How to Protect Products from Aerosols, Dust Particles and Germs

All three groups of particles have one parameter in common and this is its hydrodynamic diameter, and if this is below 30 μm they can be transported over long distances or float in the room air for minutes. In production facilities humans are producers of aerosols (tiny droplets) and particles (skin particles and fibres from clothing), too. Many of these particles can impair product properties in production or packaging or even destroy optical or electronic components.

This is the reason why sensitive products must be protected from dust or micro-organism under cleanroom conditions and thus filter technologies are inexpensive and cost-effective in removing particles from air. This applies to entire clean rooms as well as to smaller filter units, so-called laminar flow boxes, because both systems are based on the same high-performance filters which can reduce particles (dust, microbes, germs, aerosols), because this process depends only on hydrodynamic but not on chemical or biological properties.

A laminar flow box, such as the FBS series from Spetec GmbH, has been tested by the Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Engineering and Automation, and was classified according to DIN standard EN ISO 14644 in class ISO 5. This means that not more than 3,520 particles per 1 sqm can be detected inside the box improving air quality by at least 10,000 times.

All airborne microorganisms and dust particles are omnipresent in air. Thus, filter technologies are essential in food industry, optical, electronic and in pharmaceutical and medical production facilities, where also sterility plays an additional role, but again germs are omnipresent. Therefore, medical devices such as syringes, scalpels or bandages and plasters must be sterilely packaged and stored. Finally, we can conclude that air filters serve to protect our health and our products quality.

More information online