AirClean^® Systems Ductless fume enclosure

Why Go Ductless?

AirClean Systems understands that not all applications are appropriate for use in a ductless fume hood, workstation or enclosure. As chemistry technology advances, the number of applications that a ductless hood, workstation or enclosure can be used for will increase. Thorough application validation is critical to ensure product capability and user safety. Where low volumes of known chemical reactions are present, a ductless system is practical and can provide a safe working environment.

Benefits

• Economical and low maintenance
• Portable
• Safe
• Minimal installation cost
• Environmentally friendly

Economical and low maintenance

The operation and installation cost of a ductless hood is substantially lower than that of a conventional hood. Once a ductless fume hood is installed, the only annual cost to you is the filter(s). This price ranges from $350.00 to $2,000.00 (USD) per year. A ductless fume hood does not effect the cost of heating and cooling like that of a conventional fume hood. With a conventional fume hood, heated and cooled air is pumped out of the room and into the environment. The exhausted air is then replaced by outside air that needs to be heated, cooled and cleaned.

Portable

A ductless hood has no external connections beyond the power cord to be moved. Conventional hoods require a third party to move exhaust ductwork and other connections before the hood may be relocated. Ductless hoods can be moved and operational in minutes where conventional hoods may be out of service for weeks. AirClean Systems ductless fume hoods, when placed on a cart, are easily moved from room to room.

Safe

AirClean Systems ductless fume hoods have an advanced monitoring system. The AirSafe automatic controller constantly monitors airflow and filter condition to ensure user safety. Each hood has a solid-state gas detector to monitor the carbon filter bed for saturation. The audible and visible alarms alert you of filter saturation. Alarms are set per current American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH) guidelines for threshold limit values (TLV) of known chemicals. State-of-the-art airflow sensor takes a constant reading of face velocity and provides this information in linear feet per minute (LFM) to you on the LCD monitor. Combining real-time airflow and filter monitoring makes AirClean Systems ductless fume hoods your only choice!

Minimal installation cost

Conventional hoods require installation of blower, ductwork and assembly of fume hood. All of this takes time and money. However, AirClean Systems ductless fume hoods are shipped ready to use. They are simply removed from their shipping container and placed into service. Each hood has been calibrated and certified for operation.

Environmentally friendly

Ductless fume hoods recycle existing room air while cleaning the chemical mixture. No harmful fumes or vapors are released into the environment. The bonded carbon filter can be safely disposed in a landfill once saturated. No air is removed from the laboratory! AirClean Systems ductless fume hoods provide excellent protection for you and other lab personnel from toxic fumes and vapors that are generated during experiments.

Room air is pulled into the hood through the adjustable front slit and allowed to mix with the experiment. The air (as depicted in the diagram) is pulled up into the bonded carbon and/or HEPA filter bed where either adsorption of fumes and vapors or collection of particulate occurs. (The bonded carbon filter is only for the adsorption of fumes and vapors and the HEPA filter is only for the collection of particulate.) Clean air is then exhausted back into the room through the rear or the top of the fume hood. Real-time gas sensor technology ensures your protection and other lab personnel from exposure to toxic chemical fumes and vapors.

AirSafe takes the guesswork out of it!

The AirSafe automatic controller provides you with constant monitoring of airflow and filter condition as well as a multitude of safety features through a user-friendly keypad. It is constantly monitoring airflow at the face of the workstation and automatically changing blower speed, depending on the condition of the laboratory. Visible display of airflow is given on the LCD in LFM. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) requires that all ductless fume hoods maintain a face velocity of 60–100 LFM to properly protect you, the user.

The AirSafe automatic controller uses solid-state gas sensor technology that constantly monitors the carbon filter bed. The sensor is located post-filter and takes real-time samples of exhaust air to ensure proper adsorption of target chemicals below current threshold limit values (level that is safe for the user to breathe without causing adverse health effects). The values are set each year by ACGIH and adopted by OSHA.

Filtration bed

At the heart of any ductless fume hood or workstation is the filtration bed. In granular filters, carbon can shift around to create gaps and uneven places within the filter. These gaps and uneven places cause the life of a carbon filter to reduce drastically. In addition, granular carbon filters can be dangerous because they have a potential of releasing carbon dust and any impregnate through the exhaust and into the room. This dust is then inhaled and trapped in the user’s lungs. Many times the impregnate in the filter is more hazardous than the chemical being contained.

AirClean Systems filters uses technology not found in any other filter. Its proprietary bonding process cross-links the carbon pellets providing a predictable matrix. This eliminates potential dead zones found in granular filters and allows for a better calculation of filter life. AirClean Systems bonded carbon filters are either 3 or 4 inches thick and have even distribution of carbon throughout the entire filter.

Types of chemicals and their volumes play a large role in the efficiency of a ductless fume hood or workstation. AirClean Systems has a wide variety of filter media to handle numerous chemicals. The general-purpose filter will adsorb a percentage of almost every chemical. For those chemicals that are not adsorbed well, a chemical impregnate is used to alter the target chemical. For example, glutaraldehyde requires an impregnated filter. This filter chemically converts glutaraldehyde into aldehyde salts, CO₂ and H₂O. AirClean Systems uses coconut shell carbon pellets that have a higher adsorption capacity than standard coal-based carbon. In general, AirClean Systems filters last longer than the competitors.

Ductless hoods, workstations and enclosures are not a total replacement for every exhaust system. However, ductless systems can be used for a variety of common applications being done in today's laboratory environment. A ductless system should never be used when chemistry produces unknown results or if known chemical volumes of evaporation is excessively high. With the advancement in chemistry technology, most reactions are completed at micro or nano levels.

AirSafe, not your nose, alerts you of filter saturation!

As chemistry technology advances, so must the engineering and design for safer ductless systems. AirClean Systems ductless products are engineered with microprocessor controls that provide constant airflow and filter saturation monitoring. Previous and some current ductless systems use either a two-speed control switch or provide no way of increasing face velocity as filter, workstation or room conditions change. AirClean Systems ductless products use a microprocessor that incorporates a reliable airflow measurement device. AirSafe safety controller microprocessor constantly collects airflow data and displays actual face velocity on the alphanumeric display. It allows you to set the desired face velocity relevant to state, local, providential or federal guidelines for the application. As the ductless systems' filter or environment in which it is being operated changes, the AirSafe safety controller automatically adjusts blower speed based on the preset user parameters.

Deep carbon filter bed monitoring is essential where toxic chemical fumes and vapors are being used. Current standards provide for an acceptable means of carbon saturation monitoring. The current ANSI Z9.5-2003 standard requires the following for deep carbon filter bed monitoring: A reliable and adequate sensitive monitoring system shall be utilized to indicate adsorbent breakthrough (Section 9.3.2). One option is the use of a colorimetric sensing device that requires user interaction with the filter bed and a sampling device. Due to this tedious and cumbersome method, AirClean Systems integrated a reliable broadband hydrocarbon detector into the AirSafe automatic safety controller unit. The standard hydrocarbon detector, used for volatile chemicals, can be changed if the validated application has a more prominent chemical to be contained. For example, once AirClean Systems filter and application specialist reviews and validates the specific application, a proper filter and gas detector is chosen.

Why AirClean Systems?

AirClean Systems ductless hoods, workstations and enclosures offer a safe and effective alternative to traditional exhaust systems and are acceptable containment solutions for a variety of common laboratory applications. These products are tested in house to meet or exceed applicable safety standards and regulations. Stringent QA/QC procedures during all phases of production guarantee the highest quality and reliability of each ductless hood, workstation and enclosure.

As the largest North American manufacturer of ductless hoods, workstations and enclosures, AirClean Systems maintains an extensive application database from many years of field experience in the containment of toxic chemicals and particulate. So when you purchase an AirClean Systems product, you are not only purchasing rigorously field-tested hoods, workstations and enclosures you are also reaping many years of application experience.