更好的客舱空气净化系统

10月21日，美国航空公司729航班从伦敦希思罗机场飞往费城的一艘例行航班起飞时，一股强烈的气味弥漫了空客A330-300的机舱，促使机组人员改道飞往都柏林，并在都柏林安全降落。新闻媒体报道说，机上乘客抱怨眼睛灼热，皮肤发痒。在机上287名乘客和12名机组人员中，有2名机组人员和1名乘客被带到医院进行评估，并于同一天全部出院。

When American Airlines Flight 729 took off from London’s Heathrow Airport on a routine flight to Philadelphia on Oct. 21, a strong odor engulfed the cabin of the Airbus A330-300, prompting the flight crew to divert to Dublin, where it landed safely. News media reported that passengers complained of burning eyes and itchy skin. Of the 287 customers and 12 crew onboard, two crew members and one customer were taken to the hospital for evaluation, and all were released the same day.

烟雾的来源是一种溅洒到厨房里的清洁剂。

The source of the fumes was a cleaning solution that spilled in the galley.

虽然烟雾事件很少发生，但它们提醒人们，机舱空气有潜在的健康风险。这是因为几乎所有涡轮驱动飞机的空气供应都是新鲜空气和再循环空气的组合。泵入机舱的新鲜空气是发动机排出的空气。当前，唯一的例外是波音787，它采用一个独立的无泄漏系统。空气进入机舱后，会经过过滤，以滤出病原体和异味，并进行再循环。

While fume events are rare, they are a reminder that cabin air has potential health risks. This is because the air supply on nearly all turbine-driven aircraft is a combination of fresh and recirculated air. The fresh air pumped into the cabin is engine bleed air. Currently, the only exception is the Boeing 787, which uses a separate, bleed-free system. Once in the cabin, that air is filtered to screen out pathogens and odors as it is recirculated.

伦敦全球客舱空气质量主管联合创始人特里斯坦·洛兰恩（Tristan Loraine）表示：“随着油封和所有发动机密封件的泄漏，发动机引气将受到发动机机油的污染，主要来自压缩机轴承室。”

 “It is the bleed air that will be contaminated with engine oils, mainly from the compressor bearings compartment, as the oil seals leak—and all engine seals leak,” says Tristan Loraine, cofounder of the London-based Global Cabin Air Quality Executive.

他指出：“近年来，发动机引气引发的烟雾和烟雾事件对健康的危害日益引起人们的关注，有时是由于发动机油封故障所致。”

 “In recent years, there has been growing concern about the health risks of smoke and fume events from the bleed air, sometimes generated by the failure of an engine oil seal,” he notes.

Loraine还报告说，引气带来的另一种吸入危害是液压油，他指出，液压油约有70％的有机磷酸酯。尽管他补充说HEPA（高效微粒捕集）过滤器已被证明能够非常有效地从再循环空气中去除细菌和病毒，但Loraine指出，关于何时应更换过滤器，仅存在指导原则。他说：“一些航空公司正在安装双HEPA /活性炭过滤器，以从再循环空气中去除[volatile organic compounds (VOC)]挥发性有机化合物（VOC）”

Loraine also reports that another inhalation hazard from bleed air is hydraulic fluid, which, he points out, is about 70% organophosphate. Although he adds that HEPA (high-efficiency particulate arrestance) filters have proven very effective at removing bacteria and viruses from recirculated air, Loraine points out that no regulations—only guidelines—exist as to when they should be replaced. “Some airlines are installing dual HEPA/activated carbon filters to remove [volatile organic compounds (VOC)] from the recirculated air,” he says.

实际上，飞机环境控制系统（ECS）的供应商看到了清洁机舱空气领域的机会，并正在开发技术来争取这些机会。

In fact, suppliers of aircraft environmental control systems (ECS) see opportunities in the field of cleaning cabin air and are developing technologies to pursue them.

在去年9月于伦敦举行的国际飞机客舱空气会议上，颇尔航空航天公司（Pall Aerospace Corp.）宣布，其航空航天团队完成了其Purecabin总空气过滤系统的首次全系统地面测试。高级营销总监史蒂夫·辛普森（Steve Simpson）表示，颇尔航空航天公司（Pall Aerospace）的目标是到2020年年中前，将空客A320系列飞机的Purecabin认证为全新风客舱和驾驶舱过滤系统。他补充说，颇尔航空公司预计到2020年年中认证一种传感器，用于检测空气供应中是否存在发动机机油、液压油和除冰液。该传感器将与过滤系统结合或独立工作。辛普森说，Purecabin将首次将经过过滤的引气引入客舱。

At the Aircraft Cabin Air International Conference in London last September, Pall Aerospace Corp. announced that its aerospace team completed the first full-system ground test of its Purecabin Total Air Filtration System. Pall Aerospace aims for certification of Purecabin on the Airbus A320 family by mid-2020 as a full fresh air cabin and cockpit filtration system, according to Steve Simpson, senior marketing director. He adds that by mid-2020, Pall Aerospace expects to certify a sensor that will detect the presence of engine oil, hydraulic and deicing fluid in the air supply. The sensor will work in conjunction with, or independent of, the filtration system. Purecabin, Simpson says, will bring filtered bleed air to the passenger cabin for the first time.

辛普森解释说，它使用的是“高性能合成碳”，该合成碳已经由独立实验室针对各种化学品进行了广泛测试。

It employs a “high-performance synthetic carbon” which, Simpson explains, has been extensively tested by an independent laboratory against a wide range of chemicals.

他说：“我们已经证明了这种合成碳将减轻机舱空气供应中可能存在的化学物质的存在，包括磷酸三甲苯酯或TCP。”“除雾除汽器（MaVE）的新鲜空气过滤器也将去除来自飞机外部或由于系统故障产生的气味。”

 “We have demonstrated that this synthetic carbon will mitigate the presence of chemicals that may be found in the cabin air supply, including tricresyl phosphate, or TCP,” he notes. “The Mist and Vapor Eliminators (MaVE) fresh air filters will also remove odors that originate from outside the aircraft or those that are due to system malfunction.”

他说，该系统的设计采用了一种重量最小、维护成本低的方法。他说：“重量和维护是Purecabin的重要考虑因素，因为它必须集成到现有的飞机系统中。”

He says the system has been designed with a minimum-weight, low-maintenance approach. “Weight and maintenance were an important consideration for Purecabin, since it has to be integrated into an existing aircraft system,” he explains.

辛普森确认，许多新技术正在考虑中，以用于将来的过滤。他说：“但是，我们必须注意，解决一个问题不要造成另一个问题。”“例如，催化可能是有效的，尽管在某些情况下它可能产生比当前进入系统的污染物更令人关注的污染物。”

Simpson confirms that a number of new technologies are under consideration for future filtration. “However, we have to be careful that by solving one problem, we do not create another,” he says. “For example, catalysis can be effective, although in some cases it may produce contaminants of more concern than those currently entering the system.”

颇尔航空航天公司已经在引气过滤方面取得了实质性成功。该公司为波音757-200货机的驾驶舱改造制作了一个新鲜空气过滤器，该货机由劳斯莱斯RB211-535专门提供动力，并通过了DHL航空的STC认证。根据欧盟航空安全局（EASA）的设计性能声明（DDP）批准函，自2012年以来，安装在现有风道中的座舱滤清器已获得全面生产批准。迄今为止，DHL 757-200货机是唯一应用该系统的设备，尽管辛普森没有公开披露的其他航空公司也正在考虑这样做。

Pall Aerospace already has a successful track record with bleed air filtration. The company created a fresh air filter for cockpit retrofit on the Boeing 757-200 freighter—specifically powered by the Rolls-Royce RB211-535—certified by an STC for DHL Aviation. Installed in an existing air duct, the cockpit filter has had full production approval since 2012, under European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) declaration of design performance (DDP) approval. To date, the DHL 757-200 freighters are the system’s only application, although other airlines, which Simpson is not at liberty to disclose, are considering it.

美国航空公司机队工程部总经理斯泰西·莫里西（Stacy Morrissey）报告说，过去几年，该公司一直在为全面地面试验提供飞机、设施和支持，从而与过滤器制造商合作开发新鲜空气过滤系统。不过，她提醒说，虽然这项技术前景看好，但预计改造并不容易，也不便宜。

Stacy Morrissey, managing director of fleet engineering for American Airlines, reports that the carrier has been working with filter manufacturers for the past several years on fresh air filtration systems by providing aircraft, facilities and support for full-scale ground tests. However, she cautions that while the technology is promising, retrofits are not expected to be easy or inexpensive.

“与许多项目一样，有一些技术问题必须克服。例如，对于这个项目，我们需要确保进入机舱的气流和系统控制温度的能力不会受到安装过滤器的明显影响，”莫里西说。

 “As with many projects, there are technical issues that must be overcome. For this project, for example, we need to make sure that airflow to the cabin and the ability of the system to control temperature is not appreciably affected with the filters installed,” says Morrissey.

同时，管理层成员玛莉·塞金格（Mallie Seckinger）称，位于萨凡纳的航空清洁空气公司（ACA）采用的一种新的客舱空气净化方法可能会使飞机客舱和驾驶舱无需使用比较昂贵的过滤器。ACA成立于2012年，旨在开发和销售其同名的航空清洁空气部件，该部件可根据ACA认证工程合作伙伴和大股东南方航空零部件和服务公司（SAPS）的STC进行改装。

In the meantime, a new approach to cabin air purification by Savannah-based Aviation Clean Air (ACA) could make it unnecessary to use the more expensive filters in aircraft cabins and cockpits, according to Mallie Seckinger, managing member. ACA was established in 2012 to develop and market its eponymous Aviation Clean Air component, which is available for retrofit under an STC from Southern Aviation Parts and Service (SAPS), ACA’s certification engineering partner and majority shareholder.

正如塞金格所解释的，航空清洁空气的ACA组件是“100%绿色技术”，因为它是完全电子的，不使用化学物质，也不会产生气味或有害的副产品。他说：“这项技术通过电子电离过程，复制并加速了自然界的自然清洁、气味消除和病原体消毒过程。”

As Seckinger explains, Aviation Clean Air’s ACA component is “100% green technology” since it is completely electronic, uses no chemicals and produces no odors or harmful byproducts. “The technology replicates and accelerates nature’s natural cleansing, odor-elimination and pathogen disinfection process through an electronic ionization process,” he says.

当飞机的环境控制系统（ECS）打开时，空气开始通过风道流入机舱和驾驶舱。塞金格强调该系统不是过滤器，也不具有过滤器系统的结构特征。他说：“该组件可以快速无缝地安装在风道中，没有活动部件会磨损，也不需要定期维护。”该系统重2磅，包括安装硬件。每架飞机所需的部件数量取决于现有管道系统的布局。他说：“例如，湾流G550需要两个，而波音737需要四个。”

Activation commences when the aircraft’s ECS is switched on, and air begins flowing into the cabin and cockpit through the air ducts. Seckinger stresses that the system is not a filter and has no filter-system structural characteristics. “The component is quickly installed seamlessly in the air ducts, has no moving parts to wear out and requires no scheduled maintenance,” he remarks. The system weighs 2 lb., including mounting hardware. The number of components needed per aircraft depends upon the layout of the existing duct system. “As examples, a Gulfstream G550 requires two, while a Boeing 737 requires four,” he says.

塞金格指出，ACA组件旨在同时实现不断改善的空气质量和表面净化。他说：“在短短几秒钟内，它可以主动有效地控制现有和新产生的气味，例如VOC，包括与燃料排放和加油过程相关的气味，但不仅限于此。”“无论经过调节的ECS空气到达何处，它还能消除烹饪、清洁和陈旧的空气异味。”

The ACA component, Seckinger points out, was designed to achieve continuously improved air quality, along with surface purification, simultaneously. “Within just a few seconds, it proactively and effectively controls both existing as well as newly created odors, such as VOCs, including those associated with, but not limited to, fuel emissions and the fueling process,” he says. “It also eliminates cooking, cleaning and stale air odors, wherever the conditioned ECS air reaches.”

塞金格说，ACA组件还杀死了通过机上服务人员、乘客或机组人员带入驾驶舱并通过他们的接触、咳嗽或打喷嚏在舱内传播的现有病原体以及新产生的病原体，显著降低了感染飞行获得性疾病的可能性。

Seckinger says that the ACA component also kills existing as well as newly created pathogens brought into the aircraft and spread by aircraft servicing personnel, passengers or crew members through touching, coughing or sneezing—throughout the cockpit and cabin—significantly reducing the likelihood of flight-acquired diseases.

ACA组件最初于2014年安装在Falcon 2000上，根据联邦航空局337号表格进行改造或修改后恢复使用，经认证可依据STC或337号表格用于生产和使用中的湾流喷气机，特别是G450、GV、G550、G650和G650ER。该组件还获得了莱昂纳多AW169直升机的认证，现在即将被用于商业航空母舰，这是有史以来第一次。

Initially installed on a Falcon 2000 in 2014 under an FAA Form 337 Return to Service following an alteration or modification, the ACA component is certified on in-production and in-service Gulfstream jets—specifically the G450, GV, G550, G650 and G650ER, either under an STC or Form 337.  Also certified on the Leonardo AW169 helicopter, it is now on the verge of a commercial air carrier application for the first time.

塞金格解释说：“ACA组件已经包含在一些客机的VIP配置中，特别是波音737-800、737 BBJ、737 MAX 8、空客A320和A330-200。”“我们认为航空公司市场是一个增长机会，事实上，我们正在与两家航空公司商谈机队改造事宜。”

 “The ACA component has been included with some airliner VIP configurations, specifically on the Boeing 737-800, 737 BBJ, 737 MAX 8, Airbus A320 and A330-200,” Seckinger explains. “We see the airline market as a growth opportunity, and, in fact, we are in talks with two airlines about a fleet retrofit.”

虽然他不能透露这些航空公司的名字，但他确实评论说，重点对象是A320和737。塞金格指出，ACA可以根据其安装图纸，单独出售组件以满足航空公司的要求，或者供应商可以制造安装所需的任何硬件。

While he could not disclose those airlines’ names, he did comment that the focus is on the A320 and 737. Seckinger reports that ACA can either sell the components individually to meet the airline requirements per their drawings for installation, or the vendor can manufacture any required hardware for the installation.

柯林斯航空（Collins Aerospace）飞机客舱空气质量总工程师兰斯•巴托斯（Lance Bartosz）证实，该公司目前在大型商用飞机波音787上提供的仍然是唯一的100%新鲜空气ECS。正如他所解释的，传统的由发动机提供的增压引气被电动机驱动的压缩机所取代，这些压缩机吸收外部环境空气并为机舱提供增压空气。巴托斯说：“这将使发动机排出的空气与机舱空气完全分离，并在各种运行模式下精确地根据飞机的要求调节空气流量，在降低油耗的同时提高机舱舒适度。”。

Lance Bartosz, chief engineer for aircraft cabin air quality at Collins Aerospace, confirms that the company provides what is still the only 100% fresh air ECS on large commercial aircraft—currently the Boeing 787. As he explains, the traditional pressurized bleed air provided by the engine is replaced by electric-motor-driven compressors that take in outside ambient air and provide pressurized air for the cabin. “This completely decouples the engine bleed air from the cabin air and precisely tailors air flow to aircraft requirements throughout all modes of operation, increasing cabin comfort while reducing fuel consumption,” says Bartosz.

巴托斯解释说，随着更多电动飞机的问世，现在在传统气动功能和更电动的功能之间有了一个折衷。“引气的使用被认为是一种燃料损失，因为它会带走发动机产生的一些能量，用于推进以外的目的。例如，根据飞机和ECS的配置，使用电动压缩机产生压缩空气会更有效。”

With the arrival of more-electric aircraft, Bartosz explains that there is now a tradeoff between traditional pneumatic or a more electric function. “Bleed air usage is considered a fuel penalty since it takes away some energy generated by the engine for a purpose other than propulsion. Depending on the aircraft and ECS configuration, for example, it could be more efficient to generate pressurized air using an electric compressor.”

他表示，柯林斯航空公司会继续与其过滤合作伙伴联手，开发优化ECS的方法，并通过空气质量、湿度、温度和新鲜空气流量来提高乘客的舒适度。

Collins Aerospace, he says, continues to work with its filtration partners to develop ways to optimize the ECS and improve passenger comfort with air quality, humidity, temperature and fresh air flow rate.

“在某些情况下，我们可能会考虑增加新设备，以改善机舱环境。但是如果现有飞机增加了新的部件，如附加的过滤器，假如系统没有得到适当的设计，会对舱内环境产生不利影响。他说：“虽然我们尽量减少与添加组件相关的额外重量和维护需求，但不可避免的是，这不太可能毫无影响。”

 “In some cases, we may consider the addition of new equipment to improve the cabin environment. But adding new components such as additional filters to an existing aircraft can adversely affect the cabin conditions if the system is not properly engineered. While we try to minimize the additional weight and maintenance associated with adding components, inevitably it is unlikely to result in a zero net impact,” he says.