The CO-filter !

This is the CO-filter, also called lifesaver. It is used - as described on the page with the safety precautions - when there is a fire underground. Then the filter has to be fixed behind the head with the green ribbon on the right, the mouthpiece has to be taken into the mouth and the nose has to be closed with the clamp (on the left).

In the white sack there is a system that turns carbon monoxide into carbon dioxide the user can breathe without suffering any damage. That effect is caused by the fact that there are certain chemicals that connect the carbon monoxide with the oxygene in the air, so that finally carbon dioxide is produced.

Another result of these chemical processes is warmth or better: heat. The carbon dioxide that has to be breathed has a temperature up to 110° C or in the more recent filters of about 80 °C. The high temperatures' negative effects are reduced by using other chemicals that reduce the humidity of the carbon dioxide, so that it can be breathed without and problems or any pain. A typical CO-filer used in the German hard coal mining industry should work for 90 minutes.

Many thanks for the corrections and the support to Mr. Rainer Stommel.

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