June 15, 2015 – Donaldson Aerospace & Defense has announced service life improvements to its Air Purification System (APS) for the Airbus A320, claimed to extend the filtration system’s service life from 12 to 18 months.
The APS combines chemical and particulate filtration into a single system, and is currently installed and in use on more than 300 American Airlines A320s and all Boeing 787 Dreamliners. According to Donaldson, the extended service life has been enabled through the development of a new way to package the filter media, and American Airlines supported the testing and evaluation process for the system.
Donaldson is pursuing FAA certification that would authorize APS installation on all eligible A320s.
The chemical filtration function on the APS relies on a technical process called ‘gas phase adsorption’, which removes bio-effluents, fuel by-products, cleaning agents, emissions from internal materials, cosmetics and other personal care products. The HEPA particulate filtration removes dust, allergens, bacteria, viruses and other irritating particles from the air that passengers and crew breathe in pressurized cabins and cockpits.