In theory, air filters can capture a wide range of airborne particles, including dust, pollen, mold, and bacteria. Ionizing air purifiers can remove polluting particles from the air, but they have no effect on chemical gases in automotive exhaust gases. Unfortunately, they also generate ozone, which is a lung irritant. The EPA does not recommend using these types of air purifiers or any air purifiers that generate ozone. The Molekule air purifier can be an integral part of a comprehensive approach to cleaning indoor air for you and your family.
Commercial air purifiers are designed to remove tiny particles from soot, smoke, or car exhaust, which could be inhaled directly into the lungs. However, air pollution also often contains other dangerous gaseous molecules, such as carbon monoxide, formaldehyde, and other volatile organic compounds. Most HEPA filters are capable of filtering particles down to 0.3 microns, which more than covers the problematic PM2.5 category. Some HEPA filters are even able to remove particles down to 0.1 microns, capturing many more dangerous contaminants than standard filters do not detect.
This means that they can work together to remove a wider spectrum of air pollutants, such as odors, chemical fumes, and allergens that UV air purifiers don't remove. Activated carbon filters are rarely used alone to purify air and are often used in conjunction with other filters. These filters have small absorbent pores that react chemically to contaminants as they pass through the filter. WSU researchers developed a more environmentally friendly air filter made with corn protein fibers that can simultaneously capture 99.5% of small particles similar to commercial HEPA filters and 87% of formaldehyde - an amount greater than that of air filters specially designed for this type of toxic substances. Don't worry though - many of these particles can get trapped inside the HEPA filter found in most of today's air purifiers (see more on this below). To make sure that you also remove gases, you should make sure that the air purifier you choose not only has a HEPA filter inside but also an activated carbon filter.
There are some contaminants such as carbon monoxide that no filter can remove from the air. Finally, if the composition of the air changes, the volatile organic compounds attached to the filter can release gas or return to the air (e.g., different air filters are capable of filtering contaminants at different levels and can be applied to different situations of need). That's why it's important to buy a HEPA air filter that includes an activated carbon filter that captures allergens that HEPA can't detect. However, Bionaire doesn't indicate how long it will take for the unit to actually filter all the air in that room.
