Measured field results, ISO standards and validation documentation — everything you need to specify, validate, and defend a filter selection.
A drop-in trap-filter upgrade at AB InBev’s Magor brewery (UK), replacing a Donaldson LifeTec PP100 — same housings, same duty, measured in live production.
The standard defines seven quality classes across three contaminant groups. What each class means in practice, with the class table.
Read the explainer ↓The standard defines seven quality classes across three contaminant groups. Here’s what each class means in practice.
ISO 8573-1 is the international standard for compressed air purity. It separates contamination into three groups — solid particles, water, and oil — and assigns a class number (1–6, plus Class X for beyond Class 6) to each independently.
A specification written as ISO 8573-1:2010 [1:2:1] means: Class 1 for particles, Class 2 for water, Class 1 for oil. You need a filter to meet all three numbers simultaneously — one filter rarely covers all three contaminant groups alone.
Class 0 exists for each group and means "better than Class 1 as agreed between user and supplier" — it is not a standard class but a contractual specification.
| Class | Solid particles max. count / m³ (0.1–0.5 / 0.5–1.0 / 1.0–5.0 µm) |
Water content pressure dew point (°C) |
Oil content total oil (mg/m³) |
Typical application | Ultrafilter filtration particles · oil (see note) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
0 |
Better than Class 1 As agreed between user and supplier |
Better than −70 °C | Better than 0.01 mg/m³ | Ultra-high purity, semiconductor, critical pharma | — |
1 |
≤ 20,000 / 400 / 10 | ≤ −70 °C | ≤ 0.01 mg/m³ | Instrument air, breathing air, sterile pharmaceutical processes | SMF + AKOil: AK downstream of an SMF filter reaches ≤ 0.003 mg/m³ — ISO 8573-1 Class 1 oil vapour (AK datasheet). |
2 |
≤ 400,000 / 6,000 / 100 | ≤ −40 °C | ≤ 0.1 mg/m³ | Food contact, medical devices, precision machining | MF |
3 |
— / ≤ 90,000 / 1,000 | ≤ −20 °C | ≤ 1 mg/m³ | Spray painting, packaging, general manufacturing | FF |
4 |
— / — / ≤ 10,000 | ≤ +3 °C | ≤ 5 mg/m³ | Pneumatic tools, tyre inflation, non-critical processes | FF |
5 |
— / — / ≤ 100,000 | ≤ +7 °C | — | Pneumatic cylinders, general shop air | FF |
6 |
≤ 5 mg/m³ (mass concentration) | ≤ +10 °C | — | Non-sensitive air use | FF |
X |
Concentration exceeds Class 6 — specify the actual value | — | — | ||
Reference conditions: 1 bar(a), 20 °C, 0 % relative humidity. Source: ISO 8573-1:2010.
Water classes require a dryer upstream (not part of this range). The Ultrafilter column lists particle/oil filtration only; classes reflect system-level air quality with the upstream stages in place (FF → MF → SMF → AK), as stated on each product page.
Integrity test protocols and bacterial challenge data for pharma and food-grade filter qualification.
Hydrophobic PTFE membrane, 0.2 µm bacterial retention in liquids.
Hydrophilic PVDF membrane, 0.1–1.0 µm, for pharmaceutical manufacturing — test methods, performance and specifications.
Single-layer PF-N6 series filters — test methods, performance and specifications for pharmaceutical manufacturing.
Double-layer PF-N6 series filters — test methods, performance and specifications for pharmaceutical manufacturing.
Hydrophilic PES membrane, 0.1/0.2 µm sterilising grade and 0.45 µm bioburden reduction.
Further validation guides on request — contact us.
Current certificates for our management system and filter cartridges. Download with your business e-mail; the Halal certificate on request.
Declarations of conformity, retention certificates, extractables data — ask your account manager.