Effect of Air Cleaning Technologies in Conjunction With the Use of Rotary Heat Exchangers in Residential Buildings

This study is part of a research project concerning the possibilities of applying efficient air cleaning technologies using rotary heat exchanger in residential buildings. The purpose of this project was to identify and adapt new air-cleaning technologies for implementation in HVAC systems with rotary air-to-air heat exchangers. For this purpose, a mechanical filter with low pressure drop and a 4 cm thick activated carbon filter were selected for testing in a laboratory environment. The measurements included testing of the filters, separately and combined, in a ductwork to study the efficiency of the filters. The removal efficiency of the mechanical filter for ultrafine particles was examined using burning candles as sources for emission of particles. The measurements in the duct showed that the efficiency of the particle filter ranged between approximately 50% and 80% and the pressure loss was approximately 5 Pascal at an airflow rate of 216 m3/h. The air velocity through the filter was 0.49 m/s. Furthermore, the removal efficiency of the combined filter for 6 chemical substances were examined using Hexane, Butanol, 2-Ethylhexanol, Heptane, 2-Heptanone and Acetaldehyde as sources for emission of gases. The measurement results showed that the efficiency of the combined filters ranged between approximately 30% and 80% and the pressure loss was less than approximately 20 Pascal at an airflow rate of 250 m3/h.