Because of their ability to improve building air quality andtheir potential to reduce energy usage in some climates byallowing more conditioned air recirculation, use of gascontaminant filters in buildings is increasingly considered. Aircleaning is an option under ASHRAE Standard 62 and isrequired if the outdoor air is poor. New media and processesare becoming available, and their performance needs to beevaluated. Further, evaluation of existing technologies needsto be standardized. Both small-scale and full-scale testing isrequired, and there is not a standard method for systematicevaluation of commercial full-scale gas-phase air cleaners ina duct.

A number of laboratory tests of full-scale gas-phase airfiltration equipment (GPAFE) have been conducted at RTIover several years. The methods were developed duringASHRAE and EPA research and refined on later commercialprojects. The full-scale test method uses a modified ASHRAEStandard 52.2 test rig. This paper presents an overview of fullscaleGPAFE testing and discussion of the considerations thatgo into design of a full-scale test. Selected results of full-scaletests are presented.