How The HEPA Filters Are Beneficial At The Time Of COVID-19?
The development and innovations in the functions of air-cleaning technologies play a very important role when it comes to airborne infection control.
Air filtration uses high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) because they are the most effective of filters. The role of a HEPA filter in the time of COVID-19 is that the air cleaner with a HEPA air purifier filter removes infectious viruses like SARs-CoV-2 from the air continuously depending on the running time manner.
As the HEPA filter is coated with an antiviral agent so it enhances the performance of the air cleaner. The antiviral agent consists mainly of monovalent copper components. The study proves that the version of HEPA-filtered air cleaners is worthwhile when preventing the spread of COVID-19.
Benefits of HEPA filter in the times of COVID-19:
When appropriately utilized, air cleaners and HVAC filters can aid in lowering the number of airborne pathogens, such as viruses, in a structure or small area. Air purification or filtration cannot entirely shield people from COVID-19. Filtration can be an element of a strategy to lessen the possibility of COVID-19 transmission indoors when used in conjunction with other best practices advised by the CDC and other public health organizations, such as social seclusion and mask use.
HVAC filters and air cleaners are made to remove contaminants from the air that travels through them. Air filtration and cleaning can aid in lowering airborne pollutants, such as virus-carrying particles.
How Do HEPA filters work?
It is not a process when the contaminated air passes through the HEPA filter, it is a three-step different process, after going through these three steps the contaminated air convert into filtered and healthy air. So let’s discuss these three-step processes which the contaminated air goes through.
- Interception: This process specifically works for larger particles. These larger particles such as dust and dirt, and many more particles whose size is more often more than 0.3 microns. These particles whose size is more than 0.3 microns will come in contact with glass fibers, these fibers use for trapping these particles. In simple words, the role of this step is that traps the large particles with the help of the glass fibers.
- Inertial Impaction: The direction of the air can be easily diverted depending on the path of flow. And when the air goes through the filter it tends to move in the same direction as a flow of the path and dust particles adapt in the same direction as the flow of the air due to the phenomenon which is known as the inertia of motion. So due to this phenomenon, the glass fibers will trap and hold the particles.
- Diffusion: the size of the particles is often less than or equal to 0.1 microns ( for example: viruses), these particles follow the Brownian motion. In simple words, there are molecules present in the air whose size is less than 0.1 microns. When the size and as well as mass of the particles are very small, the movement of the particles in a random direction will be caused by the collision of the particles with the air molecules. Since the particles whose size is less than 0.1 microns move in a random direction or in a zigzag direction, the movement of the particles in the random direction makes this process easy as it becomes easy to trap these particles by the filter.
So this is how these HEPA filters work and help to filter the contaminated air. The HEPA filters come in various types like a mini pleat HEPA filter, etc.