Tobacco smoke removal with room air cleaners

The ability of room air cleaners to remove gases and particles from air contaminated with tobacco smoke has been studied. Thirty-one air cleaners were tested. Various air-cleaning devices were used, ie, electrostatic precipitators, electret fiber filters, ionizers, activated carbon, impregnated alumina, ionizing lamps, and an electron generator. The airflow rates were in the range of 0-500 m3/h. The measurements covered particle sizes of 0.01-7.5 microns and the following gases: carbon monoxide, ammonia, formaldehyde, nitric oxide, nitrogen dioxide, hydrocarbons, and hydrogen cyanide. No formal standard procedure exists for testing room air cleaners; therefore the tests were made in the following way. Tobacco smoke was generated and mixed in a closed room. The room air cleaner was started, and the decay rates for the gases and particles were measured. The results were calculated as equivalent airflow rates, ie, the clean airflow rate causing the same decay rate for contaminant concentrations in a room. The equivalent airflow rates were 0-360 m3/h. The rate of ozone emission by electrostatic precipitators and ionizers was also measured. One general conclusion was that it is much more difficult to remove gases than particles.