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Question by Roger L: Is Apatite a safe material to be used on air purifier filters?
I learned that the Sharp air purifiers’ HEPA filters have an Apatite component to it that apparently provides antibacterial properties to protect the filters from microbial accumulation. Is Apatite a relatively “safe” material to use for an air filter, i.e. is it safe for the resident who is breathing air that comes through the filter? Apatite (a very general term) is usually made up of phosphorus and calcium, but some variants (ie. arsenates like mimemite) may contain arsenic. Could this be a health issue for users? Would the filters use arsenic-based variants in the first place, or are other forms more prevalent and likely to be used in medical/industrial applications?
Best answer:
Answer by levelhead
Yes it is safe. I am using an air conditioning with HEPA filters (for 4 years now), and I sleep soundly using it.
Apatite is a group of phosphate minerals, usually referring to hydroxylapatite, fluorapatite, and chlorapatite, named for high concentrations of OH-, F-, or Cl- ions, respectively, in the crystal. The formula of the admixture of the three most common species is written as Ca5(PO4)3(OH, F, Cl), and the formulae of the individual minerals are written as Ca5(PO4)3(OH), Ca5(PO4)3F and Ca5(PO4)3Cl, respectively.
Apatite is one of few minerals that are produced and used by biological micro-environmental systems. Hydroxylapatite is the major component of tooth enamel. A relatively rare form of apatite in which most of the OH groups are absent and containing many carbonate and acid phosphate substitutions is a large component of bone material.
Fluorapatite (or fluoroapatite) is more resistant to acid attack that is hydroxyapatite. For this reason, toothpaste typically contain a source of fluoride anions (e.g. sodium fluoride, sodium monofluorophosphate). Similarly, fluoridated water, allow exchange in the teeth of fluoride ions for hydroxy groups in apatite. Too much fluoride results in dental fluorosis and/or skeletal fluorosis.
In the United States, apatite is often used to fertilize tobacco. It partially starves the plant of nitrogen, which gives American cigarettes a different taste from those of other countries.
Fission tracks in apatite are commonly used to determine the thermal history of orogenic (mountain) belts and of sediments in sedimentary basins.
Phosphorite is the name given to impure, massive apatite.
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