CAN AN AIR FILTER SAVE LIVES?
In 1999, a tragic accident occurred in the Mont Blanc Tunnel, in which 39 people were killed by a Belgian truck. According to many experts, the cause of the accident was a cigarette that was thrown out of the vehicle in front which caused the air filter and then the entire truck to ignite.
Conclusions from the Mont Blanc disaster analysis have prompted leading filter manufacturers to use special filter media impregnation to ensure that flames quickly self-extinguish.
FILTRON air filters possess filter media which, according to the F1 or S1 flammability class, do not let fire spread and can protect passengers from possible fire, if an ignition source were to enter the air supply system.
The filter self-extinguishes due to the impregnation of the filter media with a specially enriched resin. Although the impregnated medium may be ignited, the fire is very quickly extinguished, causing only minimal damage and no spread of fire.
The self-extinguishing effect is the result of three properties of the resin with which the filters are impregnated:
- nitrogen excretion (N2), which suppresses the source of the flame
- water excretion, lowering the temperature of the medium below the temperature of ignition.
- the release of an acid causing the oxidation of cellulose fibres, which acquire non-flammable properties.
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The FILTRON range holds more than 2700 products, and covers 97% of the European passenger-car market. Mechanics appreciate the high quality of the FILTRON-brand filters. Every year, more than 36 million FILTRON filters find their way to mechanics from all the European countries.
