Abstract
The air supply from an airliner ventilation system is a mixture of outside air and recirculated air that passes through a high efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filter. The effectiveness of two commercial-available airliner cabin air filters were investigated in laboratory-based measurements due to the practical restrictions on airliner cabin filter testing during usage. The filtration efficiency and pressure drop were assessed at a particle size range of 20–500 nm under various airflow rates throughout the filter usage period. The Most Penetrating Particle Sizes (MPPS) were observed at ~150 and ~55 nm, where the filtration efficiency was 86% and 99% at the rated airflow rates (1600 m 3 /h and 1970 m 3 /h), respectively. The filtration efficiency decreased in response to the increased airflow rate from 1000 m 3 /h to 2200 m 3 /h, with the greatest reduction (~10%) occurring at MPPS. An increase of 250 Pa in the pressure drop across the filter was observed as the airflow rate increased from 1000 m 3 /h to 2200 m 3 /h. Increased filter usage led to increases in both filtration efficiency and the pressure drop. The actual filter usage was estimated using dust loading in the laboratory. Filtration efficiency increased ~10% and the pressure drop increased ~800% when 220 g/m 2 dust was loaded on the filer, corresponding to ~6000 hours filter usage at an in-cabin PM10 concentration of 100 μg/m 3 . Explicit relationships among filtration efficiency, pressure drop and filter usage under various in-cabin particle concentrations are presented as a reference to facilitate the use of more appropriate airliner cabin air filter exchange periods.
Highlights
A large number of epidemiological studies have shown positive associations between exposure to atmospheric particulate matter (PM) and various adverse health effects, including respiratory and cardiopulmonary effects (Delfino et al, 2005; Pope and Dockery, 2006; Bai et al, 2007)
These Most Penetrating Particle Sizes (MPPS) were smaller than the previously reported results from building ventilation and vehicle cabin measurement studies (Xu et al, 2011; Podgórski et al, 2006; Leung et al, 2010). This is because the fiber solidity of aircraft cabin air filter is higher than the filters that are used in building ventilation or vehicle ventilation systems
For two test aircraft cabin air filters, MPPS varies from 55 nm to 150 nm that is smaller than the MPPS of normal building ventilation and vehicle cabin air filters
Summary
A large number of epidemiological studies have shown positive associations between exposure to atmospheric particulate matter (PM) and various adverse health effects, including respiratory and cardiopulmonary effects (Delfino et al, 2005; Pope and Dockery, 2006; Bai et al, 2007). Previous experimental studies have reported a high PM concentration (50–200 μg/m3) due to some routine activities (e.g., food serving) in the filter-equipped aircraft cabin environment (Nadga et al, 1992; Dechow et al, 1997; Lee et al, 1999; Lindgren and Norback 2002). Besides PM, pathogenic aerosol particles (d < 300 nm) are more concerned in the enclosed airliner cabin environment. Few studies were conducted to evaluate the performance of airliner cabin air filters on incabin UFPs removal. Several studies reported the UFP filtration for the vehicle cabin filters in response to the increasing concern for exposure to air pollutants in the transportation environment. Pui et al (2008) reported a significant UFP concentration decrease with recirculated air filtration inside vehicle in-cabins. Pui et al (2008) reported a significant UFP concentration decrease with recirculated air filtration inside vehicle in-cabins. Qi et al (2008) and Xu et al (2011) found
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