How Much Oil Do Air Cleaners Remove From the Air?

Did you know? It takes approximately 16.8 quadrillion (1.68 × 10¹⁶) 0.3-micron oil particles to make one cup of oil.

So if your air cleaner is collecting a lot of smoke, it may only be a few cups of oil. Mist particles are much larger, so they add up much faster.

A SmogHog electrostatic air cleaner, commonly used in industrial and commercial environments, can remove significant amounts of oil mist, smoke, and other airborne contaminants from the air. Depending on the model and application, electrostatic air cleaners can achieve very high collection efficiencies for particles as small as 0.3 microns.

General Oil Removal Capacity

SmogHog and Absolent units don’t specify oil removal capacity in gallons or liters because the amount of oil collected depends heavily on the model, airflow, pollutant concentration, operating hours, and application. However, there are several useful guidelines to consider.

Electrostatic Efficiency:

Single-pass: More than 95% capture efficiency for submicron particles.
Double-pass: More than 99.5% capture efficiency for submicron particles.

Absolent / Media Efficiency

Standard Filtration: 95% capture efficiency for submicron particles.
HEPA Filtration: 99.99% capture efficiency for submicron particles.

Airflow Capacity:

Models can range from 500 CFM to more than 20,000 CFM (cubic feet per minute), depending on the model and configuration.

Oil mist removal: For heavy-duty units, they can typically collect several gallons of oil per week in high-load environments like CNC machining centers or centerless grinding applications.

Example Estimates (varies by application)

The amount of oil collected can vary significantly depending on the application. The following examples are estimates

Light-duty machine shop: A 2000 to 4000 CFM SmogHog® or Absolent operating with a moderate oil-mist load should collect 1–3 gallons of oil per shift per month.
Heavy-duty machining center: A larger unit operating continuously at a high speed with a heavy cut application may collect 5–10+ gallons of oil per week.
A Large Bolt maker with viscous forming oils running two shifts can capture about 5 gallons a month.
A Large blow molder running 20 hours a day can collect over 5 gallons a day.

Actual collection rates can be substantially higher or lower depending on the amount of oil smoke and mist generated by the process. If it’s higher than expected check that the air intake on the machine is not too close to the cutting head and pulling in much more mist than it should. If the intake is close, less than 4 feet consider moving it or installing a baffle to block direct spray. Remember, you only what to catch particles that won’t fall out naturally with gravity within a few seconds. Collecting more than necessary, shortens filter life and can waste the oil or coolant.

Factors That Affect Oil Collection

Type and viscosity of the oil: Different oils and coolants behave differently when heated and atomized. Some produce more smoke or mist than others.
Pollutant concentration: If the concentration of smoke or mist is above approximately 150 mg/m³, additional filtration stages or passes may be required to achieve the desired collection efficiency.
Airflow: The volume and velocity of air moving through the air cleaner can have a significant impact on collection efficiency.
Operating schedule: Equipment operating continuously will generally produce and collect more contaminants than equipment that only operates intermittently.
Maintenance: Regular cleaning and maintenance are essential. Dirty collection cells, ionizers, or prefilters can reduce airflow and filtration performance.
Location of air intake:One of the most dramatic increases in collection occurs when the intake is too close to direct spray from the cutting head. There are many ways to solve this issue; if it’s happening, give us a call.

How Much Oil Can Your Air Cleaner Collect?

There is no single answer to how much oil a SmogHog or other electrostatic air cleaner can remove. The amount depends on the pollutant load, type of oil, airflow, operating hours, equipment configuration, and maintenance schedule.

For facilities producing significant amounts of oil smoke or mist, the amount of oil collected can be surprisingly large. In addition to improving air quality, recovering this oil can provide an opportunity to reduce the amount of lubricant that would otherwise remain airborne or be lost through exhaust.

If you need help improving your air quality and reducing machine downtime, Bee Clean Specialties can provide new equipment and system design, as well as repair and maintenance for your existing air filtration equipment.

Give us a call at 888-451-0844.

How Much Oil Do Air Cleaners Remove From the Air?