What Is Activated Carbon In HEPA Air Purifiers?
February 23, 2010 by Harry Pinello
Filed under Green Gadgets
Activated carbon in HEPA air purifiers may seem strange to you, unless you own a water purification system which uses carbon or are an aquarium hobbyist. Even so, you may not understand exactly what it is activated carbon does.
What Does Activated Carbon Do In A HEPA Air Purifier?
Choosing HEPA air purifiers is often the first time most people encounter activated carbon. They begin their search because of allergies or asthma, but they have no real idea how these machines work. As they look deeper, they\’ll start to learn that odors and chemicals are what\’s actually causing the vast majority of the issues they\’re trying to remedy. Most quality HEPA air purifiers are designed to eliminate allergens as well as odors and chemicals in the air. This is where the activated carbon comes in.
Activated Carbon Before HEPA Air Purifiers
Activated carbon has actually been around for quite a while, and though it sounds quite scientific, our ancestors have made good use of it for at least the last two centuries. Back then, they already knew of activated carbon\’s extraordinary absorption qualities. In the early 1900\’s, the stuff was produced and sold commercially in the form of a powder. At the time it was only used to remove color from sugar or taste or smell from water. Although we didn\’t know it at the time, that was barely the tip of what this stuff is capable of. In World War I, the military discovered that they could use activated carbon in gas masks, filtering chemical agents from the air for the soldiers. The soldiers also used it for water purification, just like their ancestors. By this point, it was also available commercially as a granular form instead of just powder, which was when it began finding uses in even more situations.
What Does \”Activated\” Mean?
Most people have a general idea of what carbon is – it\’s a mineral. The most basic example would probably be charcoal. Activated carbon is what you get after heat is used on the carbon to drive all of the impurities out, leaving room for more to take their place. Think of it as a sponge, only instead of using pressure to extract the contents, we\’re using heat. Once the activated carbon is full, it can actually be reactivated by re-heating, though this is considered by most to be both impractical and dangerous. So, in this case, activated basically means empty.
Are There Different Types Of Activated Carbon?
Basically, yes. Though there are different types of activated carbon, and it\’s often described in various ways, all activated carbon is nothing more than amorphous carbon-based materials. These materials all have many holes, also known as a high degree of porosity, which cover a relatively large surface area. This is what gives the material such awesome absorbent quality, enabling it to work so extremely well in filtering both air and water.
Want to learn more about HEPA Air Purifiers? Check out HEPA Air Purifiers Info.
Was The Ionic Breeze Air Purifier Nothing But A Big Fat Lie That Eventually Took The Sharper Image Down?
January 19, 2010 by Wilma Perkins
Filed under Green Gadgets
You remember the original Ionic Breeze air purifier, don\’t you? They were all over the TV with infomercials, and made brief appearances at Radio Shacks as well as The Sharper Image\’s retail stores, if you could find one. Then they were suddenly gone, and it seemed as if The Sharper Image went with them. Search the web and you\’ll find tons of negative commentary about how The Sharper Image supposedly lied in their claims about the Ionic Breeze. Yet, if you can actually find any reviews written by people that used them, they all have good things to say about the Ionic Breeze. We\’ll take a look at both sides of the coin and get to the truth of the Ionic Breeze air purifier.
It\’s Been Said That The Ionic Breeze Air Purifiers Is Not Effective
True, the Ionic Breeze is not as effective as a True HEPA purifier, but no one ever said it was. In fact, The Sharper Image never made direct comparisons with HEPA air purifiers except in terms of maintenance. Consumer Reports says that the Ionic Breeze silent air purifier only cleaned 30% of the pollution that passed through the machine. Consider that all of the air in the room will pass through the machine multiple times. If you clean 30% of something multiple times, you eventually end up close to, though not quite 100%. So, basically, an ionic air purifier is slower than a HEPA machine at the same job. It\’s also cheaper to buy, run, and maintain, so it\’s a trade-off. Also consider that these comparisons were made against True HEPA air purifiers, not HEPA-type machines. HEPA-type air purifiers don\’t have any particular standard to adhere to, and True HEPA machines are extremely expensive.
The Ionic Breeze Actually Makes The Air Unhealthy
This comes from the idea that ionic air purifiers produce a dangerous amount of ozone when doing their job. This simply is not true. The confusion comes from ozone generators, which work in a fashion somewhat similar to ionic air purifiers, but produce far more ozone. In fact, Consumer Reports even said that the Ionic Breeze air purifier produces under 50ppb of ozone, which meets HEPA guidelines. For what it\’s worth, the original Ionic Breeze air purifier passed every HEPA guideline, except for efficiency.
Some Say The Ionic Breeze Air Purifier Killed The Sharper Image
Yes, The Sharper Image did file in 2008, but lack of sales was not their downfall. The Sharper Image failed because they were a publicly traded company, and their stock prices dropped like so many rocks once their reputation had been so thoroughly tarnished. Although they had a ton of debt by the time they declared bankruptcy, they still had around $50 million in equity, not to include cash on hand. Unfortunately, however, their investors apparently didn\’t look the whole picture.
Are New Ionic Air Purifiers Any Better?
As the technology is quite simple and effective, there really isn\’t much room for improvement, even in the newest ionic air purifiers. The more fans you add, the faster and better it cleans the air, but even without fans, ionic breeze air purifiers eventually do the job. And although you may have a hard time finding the original Ionic Breeze, there are newer versions with The Sharper Image name on them (they got bought and resurrected), and also the Ionic Pro air purifier which is pretty similar to the original.
Want to learn more about the Ionic Breeze Air Purifier, as well as the alternatives? Visit Ionic Air Purifier Info.
