Test standards are primarily made to compare products. Furthermore, the test results should have the possibility to be correlated to real operation expectations. The current loading dust used in ASHRAE 52.1 and Std. 52.2P does not have these properties.

The need for a new loading dust is reflected in ASHRAE Std. 52.2P, which discuss how electronic air cleaners may be incompatible with the current loading dust and how results for charged-fiber media filters may not reflect real-life performance changes.

A new loading dust that has a composition that is more close to what is actually found in ambient air is necessary to overcome these objections.

The objective of this research project is: 1) To develop a loading dust or loading dusts to be used in ASHRAE standard 52.1 and 52.2 that will reflect real performance in ambient air operation. Performance characteristics include efficiency, pressure drop, re-entrainment and life. 2) To develop a loading procedure for both standards.