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Air Purification Myths

MYTH: HEPA Filters Are Adequate Protection

Air Purifier manufacturers often make their claims for HEPA filtration out of context. They do not eliminate the majority of potentially lethal contaminants. HEPA filters remove a percentage of particulates only, in fact, it’s what the “P” in HEPA stands for! In truth however, it is other serious contaminants that cause the majority of serious respiratory problems.

In addition, many dangerous viruses are smaller than 0.1 microns, and can pass through typical HEPA filter systems. Additionally, gases are not considered “particulates” because their size is measured in angstroms (1/1000th of a micron), and most hydrocarbons are 4 to 8 angstroms in size. These are potentially lethal contaminants that a HEPA filter cannot remove.

You can easily see that the many HEPA-based air purifiers on the market are wholly inadequate to protect the human body from many dangerous and even potentially lethal contaminants. They are suitable to provide allergy relief and clean the air of some particulate, but true protection requires more.
The BioSmart® SA-700 Air purification system with its proprietary BioSmart® hydrophobic activated carbon filter and ultraviolet emitter can help protect you from all of these airborne threats.

MYTH: All Charcoal Filters Are Equal

Under perfect conditions (0% Humidity), natural carbon can absorb some types of hydrocarbons when used in air purification systems. Unfortunately, even though charcoal can absorb hydrocarbons, such as benzene found in cigarette smoke, it is more likely to absorb water from the air first!

Consider a one-pound carbon filter in an average home, subjected to the airflow rate of a typical air purifier system. Normally, in less than 72 hours, 90% of the effectiveness of the carbon filter has been nullified by the absorption of water!

An effective filter must be hydrophobic to avoid this absorption of water and the resulting loss of capacity. This requires special treatment not normally found in consumer air purification systems.

In addition, the filter must contain many more reactive ingredients than just charcoal in order to be effective in reducing levels of airborne volatile compounds.

Only the BioSmart® SA-700 air purifier has the BioSmart® Hydrophobic Activated Carbon filtration cartridge that can reliably achieve true eradication of hydrocarbons and other harmful pollutants.

MYTH: UV Light Purifies The Air

The word “purify” can be misleading, and it is often used loosely in the air purification industry. UV light kills harmful organisms, but it does not remove them from the air. Rendering potentially infectious organisms harmless is an important step in the purification process, but it is only part of a properly designed air purifier system’s job.

Ultraviolet light is used extensively in hospitals in combination with other systems, such as gas filters. These systems are expensive and carefully engineered to accomplish a specific task. A typical consumer unit that claims to have ultraviolet cannot automatically be assumed to reliably or credibly match this performance level.

Not all ultraviolet is equal! The nanometre wavelength of an ultraviolet emitter can have a very wide range, and an improper frequency creates harmful ozone by disassociating electrons from oxygen molecules in the air.

Proper use of ultraviolet light in the air requires a higher frequency than the standard 186 nanometers, and the unit must retain that frequency in order to eliminate the possibility of the formation of ozone.

Additionally, the unit must expose the air to the proper ultraviolet frequency for a required minimum duration at a minimum distance from the source of the ultraviolet emission.

Unless all these factors have been addressed, such as they are in the design of the BioSmart® SA-700 Air Purifier, the ultraviolet will not effectively accomplish its objective.