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Using Vertical laminar flow hoods in the laboratory explained

May 14, 2018 /
General Health Tips /
By Pratik Singh

Having vertical laminar flow hoods to purify the environment inside a laboratory is of paramount importance. The flow hoods will purify the air inside the laboratory by removing toxic chemical particles and other chemicals and harmful microorganisms. The air inside any laboratory will get contaminated with harmful contaminants and it is imperative that lab workers are shielded from getting exposed to this air. Laminar flow hoods are a remedy for this problem; they also have other uses and additional applications. In this article, you will learn how the laminar flow hoods work.

How do laminar flow hoods work?

Basically there are two designs of laminar flow hoods: vertical and horizontal hoods.

Vertical laminar flow hoods: These hoods channel the air inside the room through a dedicated intake mechanism. A blower will direct it towards a high efficiency particulate air filter or HEPA. A part of the air will get eliminated through an exhaust vent and will leave the area in its entirety. After the air has been filtered through this HEPA, it will flow back inside the room. The air will flow constantly through your lab in layers.

Horizontal flow hoods: These are designed typically like work benches. Underneath the working surface you will have a pre filter which will draw the air of the room right in to the HEPA. From this HEPA, the air will get cycled smoothly over the entire work surface.

Some applications of laminar flows include in the medical, pharmacological, robotic, scientific, industrial, aerodynamic applications, like:

Directing the airflow inside hospital rooms where the patient cannot be made to come into contact with any contaminant. For instance, a burn patient who has lots of burnt flesh that needs recovery.
To control the airflow inside hospital rooms where patients are quite contagious, so as to prevent the contaminants that gets emitted from entering the environment and affecting other individuals.
Biological laboratories where contagious viral and bacterial germs have to be contained.
Pharmacological laboratories where the environmental control will permit compounding sterile medications and solutions, like chemotherapy and intravenous solution preparation.
The biological testing facilities where the integrity of specimen animals and plants require guarding.
Robotic equipments which are used to prepare medicine or assembling industrial parts.
Scientific applications where the air emitted has to be of good quality and must guarantee to be not harming the environment.
In industrial uses, like for instance using laminar flow for eliminating sound vibrations or air vibrations which can be disruptive or can damage sensitive equipment.

Conclusion

Vertical laminar flow hoods are essential for use in a working laboratory. They ensure the health of the workers in the laboratory is not compromised with and assures the hygiene of the environment in the laboratory is maintained. You ought to install one in your laboratory immediately to ensure your health is not compromised with. Hopefully the information mentioned in this article would have given you some valuable insights.