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camfilapc.com US Pharmacopeia This article reviews how Standard 199 differs from previous test standards, how it measures dust collector perfor- mance, and how end-users can best apply its methodology in tandem with other guidelines and standards. The information will help you make more informed decisions about purchasing traditional and contained dust collec- tion equipment. Before 2016, the pharmaceutical indus- try lacked an adequate test standard to compare the performance of different dust collector filters and equipment. That changed with the June 2016 pub- lication of ANSI/ASHRAE Standard 199-2016, "Method of Testing the Per- formance of Industrial Pulse Cleaned Dust Collectors." This standard filled an important information gap, helping pharmaceutical manufacturers and oth- er operators of dust collection systems compare and evaluate equipment with much greater accuracy. While manu- facturers have surely found the overall standard to be beneficial, the compar- ative data it provides on emissions and operational and energy costs is of particular importance. As the standard has become more widely adopted and more data has accrued, pharmaceutical manufacturers have more guidance on issues such as whether secondary HEPA filtration is required, how to extend fil- ter life, and whether a dust collector that uses a certified high-efficiency primary filter can reduce costs. Mimicking real-world performance Prior to Standard 199, manufacturers had to rely on air filter test standards that weren't a good fit, such as those developed by ASHRAE to measure filter efficiency in HVAC systems. Per- haps the most widely used standard for comparing filters, ANSI/ASHRAE 8 Using ANSI/ASHRAE Standard 199 to Specify Pharmaceutical Dust Collection Equipment By David Steil, Camfil APC 52.2, called for measuring air filter ef- ficiency using the minimum efficien- cy reporting value (MERV) method. However, because ASHRAE 52.2 was developed for the HVAC filter market, it didn't address how a dust collector operates, such as by pulse-cleaning filters periodically when a dust cake builds up. Figure 1 shows a typical cartridge dust collector, and Figure 2 shows a typical pulse cleaning system. Standard 199 provides a method- ology for comparing performance Figure 1 Cutaway view of a cartridge- style dust collector Figure 2 Schematic of a typical pulse cleaning system