What are three major operating characteristics of air filters? Solution Characteristics of Air Filters: 1. The material of the air filters attracts the particles in the air, so that they get stick to it, and does not pass through it. Sometimes an absorbent like charcoal may be also used with the filter material to abosrb the dust. 2. The performance depends on the ability to arrest the movement of the particles but allowing the air, so their design varies as per the requirement. Some high performance filters can filter very small particles. 3. Some filters may be made reusable with the rewashing, but they are very less common. Three common types of air filters are: (a)Fibreglass Filters: They use fibreglass layers to form the filter media. (b) Polyester and pleated filters they have higher air resistance than fibreglass but can stop smaller size particles as well. (c) High efficiency particulate arrestance (HEPA) filters. Very fine particles can be arrested by such filters. It filters 99.97 percent of all particles of size 0.3 microns or larger..