New developments in high-efficiency particulate air filtration

High-efficiency particulate air filters (HEPA) are unsurpassed for removing particulates from gas. In the past, their disadvantages and high operating costs discouraged their use for most industrial process applications. But recent improvements broaden the potential applications for this type of filter. In the past, most industries could not tolerate the disadvantages and high operation expense of a conventional static HEPA filter. Recent advances make this option much more practical. Many more industries can now take advantage of the HEPA filter's superior performance, and can enjoy the advantages of returning filtered air to the workplace to save energy costs or avoid an EPA permit, and collect harmful or valuable materials rather than emitting them into the environment. Industry should take a hard look at the automatic-cleaning HEPA filter.