliness standard, you can request an evaluation to receive ISO certification. By obtaining the ISO certification, your business will rise in reputation for having an internationally trusted endorsement of the level of service you provide. 

• Adaptable to Changes in Standards. With increasing evidence of the benefits of workplace safety, sterilized conditions, etc., what is considered the “minimum” requirement for microbial limits may not be the same tomorrow or in the future. Working to exceed the limits or knowing the thresholds can “future proof” your business by preparing you in advance for any regulatory or supplier changes.

• Secure Your Clients.  Many jurisdictions are not legally regulated to establish clean room conditions but their business cannot function without one! This is notable in industries like nanotechnology and optical manufacturing. Establishing and monitoring a clean room with a concentration limit from the chart will help to secure your clients or achieve the conditions of any supplier agreements. 

• Support Emerging Technologies and Industry. There are emerging business cases for new applications of clean rooms, such as during the production of solar panel components where impurities can lead to inefficient energy conversion. Monitoring the industries and being prepared to meet their required microbial limits can help you win new business. 

Find More Clean Room Resources

Aeroex is committed to the advancement of the clean room industry and providing our clients with the best advice. Our products are designed by engineers and manufactured in Canada. Visit our website to find other resources similar to the classification chart and contact Aeroex today to get expert advice firsthand. 

Pharmaceutical production is a critical industry for supporting the healthcare and well-being of the world’s population – is it also a tightly regulated industry with precise methods developed through decades of scientific study. Stringent conditions that must be the same in all circumstances are placed on pharmaceutical production to guarantee that the outputs will be virtually identical in all cases. When administering a sensitive or concentrated pharmaceutical product, even very slight impurities or contaminants could lead to widely varied and undesirable outcomes meaning healthcare practitioners need absolute confidence in what they are prescribing. It is for this reason that clean rooms place a vital role in pharmaceutical production, and in turn medical-grade air purification systems that create clean room conditions like the Air Fit from Aeroex.

How Does Air Purification Help Pharmaceutical Production?

Clean rooms with air purification address many of the quality and safety priorities of the pharmaceutical industry. Common conceptions of how we transmit contaminants could include things like breathing germs, not washing your hands, not having a clean workstation, etc. However, there are actually many airborne contaminants like dust, pollen, aerosols, and bacteria in ambient atmospheric conditions that would interfere with pharmaceutical production if they were not removed. Many of these contaminants are not detectable to the naked eye, meaning incredibly fine filtration or other methods of purification are needed to remove them. This helps the pharmaceutical industry by providing a guarantee that impurities will not enter a product at any stage in the pharmaceutical production process. 

Clean rooms can also support other industries as recognized by the recent updates in clean room ISO standards, which cited food production, aerospace, and automotive manufacturing as other applications.

What is a Clean Room for Pharmaceutical Production?

Clean rooms are used in a variety of industries but are most common in pharmaceutical production on account of the previously mentioned quality requirements. According to ISO 14544:2015, clean rooms are specified by “the classification of air cleanliness in terms of concentration of airborne particles”… “based on threshold (lower limit) particle sizes ranging from 0.1 µm to 5 µm”. Clean rooms can provide varying levels of stringency and cleanliness – these standards rang from ISO-1 (the “cleanest”) to ISO-9 (the “dirtiest”). 

The most common clean room standards used for pharmaceutical production are ISO-8 and ISO-7. Typically these facilities require a sterile environment but don’t handle hazardous materials. The required air circulation would be around 30 cycles per hour, with approximately 83,000 particles less than one micron in size being allowed per cubic meter of air (this may sound like a lot but not when these particles are incredibly small!). 

Higher standards like ISO-5 are typically reserved for specialized technologies like nanotechnologies where even the smallest impurities can have an outsized impact on very small products. These clean rooms typically require unidirectional flow as well, which not all pharmaceutical clean rooms require provided the right purification takes place. To learn more about clean rooms and the breakdown of air purification requirements and methods, check out our recent article on the subject.

Air Purification for Clean Rooms in Pharmaceutical Production

Aeroex specializes in all types of air purification for industries ranging from swiss lathe machining to public schools or hospitals to specialized manufacturing and pharmaceutical production. Our offering for pharmaceutical production clean rooms is the Air-Fit, a clean room system using ceiling-mounted fan filters equipped with the highest standards in air purification technology. The high-efficiency particulate air filter (HEPA) has an efficiency rating of 99.99% for particles as small as 0.3 μm. This rating is notably smaller than the 0.5μm and 1.0μm requirements of ISO-7 clean rooms cited for industries like pharmaceutical production, making the Air-Fit the ideal model for such clean rooms. 

Calculate the Air Circulation of a Clean Room for Pharmaceutical Production

Clean rooms are defined not just by the level of cleanliness an air purification system can provide, but at what scale and capacity so as to constantly maintain the cleanliness of facility of a given size/volume. Therefore, the air handling of the air purification system needs to be considered. The Air-Fit comes in two models providing either 500 or 1000 cubic feet per minute of air handling, with speed variations within each. To determine your capacity required to circulate purified air at the necessary frequency (for example 30 times per hour), the volume of the clean room needs to be taken into account. The Air-Fit delivers the high air handling using a centrifugal fan and high volumes of filter media. 

In cases where a staged approach to fan filtration was needed, the modular nature of the Air-Fit units and integration with existing mechanical systems could provide the necessary air handling. Typically units should be spaced to provide ambient conditions unless unidirectional flow creates added requirements. If multiple units are deployed, the Air Fit would provide additional benefits (as discussed below) by using a control panel to configure all units simultaneously. 

Ways to Improve your Clean Room

Beyond meeting or exceeding the specifications of clean rooms, the Air Fit provides many other benefits to the operation that can improve your clean room. First, our models provide similar air handling to competitor units but do so more efficiently, using a compact model with a smaller footprint to do so when clean room ceiling “real estate” can be in short supply due to lighting, appliances, containment devices, etc. also appearing on the ceiling. Our control panel for configuring multiple Air-Fit units is easy to use, saving an airflow engineering from having to locate and calibrate each unit individually (they’ll thank you for it with a lower invoice!). Our models are designed and manufactured in Canada, giving a long-lasting unit that adds efficiency with long useful life. Our filters use high filter media and rarely clog, leaving you operating longer without a filter replacement. And when you do need to replace the filter you can easily do it yourself thanks to the improved safety we’ve added to the access hatch after seeing issues in competitor models with this process. These benefits combine to improve your clean room and give you greater value. 

If you need to establish a clean room or wish to improve or expand an existing facility, contact Aeroex today.

Clean rooms are commonly associated with industries like pharmaceuticals and healthcare, but advances in manufacturing have led to clean rooms being used in many other commercial applications. A clean room is a sanitized space that is maintained using air purification along with other measures like gowning, frequent cleaning, and airlocks to create a neutral environment devoid of contaminants that can pose quality issues. Clean rooms are specially designed so that users are able to monitor and maintain the environment of the room by controlling factors such as humidity, temperature, airflow, pressure, and filtration. Aeroex is an experienced supplier of clean room fan filter units like our Air-Fit for the commercial sector – click here to learn more.

Why Do Commercial Industries Need Clean Rooms?

Clean rooms are a necessary part of many commercial applications that require heightened quality or safety standards or use complex processes that could be impinged by airborne contaminants. The primary purpose of a clean room across these industrial applications is to provide a clean working space in which manufacturing processes can take place without interference from contaminants that can jeopardize the final product.

Contaminants include (and are not limited to) dust, vapor, microbes, fibers, as well as other potential biological contaminants. When these particles interfere with a process, products may be wasted or the time and money of the operation could be lost.

Air Purification for Commercial Clean Rooms

An essential piece of equipment employed in clean rooms are air filters, as they are responsible for the control of contaminants within the clean room. Air filters are engineered to trap contaminants as well as to circulate fresh, clean air into the clean room at specified intervals. The type of air filter used will largely depend on the specifications of the clean room in question, as well as the standards set by the ISO 14644. The Air-Fit 500 uses a HEPA filter with 99.97% removal efficiency for 0.3um particles, which is better than many clean room requirements.

From manufacturing to medical and pharmaceutical applications, clean rooms are employed to meet the regulatory standards set by set employment or environmental standards. ISO 14644 typifies clean rooms into 9 separate categories – all of which are defined by the nature and the purpose of the processes used to manufacture the end-product needed. ISO-1 cleanrooms have the strictest standards for cleanliness, and have the least number of particulate in the air. ISO-9 cleanrooms, in comparison, have the lowest standards of the 9 cleanroom classifications. 

Common Commercial Clean Room Applications

In today’s blog we’ll look at a few industries that rely on the use of clean rooms for their manufacturing processes.

Pharmaceutical Production

As mentioned at the introduction, pharmaceutical production facilities are some of the most common applications for clean rooms due to stringent health and safety requirements. These industries are tightly regulated. Clean rooms are also required during medical trials and other scientific investigations where the interference of airborne contaminants needs to be eliminated as a potential unknown variable in the results of any studies.

Medical Device Manufacturing

Whether producing single-use medical devices like syringes and catheters, or implantable devices like pacemakers, any product that’s interacting with bodily systems needs to be full sterile and devoid of any contaminants. History shows the damage and lawsuits that improperly manufactured medical devices can lead to. Therefore, given the intimacy of certain medical devices they are often manufactured in clean room conditions with air purification. 

Aerospace 

The aerospace industry requires precision and specification – when thousands of feet up in the air, even the slightest quality issue could lead to an unforeseen challenge. The aerospace industry often enlists other technologies like optical devices and instrumentation that have similar clean room requirements to other aerospace components. Aeroex is a trusted partner for “mission-critical” industries like the aerospace sector. For example, we are trusted by manufacturers supplying nuclear industry clients like CANDU nuclear power utilities.

Optics

Optical device manufacturers require clean rooms to ensure no impurities interfere with the crafting of lens and other fine components. These components must be absolutely dust free, and some specialized devices also require specific levels of temperature and humidity. For an illustrative example, check out this interesting showcase of Fujifilm’s use of clean room. Aeroex also has a strong understanding of supporting optical requirements from supplying clients like Benmur Precision with oil mist collectors used in machining parts for Nikon. 

Solar 

There is growing awareness of the need to establish clean rooms for the production of solar panels. Typically, solar panel materials have been able to tolerate some impurities that would otherwise be rejected in higher-grade electronics and improvements to the supply chain have mitigated some of the historical quality issues. However with the need to scale up solar and a push for more efficiency, low-level clean rooms are now being used by industry leaders. A recent industry survey found that combustible dust, or gasses from processing, could be creating impurities mitigated by clean rooms.

Food and Beverage Packaging

Clean rooms in the food manufacturing industries often focus on preventing microorganisms from entering the product. This can significantly extend the shelf life of a product by ensuring no contaminants are present that would speed up the deterioration of the product. Clean rooms with air filtration are often paired with other measures to preserve food like chilling. 

The Use of Commercial Clean Rooms is Expanding

With advances in technology, the use cases for clean rooms are continuing to expand. Aeroex is known for being at the forefront of industry developments and we take pride in innovation. Whether you are developing clean rooms for an established industry or you want an air purification partner who can help in developing a new application, Aeroex is your trusted partner for commercial clean room air purification. Contact Aeroex today so we can get learn about your industry.