Pressure Drop, Capture Efficiency and Dust Loading Capacity of Custom Fabricated High Efficiency Particulate Air (HEPA) Filters Before and After Being Cleaned and Reused

Details

• Personal Author:
  Akbar-Khanzadeh F ; Smigielski K
• Description:
  Objective: To examine the possibility of cleaning and reusing industrial filters by determining the pressure drop, capture efficiency, dust loading capability of custom fabricated HEPA filters and comparing the findings with those of the same filters after being cleaned and reused multiple times. Methods: Four different types of HEPA rated filtration media (2 sizes polypropylene, 1 size glass fiber, 1 size polyester, and 2 sizes teflon) were fabricated in cylindrical shape. Each filter was mounted in the filter compartment of a specially designed exhaust ventilation system and gradually loaded with cadmium contaminated dust emission in 10-gram increments. The pressure drop was recorded as the filter was gradually loaded up to a total of 100 grams of emission while the airflow speed was kept constant at 3500 ft/min. Each filter media (except glass fiber and polyester) was reused at least 3 times. A used filter was cleaned in dilute (< 4%) nitric acid for 24 hours, rinsed with deionized water and dried under a laboratory hood to gain its original weight. The glass fiber and the polyester filters were used as reference media and were not cleaned or reused. A scale was used to monitor the level of loading and the weight of the filter during drying. Results: The pressure drop across all filters (new or reused) increased exponentially as the filters were gradually loaded. Baseline pressure drop on new (unused) filters ranged from 0.2 to 0.4 inches of water column (wc) and as the loading continued, the pressure drop approached 0.8 to 1.2 wc. After each cleaning and drying cycle, filter's pressure drop was returned to its original baseline. All filter media, new or reused, performed well with capture efficiencies of 99.97% or higher. Conclusions: The results suggest that custom fabricated HEPA filters can be cleaned and reused frequently. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Air Pollutants, Occupational Occupational Health Particulate Matter Safety
• Keywords:
  Airborne Particulates Air Filters Filter Materials HEPA Filters High-efficiency Particulate Air Filters
• Publisher:
  American Industrial Hygiene Association
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant
• Genre:
  Abstract or Summary
• Place as Subject:
  Ohio ; OSHA Region 5
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  79-80
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20054447
• Citation:
  AIHce 2013: American Industrial Hygiene Conference and Exposition, May 18-23, 2013, Montreal, Quebec. Falls Church, VA: American Industrial Hygiene Association, 2013 May; :79-80
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2013
• Performing Organization:
  University of Toledo Health Science Campus, Ohio
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Start Date:
  20050701
• Source Full Name:
  AIHce 2013: American Industrial Hygiene Conference and Exposition, May 18-23, 2013, Montreal, Quebec
• End Date:
  20250630
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:498d09ef530d56e894706efa1f9ccffc1171f5c252cc58735911066ac7ce75dea0e2c7134ee02cdc8ea5f8784ee5a0c660cdaca0f7939545ebea07434ea1c047
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/217013/cdc_217013_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 926.23 KB ]