1.

HEPA
HEPA filters function through a combination of three important aspects. First, there are one
or more outer filters that work like sieves to stop the larger particles of dirt, dust and hair. Inside
those filters, there is a concertina – a mat of very dense fibres – which traps smaller particles.
These pre-filters are designed to remove 90% of particles from the incoming air. The inner part
of the filter uses three different mechanisms to catch particles as they pass through in the
moving airstream. At high air speeds, some particles are caught and trapped as they smash
directly into the fibres, while others are caught by the fibres as the air moves past. At lower air
speeds, particles tend to wander about more randomly through the filter (via Brownian motion)
and may stick to the fibres as they do so. Together, these three mechanisms allow HEPA filters
to catch particles, which are both larger and smaller than a certain target size.
There are different grades of HEPA filters, based on their ‘efficiency ratings’. One of the
most commonly used HEPA filters is the H14 filter, which is designed to remove 99.997% of
particles from the air. To use an example, if air contains about 3 × 10s particles per m3, and
there is one pre-filter and one HEPA Filter:
 Pre-filter leaves about 3 x 107 per m3, as a challenge to the HEPA filter.
 The terminal HEPA filter leaves about 103 per m3.

*(Cleanrooms, isolators and cleanroom technology by Tim Sandle, in Sterility, Sterilisation

and Sterility Assurance for Pharmaceuticals, 2013)

The question naturally arises as to what is the efficiency of HEPA filters for particle sizes
much smaller than 0.3 µm, such as submicron plutonium particles 0.1 - 0.001µm diameter, and
radon daughters of atomic size. Resolution of this question has been difficult because the high
efficiency of HEPA filters requires high inlet concentrations to provide detectable quantities
passing the filter. Since HEPA filters are commonly used at the low air velocity of 3-4 cm/sec
it is to be expected that the efficiency would continually increase with decreasing particle size
below the most penetrating size because of the increase in diffusion collection.
*(PENETRATION OF HEPA FILTERS BY SUBMICRO AEROSOLS by DAVID SINCLAIR in
J. Aerosol Sci., 1976, Vol. 7, pp. 175 to 179. Pergamon Press.)

At the beginning of the filtration period, fine particles are caught on the sides of the holes
of the prefilter. With continued filtration, they tend to bridge over the holes making them
smaller. Thus, as the amount of collected particles increases, the voids of the prefilter become
filled with the accumulated particles. Then the particles in the stream begin depositing on the
face of the prefilter forming a filter cake. Once the filter cake is formed, the filtration is referred
to as “homogeneous cake filtration:’ and the pressure drop rise rate becomes more uniform.

2. UV
Up to 40,000 Microwatts (per second/cm square) is deployed in ultraviolet air purifier
systems.
Dewll time, lamp wattage and distance from area lit, as well as chamber design and
reflectivity, will affect dosage.
Lamps will loose power when dust covered, so the lamp should follow any particulate
collection media.
UV-C can sterilize any still environment given enough time, but air moving through a uv
air purifier's filter system must pause under the UV light.
Every machine has a different ability to irradiate microorganisms. Light intensity, chamber
design, and exposure time will vary.
Microbes must be exposed to UV light long enough for their internal structure (DNA and
RNA) to be damaged.
A conflict is created between the need for higher fan speeds, to clean the air of other
particulates, and effective air sterilization.
Either the light is less effective or not enough air is purified. (http://www.air-purifier-
power.com/uv-air-purifier.html)
3. Plasma

4. Tio2
5. Ozon
6. Ulei
7. Ventilatoare
8. Motoare

Eficiența filtrării

The basic parameters describing filtration are:

• pressure drop across the filter, Δp, and

• penetration, P.
The behaviour of a filter over time can be divided into two phases:

• in the first phase it is assumed that changes occurring in filter structure due to deposition
of particles are sufficiently negligible so that filter efficiency is unaffected. Particles
contacting a fiber are captured without modification of filtration mechanisms. During
this 'stationary phase', P and Δp do not change with time;
• gradual build-up of particles at the fiber surface causes secondary effects, such as
formation of aggregates with solid aerosols or bridges with liquid aerosols. This results
in changes in P and Δp during this 'non-stationary phase' of filtration.

The penetration P of the filter medium is defined by the following expression:

𝑛𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑝𝑎𝑟𝑡𝑖𝑐𝑙𝑒𝑠 𝑐𝑟𝑜𝑠𝑠𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑓𝑖𝑙𝑡𝑒𝑟

𝑃=
𝑛𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑝𝑎𝑟𝑡𝑖𝑐𝑙𝑒𝑠 𝑖𝑛𝑐𝑖𝑑𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑜𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑓𝑖𝑙𝑡𝑒𝑟

P is related to the overall efficiency E by the equation P = 1 -E and can be expressed as follows:

with

𝑃 = 𝑒𝑥𝑝(−𝜂𝐴)
4𝛼ℎ
𝐴 =
𝜋(1 − 𝛼)𝐷𝑓
where η is the single fiber efficiency, h the filter thickness, α the filter solidity, and Df the fiber
diameter. α is related to the porosity ε by α= 1 -ε.
The single fiber efficiency q depends on the partial efficiencies of the different mechanisms
of aerosol capture, the principal mechanisms being Brownian diffusion, interception and inertial
impaction. (Payet, S., Boulaud, D., Madelaine, G., & Renoux, A. (1992). Penetration and
pressure drop of a HEPA filter during loading with submicron liquid particles. Journal of
Aerosol Science, 23(7), 723–735.)
Often high efficiency filters are associated with high pressure drop, particularly at high
airflow velocity. The life of a filter is directly related to the differential pressure drop rise that
occurs under a variety of operating circumstances.

At the beginning of the filtration period, fine particles are caught on the sides of the holes
of the prefilter. With continued filtration, they tend to bridge over the holes making them
smaller. Thus, as the amount of collected particles increases, the voids of the prefilter become
filled with the accumulated particles. Then the particles in the stream begin depositing on the
face of the prefilter forming a filter cake. Once the filter cake is formed, the filtration is referred
to as “homogeneous cake filtration:’ and the pressure drop rise rate becomes more uniform.

The use of prefilters separate out the larger particles onto the prefilter, causing a smaller
mean particle size to reach the HEPA filter. At the same time, the prefilter reduces the dust
loading on the HEPA filter, which tends to reduce the pressure drop. (Davis, W. T., & Kim, G.-
D. (1999). Effect of prefilters on the performance of HEPA filters. Filtration & Separation,
36(3), 51–56.)

Note that this information is purely theoretical, and a real-life experiment is needed to
ensure the filtration efficacy of the system.

If a high degree of filtration is required it is normal practice to have several grades of filter
in series so that the coarser, cheaper filters can take most of the dust load, extending the life of
the more expensive filters. Filters add a fairly high resistance to the ducting system, increasing
the energy use and running cost of the system, and they require regular maintenance. (Plant
Engineer's Reference Book (Second Edition, 2002, Pages 17-1, 17-3-17-18 by P D Compton
BSc, CEng, MCIBSE)

Eficiența radiațiilor UV

UV-C radiation transfers molecular oxygen into ozone (O3) via photolysis. Ozone is
generated, if the tube of the lamp is transparent for UV radiation with a wavelength <200nm.
Splitted O2 molecules interact with nitrogen (N2) as a part of air and form nitrogen oxides.
Though ozone is a colorless and odorless gas, the typical ozone smell comes from the resulting
nitrogen oxides and byproducts, if the splitted oxygen reacts with impurities of surrounding air.
Even relatively small concentrations of ozone can cause dry nose, burning throat, headache,
sickness and mucous membrane irritation. There is no simple way to predict the ozone
concentration and the resulting effects on a human body. If an ozone generating lamp is
operated in a small room, high ozone concentration may be measured. If the same lamp is
operated in well ventilated lab, there may be no problem.

Recommended maximum concentration values are:

 0.1ppm at 8h exposure (is equivalent to 0.22mg O3/m³ air)

 2ppm at 2h exposure
 Different microorganism have different resistivity against UV radiation. The following
information may be suited to establish a better understanding about the nature and
characteristics of microorganism.

 Bacterii

Bacteria are a large group of single-celled herbal creatures that multiply themselves by
cell division. Diseases, fermentation and sepsis are caused by bacteria. Basic shapes of a
bacterial cell are: F spherical (coccus) F rod shaped (bacillus and bacteria in the narrow sense
of the word) F spiral shaped (vibrio, spirillum or spirochete)

In worst case many bacteria form resistant resting spores (this spore-forming bacteria
are called bacilli). Under favorable environmental conditions spore form a new bacteria cell. In
general, spores are more resistant against UV radiation and high temperatures than bacteria.
Due to that reason the dose rate should be selected 10 times larger.

 Mold

This is a group of microorganism that multiply by spores. Mold forms cotton like, felted
and powder like coating layers on animal and crop products and cause rottenness. In some cases
it causes diseases. Some kind of mold are: F mucor (mostly found on fruit and bread) F
aspergillus on wet plants, fruits, bred and leather F penicillium, grape rot and fruit rot F gray
mold (botrytis cinera), fruit rot, especially at strawberries and half ripe grapes Other kinds of
mold are used to make antibiotics, such as penicillin and streptomycin. Mold (and yeast) is
activated at low UV doses. Higher doses have a destructive effect. The spectral dependency is
alike those of bacteria. Spores are more resistant than the vegetative forms.

 Yeasts

Yeasts are single cell plant like microorganism (saccharmyces and other genera of ascomycota).
Yeasts do not contain chlorophyll and are different from mold because of different kind of
reproduction. Like some bacteria, yeasts can form spores. There are many technical application
for yeasts. Brewer's yeast (top and bottom fermentation yeast), baker's yeast, wine yeast and
nutritional yeast (dried yeast). Yeasts show the same behavior like mold if exposed to UV
radiation. In most cases UV radiation is used to kill so called wild yeast.

 Algae
Algae are a group of cryptogams.There are known 8000 living species ranging from unicellular
to multicellular forms. Some important groups are: F blue-green algae F diatom F green, brown
and red algae Since algae contain chlorophyll and sometimes other colorants they can support
themselves by assimilation. It is noticeable, that the necessary dose for some algae differ from
those of bacteria by a couple of magnitudes. 2.5. Viruses The nature of viruses as a group of
microorganism is widely not known. They are all disease causing for humans, animals and
plants. Viruses are too small to be blocked by bacteria blocking filters. Only by use of an
electron microscope algae can be observed. Viruses can only survive and multiply in living
substances. Even viruses can be killed by exposure to UV radiation with a wavelength of
253.7nm. For some kind of virus the UV dose is known to kill them but for the majority only
general information are available. There are differences in resistivity, compared to other
microorganism. The killing rate has a none-linear relationship to UV dose. As can be seen in
fig. C4 there is no threshold value to kill bacteria, but just a small dose can kill bacteria
randomly. On the other hand there is no level of UV dose known that kills absolutely all
bacteria. Some random selected bacteria will always survive. The statement, that the level of
disinfection is proportional to the product of irradiation intensity (E) and exposure time (t) may
not be valid for a wide range of E and t. For a large time (t) and low irradiation intensity (E) the
microorganism will be able to reproduce themselves with a high rate at the beginning, resulting
in lower disinfection level.