Blog Tag: gas removal

A leap year is a year containing one additional day in order to keep the calendar year synchronized with the astronomical or seasonal year. So this year , 2012, we will have 366 days instead of 365 days. What does that really mean?  According to Irish tradition a man who receives a marriage proposal from a woman on February 29 must accept it. Or if you are born on 2/29 does that mean you only have  a birthday every four years? And if you are married on the 29th of February do you only have a wedding anniversary every fourth year? Interesting thought.

With an event happening only every four years we only think about it during that specific time frame. We never talk about leap year other than during leap year and then only on one day…Feb. 29th.  Yet being born on that date or married on that date…or even dying on that date could have a significant impact on the events of your life and lives of the people around you.

Being exposed to a particularly virulent  airborne pathogen, chemical compound or allergen on any given day can also alter your life forever. Our experience in dealing with individuals who suffer from chronic illnesses by being exposed to one of these is interesting to say the least. Since Pure Air Systems was founded in 1985, literally 40% of our residential customers use our HEPA and Carbon based air filtration systems to help them cope with continuing respiratory and sensitivity issues caused by a one time or over time exposure.

Because many of these individuals have had their immune systems compromised by these airborne incidents and have difficulty living and working in environments that most people would consider safe and harmless. For example, small amounts of dust or pollen or even odors from dish washing detergent can significantly affect these immuno-suppressed individuals. The ability to remove small concentrations of odors and gasesous pollutants as well as minute amounts of sub-micron particulate is the key to helping these individuals.

Pure Air Systems commercial grade, certified HEPA and Carbon air filtration systems are recognized as some of the best high performance filtration systems on the market today. The HEPA filters in our systems are some of the only mechanical methods of removing the small, sub-micron airborne allergens and pathogens. And the carbon media is all commercial grade and designed to adsorb high concentrations of odors and gaseous compounds. Together, these filters in our units offer the best chance to allow these individuals to lead a fairly normal life in both their homes and at work.

For more information on the complete line of HEPA and Carbon based air filtration systems please go to our website at: www.pureairsystems.com or find us on Twitter @pureairsystems and like us on Facebook. Of course you can always call us on our toll-free number at: 800-869-8025.

Remember when you first started to learn to write in cursive ( okay this is before texting) and you sometimes transposed a d for a b? When you did this it would sometimes look correct especially when combined with other words in the same sentence. Eventually you learned which letter format was correct and the d & b letters found their way into the correct word locations and you now know that each letter expressed a different meaning.

This difference between these two letters is no better misunderstood than in the different meaning of the words Adsorb and Absorb. For most people the word Absorb is used in common language as in “this paper towel will absorb a lot of water before I need another one”. Or, ” this new Sham-Wow will absorb 10 times its’ weight in water”.

So when we are using something that has the ability to pick up moisture (of any kind)  like a sponge we use the word absorb or absorption (in this case the second b is replaced by a p….don’t ask me why…ask Daniel Webster).

When we change the second letter in Absorb to a d… and make it Adsorb it modifies the meaning of the word but interestingly does not really change the process the word describes. Adsorb means the removal of odors and gases by the use of medium such as carbon or charcoal. Carbon, for example, will adsorb common gases such as formaldehyde or acetone.

Much like a sponge absorbs water, carbon and other adsorptive media use a very porous surface area to attract and retain gaseous molecules until it is saturated and then release some of those molecules like a sponge releases some water once it is saturated.

Carbon, and the other adsorptive medias such as potassium permangenate and specially treated carbon mediums, have been used for many years to aid in the removal or reduction of harmful gases and many household and industrial odors.

Pure Air Systems has been using carbon as a standard component of their HEPA based air filtration systems since 1985 and today offers a complete line of Carbon based adsorption systems for the commercial, institutional, industrial and residential markets. For more information on this line of Adsorption systems please go to our website at: www.pureairsystems.com

The colder weather is here and your home is now closed up all the time. You come home after work or after being out of the house for a while and you notice an odor that wasn’t there before or you didn’t notice until now.

Some odors come and go and often they are related to issues such as cooking,  paint or new carpet odors. These often dissipate within a few hours or sometimes days in the case of new carpeting.  But some odors linger and some stay around all the time.

Some of the most common, constant odors are generated by pets, musty basements, and odors generated from outside the home.

Pet odors are probably the most common and the most difficult to remove, reduce or cover up. Cats, for example, tend to spray and the odors are very difficult to remove. Dogs typically have a general doggy smell and this can get worse as the dog gets older.

Musty basements, especially in older homes, can be a significant problem and often this odor carries up into the first floor of the home. The musty odor is actually caused by mold in the basement ( often associated with damp basements) and when the mold spores it generates an odor, this odor is the musty smell.

Outside odors are often generated from farming processes or industrial manufacturing. Close proximity to major highways and heavily traveled roads can also be an issue. Wood burning fireplaces can be a significant problem especially in the winter months.

Removing or reducing any of these odors in the home is very challenging. Burning candles or spraying air fresheners is only slightly effective and is short lived. These remedies only mask the problem. The real issue is that these odors are constantly being generated and distributed throughout the house by the heating/cooling system. So an odor in the basement becomes an odor on the second floor.

Pure Air Systems has been providing a wide range of Carbon adsorption products since 1985. Carbon is the most affective and commonly used material for the removal and reduction of both organic and inorganic odors for the residential, commercial and institutional markets.

Pure Air Systems has a number of large carbon capacity filtration systems that are fan powered and can be attached to the existing HVAC system to remove the odor from the air as it passes through the HVAC unit. These units are also capable of introducing small amounts of outside air to help pressurize the home to minimize the entry of odors produced by outside sources.

For a very effective but less expensive remedy, Pure Air Systems has recently introduced a line of Odor Guard filters that replace that are used in place of the furnace filter. These polyester ring panel filters have a Merv 8 filter media on one side and commercial grade carbon media on the other side. They fit tightly and will last up to three months before they have to be replaced.

The use of carbon at the HVAC unit has proven to be the most effective method of removing odors and gases that are present in the home. For  more information on the carbon products available from Pure Air Systems go to our website at: www.pureairsystems.com.

The use of carbon media for reduction and removal of odors and gases has been around since the turn of the century. For the most part carbon and charcoal are the same thing. Carbon used for adsorption of gases is normally expanded by using a combination of pressure and heat. This expanded carbon provides for a large surface area on each carbon granule allowing each granule to adsorb up to 100 times its weight in gases.

Carbon has a natural affinity to attract and retain a wide range ( hundreds of types) of organic and inorganic fumes and odors. As the gaseous molecule passes by the carbon it is adsorbed into the carbon media and retained until that carbon granule is saturated at which time the carbon will no longer adsorb any more ( like a sponge).

The life of the carbon (ability to adsorb) is based on a number of factors. The type of gas or odor, the molecular weight of the gas, volume of air and the concentration of the gas, usually measured in parts per million (ppm).  While all of these variables are important in designing a carbon system the most important is the concentration in and the required reduction or concentration out.

If you want to reduce a continuous air flow containing 30 ppm of styrene monomer to 4 ppm at a volume of 500 cfm and you only want to change out the carbon once every month, you may require as much as 60 to 80 lbs of carbon. Remember, once the carbon is saturated it will release any additional gases back into the air stream.

Pure Air Systems offers a wide range of carbon adsorption systems and specially treated media for unique adsorption applications. We offer a line of combination prefilter/carbon media filters that can be used in-lieu of furnace filters for residential and commercial applications.  In addition, all of our fan powered units, from our portable HPS series to our 2000 CFM units can be fitted with up to 80 lbs of carbon media and used in a wide variety of gas reduction/removal applications.

For more information on our complete line of carbon adsorption units and technology go to our website at: www.pureairsystems. com.