Ever since the coronavirus pandemic there has been increased caution when travelling in contained vehicles such as taxis, airplanes, buses and even submarines. There are many misconceptions when it comes to these isolated vehicles, but this article is going to focus on Airplanes and Submarines alike. We are here to express the truths and bust the myths.

There is a misconception that both airplanes and submarines are ventilated the same, and they both contain air that is constantly circulated without being replaced. This is a myth. Airplanes and submarines are ventilated completely differently, and we are going to explain how. So, the next time you are travelling 30,000 feet in the air, or 300 metres below, you can rest assured the air you are breathing is clean.
 
Common airplane conceptions

The majority of commercial aircraft are equipped with High Efficiency Particulate Air (HEPA) filters, with forty percent of the cabin’s air getting filtered through this HEPA filter and the remaining sixty percent is fresh and ventilated from outside the plane. According to Becker, “Cabin air is completely changed every three minutes, on average, while the aircraft is cruising”. “Typically, the number of particles in the air are really low, the plane is almost a clean room, because there’s so much ventilation” says Bates, CEO of Kaiterra. So, where does the misconception come from?

This misconception came from the mandatory introduction of masking on air travel. People believed this mandate was introduced by the particle filled air that was constantly circulating around the airplane. Although 99.97 percent of airborne particle are blocked and captured by HEPA filters. The mandate was introduced to protect yourself and others from the air that is not filtered, the direct air and saliva particles transferred surrounding you. The filter only protects the air that is passed through it, when coughing, sneezing and talking droplets of saliva escape the mouth, potentially contaminating anyone sitting in a close proximity of you. In conclusion, the air circulating during your next flight is in fact clean, just be cautious of the people coughing and sneezing next to you.

Common submarine conceptions

Unlike airplanes, the air in a Submarine is in fact continuously recirculated. This is achieved using centralised fans with electrostatic precipitators that filter out particulates and aerosols, and chilled-water coils to cool and remove excess moisture. Aircrafts can pull in fresh air from outside the plane but of course this is not possible under water. So, if the air is recirculated, how do people breathe for months at a time?

The scope of the engineering that goes into submarines is far wider than one article can cover. Some people believe oxygen tanks are what keep the oxygen levels stable for long submarine journeys, although this again is a myth. Instead, they produce oxygen from seawater using a process called electrolysis. Electrolysis is the separation of hydrogen and oxygen from water. At the same time, carbon dioxide is removed from the air with ‘CO2 scrubbers’, a machine with special chemicals that absorb and trap carbon dioxide from air.

Whether it is a submarine deep in the ocean or an aircraft high in the air, one trend continues to persist. Good air is important and needs to be engineered. In both these cases life depends on, continuous air circulation, effective filtration and precise control.

To learn more about how to keep your unique environment perfectly ventilated, contact our team today.