Industrial Air Purification Systems

June 8, 2021 creator

Industrial Air Purification Systems explained: learn the ins and outs of Aeroex Air Purification Solutions.

Industry powers the economic activity of our society, processing raw materials and manufacturing goods to create supply chains, jobs, and products. With advances in technology, our industrial processes have grown in complexity, scale, and capacity. The quality of the air in the workplace has been an issue dating back to the industrial revolution, but it is an issue that has evolved and persisted into our modern industries like metalworking and food production.

Industrial air quality concerns are more complicated than previously thought, including dust particles, mist, smoke, and fume issues – if these aren’t addressed with filtration, businesses could face occupational health and safety, production quality, equipment performance, and environmental compliance problems. Aeroex is at the forefront of the air quality challenges experienced by industry and the science behind keeping your workplace safe with clean air.

Table of Contents

What Are The Industrial Air Quality Issues?

Air quality is threatened by a wide range of airborne pollutants. Poor quality is caused by contaminant particles, which can be big or small and in solid, liquid, or gaseous form. Common causes include smoke, mist, and fumes. The issues that you face will depend on your industrial process (ex. manufacturing, woodworking, food production, etc.) or if you are in a public setting (ex. schools or medical offices). To simplify the wide variety of pollutants that are fully addressed by Aeroex, the most common airborne pollutants in the industrial setting can generally be understood as smoke, mist, or fumes.

Smoke: Solid particulates released into the air as a byproduct of combustion. Particulates will vary in size and composition depending on the temperature of your combustion process and the medium being consumed (for example, diesel). Common sources include engines and generators. Many of the solid particulates vary

in size from those such as oil mist, meaning they can be captured at different stages of the same multi-step filtration process used in Aeroex air purification systems. Check out the ARO series products to see how we achieve this.

Mist: Mists are the liquid droplets of a substance or mixture that are suspended in the air. Their safety impacts vary greatly with the materials being used, their chemistry, and whether the mixing of chemicals is taking place. Mists are often issues in industries where water or liquids are used or where spraying takes place. Common use cases that Aeroex caters to include metalworking, laser cutting, spray painting, and food processing. Products like our Mist-Fit Series specialize in oil mist collection for industrial air quality purification.

Fumes: Volatilized solid particles such as iron or aluminum are released into the air, condensing and oxidizing to form dangerous fumes. If unmitigated, fumes can cause health issues including lung damage and cancer. Fumes are commonly associated with industrial processes like welding, textiles, painting, and paving. Aeroex could address these risks with an ambient air purification system (typically roof-mounted). This is suitable for any commercial or industrial setting.

Industrial air quality pollutants may appear complicated, but they can be easily addressed with industrial air purification systems designed by Aeroex and made right here in North America. We are at the forefront of air quality filtration technologies and are equipped to tackle the latest challenges like the need for medical-grade air purifiers.

What exactly is the distinction between an air cleaner and an air purifier?

Most of them think air cleaners and air purifiers are one and the same. However, there is a vast difference between the two.

Air cleaners filter the air and collect dust, especially the larger dust (mostly dead skin) and pet dander. Most air cleaners have a fan that, when turned on high, can produce a lot of noise pollution. An air cleaner is frequently evaluated using a CADR (clean air delivery rate) or the number of air exchanges per hour. CADR only tests for larger particles (pollen, dust, and particles larger than.3 microns in size) and not for viruses, mold, mildew, bacteria, VOCs, chemicals, or cigarette smoke. On top of this, replacement filters are expensive to purchase. The majority of people do not address the negative ion issue.

In contrast, air purifiers kill airborne pathogens that cause allergies and illness and operate quietly. Moreover, Air purifiers are less expensive to operate.

How Do Industrial Air Purification Systems Work?

Industrial air purification systems work by pulling the contaminated air from the indoor environment into a filtration system, passing the air through a series of mediums designed to efficiently remove all of the harmful particles before releasing it back into the work environment. For example, the ARO Series Mist Collectors uses four stages of filter media to target increasingly small contaminants with each stage. This is a simplification of a technical process that has been carefully designed by Aeroex engineers, who understand that separation is best accomplished in progressive filters of increasing efficiency that move from targeting larger particles to the smallest and most problematic. This general approach is always tailored and customized for what industrial air purification a user wishes to achieve. Solutions for contaminated air can be engineered to mitigate any industrial, commercial, or institutional contaminant, including oil mist, bacteria, dust, and other harmful particulates.

How do industrial air purification systems eliminate airborne contaminants and improve indoor air quality?

It depends on the vendor, as some will use older centrifugal technologies that don’t eliminate fine mist and require frequent after-filter replacements. In the case of Aeroex, we use filter technologies that pass the air through separating layers such as depth loading fiber, oil attracting mesh, HEPA filters that capture the smallest mist, smoke, and bacteria particles.

Ambient and Source Capture Methods

Industrial air purifiers are designed to provide filtration for smoke, mist, and harmful fumes. How you achieve this will depend on whether a source capture strategy or an ambient capture solution is the right installation for your facility.

Ambient solutions are a common approach regardless of your industry or process, and Aeroex clients may choose to mount an air purifier on the ceiling where it can be centrally situated. Like your existing air circulation systems, ambient capture continuously captures plant air, purifies it with the filter, and then circulates it back through your facility. Ambient capture will passively purify all the air in the room, meaning it is best suited for facilities where you do not have a discrete polluter and you wish to provide general protection. The disadvantage of this approach is that it may not be the most efficient approach if you can pinpoint a polluter source and use an air filtration system with an optimized location, in which case source capture will offer you more benefits.

Source capture filtration occurs by placing a mobile purifier at the site, or mounting it directly onto the emitter (Aeroex provides both types), to eliminate industrial pollutants directly at the source. Taking the time to understand the source of harmful contaminants will reduce your costs and improve health outcomes by designing for a more efficient and effective solution, which is why it’s always preferable to put controls on contaminants at the source.