Air cleaners, carbon-dioxide filters and smoking zones

HC air cleaners can be a solution to all your indoor air problems

Clean, high-quality indoor air is very inportant to our well-being. The Hydrocell range of air cleaners has a solution to every indoor air quality problem. Inadequate ventilation raises carbon dioxide levels, making people feel tired and causing headaches.

Hydrocell’s unique air cleaners remove excess carbon dioxide from indoor air. They also remove all other impurities such as dust, pollen and pet dander, small particles, fungal spores and unpleasant odours.

The way in which UniqFresh air cleaners operate is unique. They really can improve the quality of indoor air and make people feel more comfortable, even when room ventilation is insufficient.

When the quality of indoor air is improved by filtering out impurities, significant savings in both the cost of air conditioning systems and the energy they consume can be achieved.

The Hydrocell carbon-dioxide filter

UniqFresh air cleaners and HC carbon-dioxide filters are a very efficient way of removing carbon dioxide from air. The operating principle used in Hydrocell air cleaners is based on technology originally developed for use in submarines. Using an almost inaudible fan, UniqFresh air cleaners repeatedly cycle indoor air through a multi-stage filter system that first removes dust, odours and small particles, then any excess carbon dioxide. Cleaned air leaving the filter system has a carbon dioxide content approximately equivalent to that of fresh seaside air (c. 400 ppm CO₂).

As the amount of carbon dioxide that the human metabolism produces is large, it is a good idea to reactivate the carbon dioxide filter once every 24 hours. This reactivation normally takes place when the room in which the UniqFresh is located is unoccupied. For example, reactivation in offices and schools will be carried out at night, but during the daytime in air cleaners that are located in bedrooms. During reactivation, the carbon dioxide stored in the filter cassette is released back into the room, from which it is removed to the outside of the building by diffusion and normal ventilation. Efficient dilution prevents the concentration of carbon dioxide in the room rising above the recommended level during this process. The filter thus moves the highest peaks in carbon-dioxide emission to a time when the room loading is at a minimum. This guarantees good indoor air quality throughout the day.

In special situations such as population shelters, the carbon dioxide released during reactivation can be led outside using a small pipe or hose.

The chemical reactions that take place during the filtration and reactivation processes are as follows:

Filtration
Amine + H ₂O -> (Amine - H ₂O) and then (Amine - H ₂O)+CO₂ -> (Amine - H₂CO₃)

Reactivation
(Amine - H₂CO₃)+ heat -> Amine + H ₂O + CO₂

The filtration material is non-poisonous and durable. It can be reactivated more than 5000 times, which corresponds to some 15 years use. The UniqFresh first-stage filter should be replaced every six months, and the HEPA filter should be replaced every five years.

The significance of clean indoor air

Clean, high-quality indoor air is of the highest importance for our health and well-being. In many problem situations, however, increasing ventilation rates is both difficult and expensive. The Hydrocell range of air cleaners offers a simple and inexpensive way of solving the problem of poor-quality indoor air.