The History of Air Purifiers

It's nice to be able to breathe--that's somethingthrowers, and mustard gas. A few years later the
we take for granted sometimes. However, forEbola plague in Africa drew attention to the need
almost two hundred years scientists, researchers,for electronic generator air filters / purifiers.
doctors, and businesses have worked diligently toCorona Discharge Systems (CDS) used a spark
allow people the every day luxury of breathing.to convert oxygen to ozone and allowed victims
Today with almost ten million asthma suffersthe gift of clean air to breathe.
alone, air purifiers are offering allergy sufferers,Over the last twenty years the terms MCS -
firefighters, soldiers, coal miners, hospital workers,Multiple Chemical Sensitivity and ETS -
PC manufacturers, factory workers, etc. theEnvironmental Tobacco Smoke have become an
opportunity to breathe easier with an absoluteintegral part of air filtration / purification
plethora of products. Air purifiers and cleanerstechnology. Early filtration focused on toxic
have evolved by leaps and bounds from thechemicals, noxious gas, and foul orders while more
original "inhalers" and "lung protectors" of the earlymodern filtration devices focused on mold,
days and continue to evolve to meet theviruses, bacteria. The need for the air purification
constant need to breathe.devices has expanded over the years to include
In the early 1800's, John and Charles Deanprotection against fabric chemicals, perfumes,
developed a mask for firefighters that allowedbuilding materials, pesticides, dust mites, pollen,
them to charge into burning buildings without beingfood odors, along with the plain ole' desire for
overcome with smoke fumes. Along the samefresh air.
time, breathing masks for divers and coal minersThe 1980's brought attention to the concept of a
were also being developed. In the early 1850's,dust free environment. HEPA filters screen 99.7%
John Stenhouse developed a charcoal based filterof all 0.3 micron breathing offenders. Newer
which became the first gas mask. The originaldevelopments such as nebulizers for asthma
breathing masks and gas masks focused onpatients and AHPCO ' Advanced Hydrated
filtering out specific enemies using an approachPhotocatalytic Technical Quad Catalyst Ultraviolet
called High Efficiency Particulate Air (HEPA). TheCells have helped bring filtration rates to 99.7% of
addition of charcoal to the filtration system was aall microns 0.1 and larger. The Hepa air cleaner
huge advancement because the charcoal filterednow act as air purifiers using granular carbon
multiple toxins.filters, among many other types, to cleanse the
World War II brought about one of the largestair of as many unwanted pollutants as possible.
advancements in air filtration / purification historyThe number of applications has grown over the
with the Manhattan Project. This project focusedyears, along with the technology and development
scientists and government funding on developing aof the air filtration and purification process. Thanks
breathing apparatus that would protect soldiersto almost two hundred years of research, the
from which was later revealed to be the atomicend result is the fulfillment of the simple desire to
b*mb. That development prompted furtherbreathe.
advancements to combat chlorine gas, flame