Laboratory testing of full-scale in-duct gas air cleaners

Because of their ability to improve building air quality and their potential to reduce energy usage in some climates by allowing more conditioned air recirculation, use of gas contaminant filters in buildings is increasingly considered. Air cleaning is an option under ASHRAE Standard 62 and is
required if the outdoor air is poor. New media and processes are becoming available, and their performance needs to be evaluated. Further, evaluation of existing technologies needs to be standardized. Both small-scale and full-scale testing is required, and there is not a standard method for systematic evaluation of commercial full-scale gas-phase air cleaners in a duct. A number of laboratory tests of full-scale gas-phase air filtration equipment (GPAFE) have been conducted at RTI
over several years. The methods were developed during ASHRAE and EPA research and refined on later commercial projects. The full-scale test method uses a modified ASHRAE Standard 52.2 test rig. This paper presents an overview of fullscale GPAFE testing and discussion of the considerations that go into design of a full-scale test. Selected results of full-scale tests are presented.