The present disclosure envisages an air purification system. The system includes a shell, a blower, an electrode and a plurality of spikes. The shell has electrically-grounded wall(s), an inlet, and an outlet. The blower generates flow of air through the shell. The electrode is fitted within the shell between the inlet and the outlet and is electrically isolated from the shell body. The spikes extend from the electrode. The spikes have tips spaced apart from the inner surfaces of the walls and generate a corona between the tips and the inner surface of the walls when an high voltage electric current is passed through the electrode and thereby ionize gases and charge particles present in the air resulting in the particles being deposited on the inner surface of the walls of the shell.

The following is an apparatus and a method that enables the automated collection and identification of airborne particulate matter comprising dust, pollen grains, mold spores, bacterial cells, and soot from a gaseous medium comprising the ambient air. Once ambient air is inducted into the apparatus, aerosol particulates are acquired and imaged under a novel lighting environment that is used to highlight diagnostic features of the acquired airborne particulate matter. Identity determinations of acquired airborne particulate matter are made based on captured images. Abundance quantifications can be made using identity classifications. Raw and summary information are communicated across a data network for review or further analysis by a user. Other than routine maintenance or subsequent analyses, the basic operations of the apparatus may use, but do not require the active participation of a human operator.

The following is an apparatus and a method that enables the automated collection and identification of airborne particulate matter comprising dust, pollen grains, mold spores, bacterial cells, and soot from a gaseous medium comprising the ambient air. Once ambient air is inducted into the apparatus, aerosol particulates are acquired and imaged under a novel lighting environment that is used to highlight diagnostic features of the acquired airborne particulate matter. Identity determinations of acquired airborne particulate matter are made based on captured images. Abundance quantifications can be made using identity classifications. Raw and summary information are communicated across a data network for review or further analysis by a user. Other than routine maintenance or subsequent analyses, the basic operations of the apparatus may use, but do not require the active participation of a human operator.

Aspects of the present disclosure include a protective mask to be worn over a nose and mouth of a wearer to protect the wearer from hazards in surrounding ambient air. The mask includes a mask portion, an airway, and an ionization filter. The mask portion includes an interior that extends over the nose and mouth of the wearer. The airway extends between the interior of the mask portion and the surrounding ambient air. The ionization filter includes an emitter within a portion of the airway, and a collector plate radially encompassing the emitter and defining at least a portion of the airway. The collector plate is electrically connected to at least first and second conductive porous filters. The first and second conductive porous filters and the collector plate collectively form at least a portion of a Faraday cage that encapsulates the emitter.

A separator assembly includes a chamber having an inlet and an outlet where a flow path is defined through the chamber from the inlet to the outlet. In some examples, the separator assembly includes a screen configured to filter solid material from a fluid flowing along the flow path. The separator assembly may include a pulse jet assembly configured to selectively clean the solid material from the screen. In various examples, the separator assembly may include a bleed-in assembly having a bleed-in port and configured to selectively direct a fluid through the bleed-in port and into the chamber.

An electrostatic air cleaner may be operated according to a manner designed to achieve acceptable air quality while balancing power usage and corona electrode degradation levels. The voltage applied to the corona electrode(s) may be controlled as well as the voltage applied to repelling electrodes and air flow velocity. The air cleaner may also be operated to achieve desired particle separation.

An electrostatic air cleaner may be operated according to a manner designed to achieve acceptable air quality while balancing power usage and corona electrode degradation levels. The voltage applied to the corona electrode(s) may be controlled as well as the voltage applied to repelling electrodes and air flow velocity. The air cleaner may also be operated to achieve desired particle separation.

A particle sensor includes an aperture for receiving a gas flow with entrained particles, an electrostatic particle charging section, a parallel-plate particle precipitation section; and a sensor for detecting precipitated particles to produce a sensor signal. The sensor signal I.sub.sensor is related to an apparent particle number concentration of the particles in the gas flow entering the charging section by a calibration constant S.sub.1, such that I.sub.sensor=f(N.sub.app, S.sub.1), the calibration constant being dependent on a count mean diameter of the particles in the gas flow entering the charging section according to a first relationship. The particle sensor includes a pre-filter positioned upstream from the charging section, the pre-filter filtering a part of the particles from the gas flow entering the pre-filter, a fractional degree of particle filtering depending on the count mean particle diameter of the particles entering the pre-filter according to a second relationship.

An air treatment device is provided. The air treatment device (100; 300; 400) intended to be arranged at a ventilation air inlet (160) of a room or cabin, at an air inlet or an air outlet of an air conditioning device (253), the air treatment device comprising: a casing (104; 304; 404) having an air inlet side 5 (120; 302; 402) and an air outlet side (110; 308; 408), said casing comprising an air inlet (121; 306; 406) arranged on the air inlet side and an air outlet (131; 310; 410) arranged on the air outlet side of the casing, such that air from the ventilation air inlet (160) of the room or cabin, or air to the air inlet of the air conditioning device, or air from the air outlet of the air conditioning 10 device is lead through the casing; an air treatment section (150) arranged in the casing, said air treatment section comprising: a fan (152) for generating a flow of air from the air inlet to the air outlet; and filtering means (159) arranged such that the flow of air passes through the filtering means; a first pressure sensor (200) adapted to measure a first pressure in the flow or air 15 into, or out from, the air treatment device; a second pressure sensor (210) adapted to measure a second pressure in the room or cabin surrounding the air treatment device outside the flow or air into, or out from, the air treatment device; and a control unit (250); wherein the control unit is configured to adapt the speed of the fan, based on the detected first pressure and the detected 20 second pressure, to generate a flow of air through the air treatment device corresponding to the flow of air from the ventilation air inlet to the room or cabin, or the flow of air to or from the air conditioning device.

Disclosed herein is an electrostatic precipitation method using an electrostatic precipitator including a collection module having a collection electrode and a discharge electrode, a housing having an internal partition wall formed therein, an inlet-side passage switching member, and an outlet-side passage switching member. The electrostatic precipitation method includes collecting dust by applying a voltage to the discharge electrode while gas flows, closing some of the flow spaces, divided by the internal partition wall using the passage switching members, and performing dust collection for one of the opened flow spaces by applying a voltage to the discharge electrode therein, and performing washing for at least one of the closed flow spaces by supplying washing water to the collection electrode therein.