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Aircraft Cabin Air Filtration and Related Technologies:Requirements, Present Practice and Prospects

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Book cover Air Quality in Airplane Cabins and Similar Enclosed Spaces

Part of the book series: The Handbook of Environmental Chemistry ((HEC4,volume 4H))

Abstract

Aircraft cabin air being supplied from the engines or APU is known to occasionally be contaminated with hydraulic fluids, engine oils, and pyrolysis products of these which need to be removed to ensure that the crew and passengers are not exposed to any contaminants. One way of achieving this is to filter these contaminants out of the outside air before it reaches the crew and passengers. Additionally, some aircraft cabin air is recirculated and this also needs to be filtered to remove bacteria and viruses. This chapter reviews a number of catalytic, physical, and ventilation system alternatives to simple filtration that could help to eliminate the risk of contaminated outside air or recirculated air from entering the passenger cabin.

Susan Michaelis is a former BAE 146 pilot and now a part time masters student at UNSW. Tristan Loraine is Chairman of the BALPA Cabin Air Quality Task Group which was set up by BALPA to explore all issues of the cabin environment and to make recommendations. His input to this article represents emerging thinking from the task group. Echo-Air diagrams courtesy of Indoor Air Technologies Inc, Canada and USA.

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Abbreviations

APU:

Auxiliary Power Unit

ASHRAE:

American Society of Heating, Refrigeration and Air-conditioning Engineers

ASTM:

American Society for Testing and Materials

FAR:

Federal Aviation Regulations

HEPA:

High Efficiency Particulate Air Filter

JAR:

Joint Aviation Requirements

SIL:

Service Information Leaflet

TCP:

tri-cresyl-phosphate

TOCP:

tri-ortho-cresyl-phosphate

DOCP:

di-ortho-cresyl-phosphate

MOCP:

mono-ortho-cresyl-phosphate

VOC:

volatile organic compound

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School Of Safety Sciences, UNSW, 2052, Sydney, Australia

    S. Michaelis

  2. The British Air Line Pilots Association (BALPA), 81 New Road, UB3 5BG, Harlington, Hayes, Middlesex, UK

    T. Loraine

Authors
  1. S. Michaelis
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  2. T. Loraine
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to S. Michaelis .

Editor information

Martin Hocking

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Michaelis, S., Loraine, T. Aircraft Cabin Air Filtration and Related Technologies:Requirements, Present Practice and Prospects . In: Hocking, M. (eds) Air Quality in Airplane Cabins and Similar Enclosed Spaces. The Handbook of Environmental Chemistry, vol 4H. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/b107248

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