Aircon 54 www.aftermarketonline.net JUNE 2026 Clean air across all vehicle categories Filtration specialist, UFI, explains the benefits of ARGENTIUM, HEPA and other cabin-air technologies, filters that deliver purer air across all vehicle categories. Among all the filters in vehicles, the cabin air filter is often overlooked. This is a mistake, because while the vehicle’s mechanical efficiency does not depend on it, the passengers’ health does. Its function is to improve the quality of the air that occupants breathe on board, by removing dust, pollutants, pollen, allergens, bacteria and mould. Choosing a filter, however, is not straightforward, as the market offers many different types. UFI has been developing filter products for over fifty years, and is not limited to offering only long-standing market solutions. The experience it has accumulated in supplying original equipment, together with the activities carried out in its research and development facilities, has allowed UFI to develop six different types of high-performance filter media. One of these filter media is used to make ARGENTIUM, a filter with a powerful antibacterial function. Produced with a combination of three layers (antimicrobial, adsorbent and structural), ARGENTIUM is made with a non-woven filter media containing Biomaster silver biocide – silver particles with an antimicrobial action that is capable of inhibiting bacterial growth by up to 99%. The combination of layers enables this passenger compartment filter not only to block pollen, dust (including from tyre wear and braking) and road dirt, but also to prevent the growth of fungi and mould and to exclude substances such as sulphur dioxide (SO2) and nitrogen oxides (NOX). The structure of ARGENTIUM also includes activated carbon, which ensures a filtration efficiency of over 98.5% for particles with a diameter of 2.5 microns, and eliminates harmful gases and unpleasant odours. ARGENTIUM is effective against microbial growth throughout its life cycle of up to twelve months. HEPA filters for electric vehicles The automotive world is undergoing a profound transformation, with the transition to electric mobility also requiring the adoption of advanced technologies for cabin-air filtration. Here, UFI has recently made its High Efficiency Particulate Air (HEPA) filters available on the aftermarket for Tesla’s Model Y. Manufactured with extremely highefficiency filtration media that are already used in the health and medical sectors, UFI’s HEPA cabin filters have the ability to remove 99.975% of particles smaller than 0.3 microns: one thousand times smaller than the diameter of a hair. This means the filters trap not only atmospheric particulates and fine dust particles, but also most bio-contaminants in the air, such as spores, bacteria and viruses. Over the past two years, the company has added 36 product codes to its line-up, including 16 pollen filters in its off-road vehicle range. Alongside 161 ARGENTIUM filters and one HEPA item, UFI offers a wide range of traditional pollen and active carbon filters. Its 400 anti-pollen filters are made of non-woven fabric and can retain over 90% of airborne particles larger than 2.5 microns, while 210 activated carbon filters combine non-woven fabric with activated carbon. These prevent much smaller particles, with diameters of 0.01 to 2 microns, from entering the passenger compartment while also trapping odours. A dedicated catalogue of cabin air filters will soon be available for download, including 772 part numbers, of which 637 are for cars and vans, 80 for heavy-duty on-road vehicles and buses, and 55 for off-road vehicles. Collectively, this meets the needs of around 95% of the European fleet. www.ufifilters.com/en
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