FILTERING GLYCOL FOG FROM THE AIR

clais

Member
Has anyone out there played around with filtering fog from the air? The idea would be to localize the impact of the glycol on scenery around it in a permanent install setting. An air intake not far from the effect would give a clear past of travel for the fog instead of letting it settling on everything else around it. The the air intake would filter out the fog via filter panel, water curtain, or something similar. Just as idea I have been thinking about. I was wondering if anyone has tried this.
 
It can be done but very cost prohibitive except for maybe a Theme Park application.
There are different ways to approach it.

One way is to use your idea but add laminair flow to the fog machine as well as the extraction vent. You need to have very directional control. You also need to make sure the facility HVAC diffusers and return air locations wont mess with your design. Smoke wrangling is more art than science.

After extraction you can process the smoke with HEPA style filters but they get soggy very fast and are a major pain to deal with and incredibly expensive. On top of that, HEPA filters were never meant to filter glycol smoke so there's that.

Or, you can take the easy path and just dump it outside the building. It may be the easier path but depending on the state and city you are in, it may be illegal. In California, in certain applications, you are limited to how much "smoke" you can release in to the outside environment . You are required to "measure" the amount of smoke you dispense and assure you do not exceed the guidelines or risk a fine. I know, crazy. In California, these rules apply to Theme Park attractions but NOT, outside entertainment venues that can release as much smoke as you want. But then again, it's California so nothing needs to make sense.
 
Now you're gonna make me aim a fogger at my free standing Air Conditioner out in the shop aren't you. It has a nice little fitting where the condensation comes out.. would it clear glycol?
Whatcha doin John... nevermind it's all in the name of Science.
 
Hmmm, physics says simply compressing the fog would cause condensation. Cooling would help.

I'm imagining a high volume intake to a narrow output and a powerful fan. Of course how big, narrow, and powerful would be needed depends on other variables.
 
It can be done but very cost prohibitive except for maybe a Theme Park application.
There are different ways to approach it.

One way is to use your idea but add laminair flow to the fog machine as well as the extraction vent. You need to have very directional control. You also need to make sure the facility HVAC diffusers and return air locations wont mess with your design. Smoke wrangling is more art than science.

After extraction you can process the smoke with HEPA style filters but they get soggy very fast and are a major pain to deal with and incredibly expensive. On top of that, HEPA filters were never meant to filter glycol smoke so there's that.

Or, you can take the easy path and just dump it outside the building. It may be the easier path but depending on the state and city you are in, it may be illegal. In California, in certain applications, you are limited to how much "smoke" you can release in to the outside environment . You are required to "measure" the amount of smoke you dispense and assure you do not exceed the guidelines or risk a fine. I know, crazy. In California, these rules apply to Theme Park attractions but NOT, outside entertainment venues that can release as much smoke as you want. But then again, it's California so nothing needs to make sense.
Hi tladuke, Sorry for the delay. I don't hop onto these forums too much.
I was actually looking at this for the theme park project. What you described is pretty close to what I was thinking actually. I don't think it would would well for a very large effect. But for something small, I'm interested in the idea of being able to make it directional toward an extraction/collection point. The extraction point would of course get pretty messy. But then that one extraction point could be serviced/cleaned on PM instead of letting the condensed fluid cover show set and ride track over time.

The idea of just sucking it all out of the building is also interesting. Maybe that could fly here in Florida! haha
 
Hi tladuke, Sorry for the delay. I don't hop onto these forums too much.
I was actually looking at this for the theme park project. What you described is pretty close to what I was thinking actually. I don't think it would would well for a very large effect. But for something small, I'm interested in the idea of being able to make it directional toward an extraction/collection point. The extraction point would of course get pretty messy. But then that one extraction point could be serviced/cleaned on PM instead of letting the condensed fluid cover show set and ride track over time.

The idea of just sucking it all out of the building is also interesting. Maybe that could fly here in Florida! haha
I was involved in a project in Florida where we did in fact just suck the smoke out of the building. No one seemd to care. No code issues.
 

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