Dr. Iyad Al-Attar

A Visiting Academic Fellow in the School of Aerospace, Transport, and Manufacturing at Cranfield University, consulting for air quality and filter performance relevant to land-based gas turbines. A columnist in the EUROVENT Middle East newsletter, Climate Control Middle East Magazine, and ES Engineering, USA. He has authored many articles on air filter design, performance, particle characterization, and climate change. Received his engineering degrees (BSc, MSc, PhD) from the University of Toronto (Canada), Kuwait University, and Loughborough University (UK), respectively.

Sustainable air filtration and HVAC maintenance measures for healthier built environments

The importance of clean air to the well-being of human occupants and the protection of the built environment has highlighted the critical role of air filter performance in enhancing Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) through the installed Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning (HVAC) system.

An adult typically breathes 17,000 liters of air daily, so a low concentration of air pollution represents a substantial number of inhaled contaminants. In addition, urban air is full of microscopic particles, which can be health hazards and thus, are considered to be a specific type of air pollution. Ultimately, the entry of atmospheric pollutants into the built environment through infiltration, recirculated air, or poor filtration elevates their concentrations and size distributions and represents a significant challenge to human occupants and HVAC Systems. As a result, such a wide array of indoor pollutants renders the built environment unhealthy and accelerates facility aging. Furthermore, inadequate filtration deteriorates the HVAC performance, leading to maintenance-intensive measures, such as frequent filter replacements and Property, Plant, and Equipment (PPE) cleaning.

This lecture addresses air filter performance metrics and maintenance measures associated with enhancing IAQ. This lecture will also highlight the importance of filter design, filtration stages, and operational conditions in providing a healthier and sustainable built environment and HVAC systems.