Views: 325 Author: Site Editor Publish Time: 2026-08-12 Origin: Site
What happens to an air purifier after it has processed a large amount of cigarette smoke?
An air purifier may perform well when its filter is new. But for environments with heavy smoke, pollutants, odors, or other airborne particles, another question becomes important:
Does the purification performance remain stable after the purifier has continuously captured a large amount of pollution?
To better understand this question, Airdog conducted a CCM comparison test between an Airdog consumable-free air purifier and a HEPA-filter air purifier under controlled laboratory conditions.
The test focused on performance attenuation after continuous exposure to cigarette smoke pollutants.
The results showed a significant difference between the two tested technologies.
Under the test conditions, the Airdog consumable-free air purifier showed no performance attenuation in the CCM test.
In comparison, the tested HEPA air purifier showed a 65.75% reduction in performance after exposure equivalent to 8 packs of cigarettes.
This means that, in this specific test, the Airdog sample maintained its measured purification performance while the tested HEPA sample experienced substantial attenuation as smoke loading increased.
Important: This result applies to the tested samples and test conditions. It should not be interpreted as meaning that every HEPA air purifier will experience exactly the same 65.75% reduction.
The comparison was conducted as a CCM (Cumulative Clean Mass) test, with the objective of evaluating the change in purification performance after the purifier had processed a large amount of pollutant.
According to the test report:
Test standard: GB/T 18801-2022, Air Cleaner
Test temperature: 25°C
Relative humidity: 50%
Smoke source: Hongta Mountain cigarettes
Estimated pollutants generated per cigarette: 82.5 mg
8 packs of cigarettes: approximately 13,200 mg pollutants
20 packs of cigarettes: approximately 33,000 mg pollutants
The test therefore simulated progressively increasing pollutant loading rather than evaluating the purifier only when its filter was new.
Cigarette smoke contains a complex mixture of airborne particles and other pollutants.
When a conventional filter-based air purifier continuously captures particulate matter, the captured material accumulates on the filter.
Over time, this accumulation can affect airflow and filtration performance.
This creates an important distinction between:
Initial purification performance
and
Sustained purification performance after pollutant loading.
For consumers and commercial users, the second question can be just as important as the first.
A purifier that performs well when new may not necessarily deliver the same performance after processing a large amount of particulate pollution.
Airdog uses its proprietary TPA® air purification technology rather than relying on a conventional disposable HEPA filter as the primary particle-collection mechanism.
The fundamental difference is the way particles are captured.
A conventional HEPA purifier relies on a filter media to physically capture airborne particles.
Airdog's TPA system uses an electrical particle collection process to capture pollutants.
This difference is particularly relevant when discussing long-term pollutant loading.
Instead of simply asking:
"How efficiently does the purifier capture particles when the filter is new?"
we can also ask:
"How does its purification performance change as the purifier continues processing pollutants?"
That is the question addressed by the CCM comparison test.
The test report provides the most important finding:
The Airdog consumable-free purifier showed no attenuation in the CCM test.
Meanwhile:
The tested HEPA purifier showed a 65.75% performance attenuation after the equivalent of 8 packs of cigarettes.
The report's conclusion is particularly important because the test was designed specifically to compare service-life performance rather than simply comparing initial purification efficiency.
In other words, the test asks not only:
"Can the purifier clean smoke?"
but also:
"Can the purifier continue performing after cleaning a large amount of smoke?"
The test setup also considered a larger pollutant load.
Based on the laboratory's calculation:
Cigarette Smoke Load | Estimated Pollutants |
8 packs | 13,200 mg |
20 packs | 33,000 mg |
The purpose of increasing the smoke load is to observe whether purification performance changes as the amount of captured pollutant increases.
This is particularly relevant for environments where air purifiers may be exposed to high concentrations of particulate pollution, such as:
Smoking environments
Restaurants and hospitality spaces
High-traffic commercial areas
Pet environments
Urban environments with heavy particulate pollution
Spaces affected by wildfire smoke
Other environments with sustained airborne particle loading
When consumers hear "filter life," they often think about how frequently a filter needs to be replaced.
But filter life can involve two different questions:
This concerns replacement intervals and maintenance costs.
This is a performance question.
For an air purifier, the second question is often overlooked.
A filter may continue to physically exist inside a purifier while its airflow characteristics and purification performance have changed significantly.
That is why cumulative pollutant loading tests can provide useful information about long-term performance.
Airdog's consumable-free design means that the core particle-collection system does not depend on regularly purchasing disposable HEPA filter cartridges.
Instead, the collection components can be maintained and cleaned.
This creates a different maintenance model:
Traditional disposable-filter model
Capture pollutants → filter loads → performance may change → replace filter
Airdog TPA model
Capture pollutants → clean the collection components → continue using the system
The specific maintenance procedure varies by Airdog model, so users should always follow the maintenance instructions for their particular product.
When choosing an air purifier, initial CADR or filtration efficiency is only part of the picture.
For users in high-pollution environments, it can also be useful to consider:
Initial performance
→ How effectively does the purifier clean the air when new?
Performance stability
→ Does purification performance remain stable as pollutants accumulate?
Maintenance
→ What needs to be cleaned or replaced?
Consumable cost
→ Are disposable filters required?
Long-term ownership
→ What happens to operating costs and maintenance requirements over time?
This is why Airdog believes that air purifier performance should be evaluated not only by how well a purifier cleans air when new, but also by how consistently it performs throughout its service life.
The most important lesson from this test is not simply Airdog vs. HEPA.
It is the concept of performance over time.
A purifier is designed to continuously process air.
Therefore, a meaningful evaluation should consider both:
Cleaning efficiency + performance stability
rather than looking only at initial efficiency.
The Airdog CCM comparison test provides one example of how different purification technologies can behave under increasing pollutant loading.
Under the reported test conditions, the Airdog sample showed no attenuation, while the tested HEPA sample showed a 65.75% performance attenuation after 8 packs of cigarettes.
Airdog's TPA® technology was developed around a different approach to particle collection.
Instead of depending on a disposable filter that needs to be periodically replaced, Airdog uses a reusable collection system designed for long-term operation and maintenance.
For users concerned about heavy particle loading, filter replacement, maintenance, and long-term purification performance, this difference can be an important consideration.
Clean air is not only about how well a purifier performs on Day 1.
It is also about how consistently it can continue performing over time.
Test: CCM comparison test between Airdog consumable-free air purifier and a HEPA air purifier
Standard: GB/T 18801-2022 Air Cleaner
Test environment: 25°C / 50% RH
Smoke source: Hongta Mountain cigarettes
Test objective: Comparison of service-life performance
Key finding: Airdog sample — no attenuation in the reported CCM test; tested HEPA sample — 65.75% performance attenuation after an equivalent load of 8 packs of cigarettes.
Data source: Suzhou Bei'ang Intelligent Technology Co., Ltd. R&D Center test report No. NO20250508.6. The report also notes that the Airdog data originated from a third-party laboratory report (WTS2017-8456), while the HEPA data came from the Bei'ang laboratory.
Here, you can view and download the data of the test report results: Report on Decline of Air Purification Performance
