Blog Tag: adsorption

Some of us still remember the lyrics to this somewhat iconic song and while it is humorous, many of us have had the misfortune to drive or walk by a dead skunk or other “road kill” in the heat of the summer. It is an odor unlike any other. The interesting thing about odors is the memories they trigger. You walk into a building, house, restaurant or medical facility and you detect an odor that reminds you of something in your past life….even if it was when you were a child. There are three types of odors; the good, the bad and the ugly. My apologies to Clint Eastwood.

Good odors are not a problem. Odors that are bad or ugly, however, are difficult to be around as our tolerance for bad smells is very limited.  When we detect an unusual or pungent odor in our homes we immediately seek out the source and remove it. If we are at work or in a place of business and the odors or smells are very distracting then we either remove ourselves from the environment or if we are at work, tell someone that the odor issue needs to be resolved.

If an odor is produced by a manufacturing or some other commercial process and is a normal part of that process then it will be necessary to utilize some form of reduction or removal system to control the odors and gases being generated by that process.

Pure Air Systems, has been manufacturing HEPA and Carbon based air filtration systems since 1985 and produces some of the most powerful and effective environmental control systems on the market today. All of the systems manufactured by PAS can incorporate a HEPA, prefilter and carbon media. They are also all designed to have only a prefilter and all carbon media or blended carbon medias for odor and gas removal problems.

The OA or Odor Adsorption versions of the PAS systems can incorporate, depending upon the model, up 60 lbs of adsorptive media and move as much as 2000 CFM (cubic feet per minute ) with the smaller units having air flow volumes as low as 50 CFM. In either case, these systems can be used to significantly remove or reduce the specific odor or gas.

Depending upon the source of the odor the PAS units can either be attached to an existing heating/cooling ventilation system for help in removing odors that are generated in a large area by a series of products or processes or it can be used as a stand-alone unit and be placed directly at the source.

Often times the activated carbon used in these systems can be blended with other adsorptive or reactive medias such as potassium permangenate or specially treated carbons for removal or reduction of gases that are difficult to remove with just carbon alone.

For more information on the complete line of OA units and other systems available from Pure Air Systems, please go to our website at: www.pureairsystems.com.

The ability to reduce or eliminate odors and gases in an occupied area has been a challenge for contractors, architects, environmental engineers and HVACR professionals for years. This problem persists in many forms and in many areas in the residential, commercial, institutional, industrial and medical arenas.

In the past thirty years a number of odor and gas reduction/removal processes have been employed to resolve these problems. Of  all the products and techniques that have been tried two methods are the most often considered and only one of these two methods provides any real reduction or removal.

Ozone is easily produced. Simply by applying a small amount of electricity in a spark form you can transform Oxyen (O2) into Ozone (O3). Ozone is produced naturally when there is lightning. If you are outside close to a lightning strike you can often smell the ozone produced by the lightning. It almost has a sweet, fresh air smell.

Activated Carbon or Charcoal has a natural affinity to adsorb (not absorb) gases and odors that are both organic and inorganic. Activated carbon has a very large surface area that captures and holds most gaseous molecules until the carbon is saturated then it will release the excess gaseous molecules.

Ozone is a strong oxidizer. Ozone easily gives up one of Oxygen elements which can alter the chemical composition of gases. Ozone is often referred to as “energized oxygen” or “pure air” suggesting that ozone is a healthy kind of oxygen. That is far from true. Ozone is a toxic gas with vastly different chemical and toxicological properties from oxygen. Ozone can be harmful to the respiratory system and is the primary component of smog.

While carbon does have a finite life and adsorption capacity, it actually removes or significantly reduces the gas or odor completely. Unlike Ozone which may only change the gaseous molecule to another form that may actually be more harmful than the original odor problem, Carbon is benign and removes the harmful odors and gases without producing any health problems for individuals.

Pure Air Systems manufactures a complete line of carbon based systems that can hold from 10 lbs of carbon up to 60 lbs of carbon. These units are designed to work in all types of applications whether it is residential or commercial.  These units are fan powered and can handle up to 2000 CFM of contaminated air with excellent first pass reduction of odors and gases.

For more information on the Pure Air Systems Carbon adsorption systems go to: www.pureairsystems.com