IAQ & Indoor Health

Content
IAQ ASHRAE 52 Filter Efficiency Filter Coalescer Gas Phase Filter

Thermally comfortable
Most people are not discomforted by the following.
Condition Value

Air Temperature Relative humidity Air speed Radiant heat

19-24 C 40-70% 0.1-0.2 m/s (no draught) No direct exposure to radiant heat source

Engineers practical rule-of-thumb: 1. Absence of discomfort (no complaint) 2. neutrality

A Little More
Indoor Environmental Health is related to indoor air quality (IAQ). Illnesses due to poor IAQ as a result of Inadequate fresh air Pollutants (ie smoke, odor etc) Long exposure duration

The Concerns of IAQ Offshore

To protect equipment
Corrosion Dirt efficiency

To protect people
Clean air for health (Everyday, we breath in 20-30 kg of air. Compare to just about 1 kg of food and 3 kg of liquid.)

What are the Airborne Pollutants?

Particulates Nonbiological -Dusts, fumes, smokes , mists, fibre Bio-aerosols viruses, bacteria, fungal spores Gases & Vapors Organic (VOC, methane, benzene) Inorganic (CO2, SO2, H2S, NO2, Hg)

Methods to Enhance IAQ

Pollutant Removal

Ventilation: mechanical extract or dilution

Air cleaning: filter

Air Cleaning
Types of filters Air filter Filter Coalescer Gas phase filter Basic questions How are they rated?

What Air filters remove?

Particulate Viruses Bacteria Fungal spores Pollen Dust Human hair Respirable particles Size (m) 0.003-0.1 0.4-5 2-10 10-100 <100 100-150 <10

Particulate Air Filter

Final filter: Bag Filter

Pre-filter: Panel Filter Pleated filter

Air Filter Selection Factors

1. Efficiency
Ability to remove particulates from air stream

2. Air resistance
Loss of total pressure

3. Dust holding capacity

Amount of dust it can capture i.e. filter life

4. Capacity
Air flow rate it can handle

ASHRAE 52.1
Two methods of testing filter efficiency By weight fraction that filter removes from air stream
Weight arrestance efficiency

By particulate size that filter removes from the air stream

Dust spot efficiency The filter efficiency required depends on the indoor air quality that one would like to achieve.

ASHRAE 52.1
1. % Arrestance efficiency Measures how much dirt the filter can hold. Captures larger particles (>10 micron) 2. % Dust spot Efficiency Measures how well the filter captures smaller particles (0.3 -10 micron) Problems are:
average efficiency Test result is not reliable due to not well defined dust size confusion

ASHRAE 52.2
ASHRAE 52.2 1999 specifies efficiency by MERV rating Ranges from level 1-20
1-6 for low efficiency filter (prefilter) 7-12 medium efficiency (main filter) 13-20 higher efficiency
Media Throw-away fiberglass media 30% pleated media 65% pleated media 95% pleated media MERV

1-4 8 11 15

52.1 OR 52.2
52.1 (Arrestance &Dust spot) Expresses efficiency as overall percentage Suitable for low efficiency filter Many local standards still refer to this standard
52.2 (MERV) Expresses efficiency as a function of specific particle sizes Gaining popularity Increasingly manufacturers test new products to this standard

52.2 MERV Rating

MERV Std 52.2 1-4 5-8 9-12 13-16 17-20 PARTICLE SIZE RANGE >10.0 m 3.0-10.0 m 1.0-3.0 m 0.30-1.0 m <0.30 m TYPICAL FILTER TYPES Washable foam filter Disposable panel fibreglass 30% Pleated filters 65-70% pleated filters Bag filters HEPA /ULPA filters

HVAC Filter Requirements

DEP 31.76.10.10 DEP 34.17.00.32 AREA STANDARD (% dust spot efficiency)

Control Room Electrical Aux Room

Analyzer house Office/Meeting /Mess/kitchen/laboratory

Fresh air intake/return air Fresh air intake/return air

Fresh air intake Fresh air intake

90 90 85 65

Leakage at Filter To Be Avoided

A gap between filters will degrade MERV rating .

Filter static pressure

Filter manufacturers provide both clean and dirty filter pressure drops Example: a 30% Dust Spot filter is 0.5/ 1.0 wg Use the mean value for fan selection Choose a fan with very steep fan curve so changes in static pressure result only in small changes in air volume

Filter Coalescer
1st stage glass fibre mat to remove seawater mist (15- 20 m) 2nd stage- filter panel to remove solid particles
Source: Munter

Using Coalescer to remove salt-laden mist

Protects ventilation system against weather elements such as rain, spray, splash containing sea-salt Design with 2 stages DEP required salt laden moisture reduced to 0.05 ppm by weight

Gas Phase Filter

Organic & inorganic gases of industrial origin ACGIH publishes Threshold Limit Values (TLV)
STEL (short term exposure level in ppm) TWA8 (Time weighted average 8-h) Example, for H2S, STEL= 50; TWA8= 22

ASHRAE 62 concentration values of toxic gases be kept below one-tenth of the TLV

How should gases and vapor be removed?

HEPA filter can remove down to 0.3 m range Gases and vapor is smaller than 0.1m Particulate filter cannot remove gases & vapor In HVAC when gas concentration low, gas adsorption by activated carbon is the most effective method

Gas Filter

Media : Activated carbon (granular or pelletized). Usually preceded by a pre-filter

What is activated carbon?

Activated Carbon Filter

Gas molecules attach to the surface i.e. surface adsorbtion Can be impregnated with suitable chemicals for chemisorption Adsorbs odor

Gas Filter
Clean air out

Activated carbon Filter media

Source: Purafil

Air in

Fan section