Matrix Systems provides the latest in air filtration technologies through its Smog Hog commercial kitchen exhaust filtration systems, and mist collectors, and Dust Hog dust collection systems. But commercial air filtration has come a long way from its modest origins.
The first person in recorded history to think about air filtration was Leonardo DaVinci who suggested that a finely woven cloth could be dipped in water to filter smoke or toxic powder from a weapon, but the real origin of commercial air filtration was caused by the Industrial Revolution. Because the Industrial Revolution was powered by coal, the smog it generated choked cities and made people sick.
In 1823, Charles and John Dean invented a mask that helped firefighters avoid breathing in soot and smoke when they entered buildings to fight fires. Later John Stenhouse, an organic chemist by trade, added a charcoal filter to improve the mask in 1854. Then John Tyndall, an Irish physicist, created one of the first respirators in 1871 by taking Stenhouse’s mask and creating a filter out of cotton wool and saturated it with charcoal, lime and glycerin which removed the toxic gas from the air.
While the first air filtration designs primarily consisted of masks that were continuously improved up and through World War I, where chemical warfare expanded the use of air filtration further, until 1921 when a man named Wilhelm Beth from Germany, patented the first dust collector designed to filter large amounts of air, collecting dust and other particulates.
The next major commercial air filtration innovation unfortunately also came from war. In the 1940’s the high efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filter was invented and was even used during the Manhattan Project to prevent the spread of airborne radioactive particles. These filters evolved and continue to improve, even to this day, in efficiency of filtering out dust, bacteria and even viruses.
Commercial air filtration systems have been a key contributor in cleaning the air and improving its overall quality for several decades now. And environmental laws help enforce the clean air standards necessary to keep us safe and healthy.
Matrix Systems Delivers Commercial Air Filtration Solutions
Matrix Systems provides a complete line of commercial air filtration products, as well as the installation of commercial cooking exhaust systems, electrostatic precipitators, and industrial dust collectors. Give us a call at either (510) 822-5167 in the Bay Area or (530) 273-5474 in the Sacramento Valley and Northern Nevada area, complete our online contact form, or email us at mquinlan@2mxs.com to learn more about our commercial air filtration products today.