Why Today’s AI Data Centers Need More Than Just Cooling: The Hidden Risks of Air Contaminants 

The rise of artificial intelligence has ushered in a new generation of high-density data centers. These facilities, critical to powering AI workloads, are significantly different from traditional server rooms in both structure and stress. They operate with higher thermal output, tighter server arrangements, and more sophisticated cooling mechanisms.  

While much of the industry has focused on how to keep these centers cool, there is an equally pressing issue that often goes overlooked: air quality. Contaminants in the air can quietly degrade hardware performance, accelerate failure rates, and increase maintenance costs—particularly in AI-driven environments where hardware is pushed to its limits. 

Let’s take a look at the types of contaminants that data centers can face, what makes them a threat, and how Purafil can help mitigate these environmental threats. 

What Makes AI Data Centers More Vulnerable? 

AI infrastructure relies heavily on high-performance computing (HPC) components such as GPUs, TPUs, and advanced networking gear. These devices produce far more heat than traditional CPUs and are often stacked in dense configurations that push airflow and thermal management systems to their limits.  

Increased airflow, whether through high-powered HVAC or liquid cooling with fans, often pulls in more contaminants unless properly filtered. Moreover, many AI centers use free-air cooling or economization, which introduces outside air directly into the data hall—bringing with it particulate matter and corrosive gases¹. 

Additionally, AI data centers frequently operate with minimal tolerance for failure. The datasets and applications involved—such as natural language processing, autonomous systems, and generative models—are computation-intensive and rely on continual system availability.  

When air quality isn’t monitored or managed, even a slight degradation of hardware from corrosive gases or particulate buildup can cascade into costly downtime and lost performance. 

What Type of Air Contaminants Threaten Data Centers? 

Particulate Matter (PM) 

PM2.5 and PM10 can settle on sensitive circuit boards, increasing the risk of short-circuiting and impeding cooling airflow. Dust accumulation on fans and heatsinks diminishes cooling efficiency, potentially causing temperature spikes and thermal throttling of equipment². 

Gaseous Contaminants 

Sulfur dioxide, hydrogen sulfide, chlorine, and nitrogen oxides are commonly found in outdoor and industrial air. These corrosive agents attack metallic surfaces, including solder joints and copper traces, particularly in high-humidity environments³. The cumulative impact of corrosion includes signal loss, increased resistance, and eventual mechanical failure of PCB connections. 

Humidity and Dew Point Risks 

Overcooling or improperly managed humidity can result in condensation, leading to corrosion and electrical failures. Low humidity, often a byproduct of aggressive cooling, increases the risk of electrostatic discharge (ESD), which can silently damage integrated circuits and memory components over time⁴. 

Why Standard Cooling Solutions Aren’t Enough 

Traditional HVAC and CRAC systems are primarily designed to regulate temperature and basic airflow. However, they rarely account for gas-phase pollutants or localized particulate buildup. Even cutting-edge liquid cooling systems may lower temperature effectively while allowing corrosive agents to persist in stagnant air pockets or poorly ventilated zones. Free-air cooling systems are particularly vulnerable, as they draw in untreated outdoor air to reduce energy costs but introduce pollutants that can rapidly degrade hardware. 

As facilities increase their compute density and adopt open-loop or economization strategies, the filtration gap widens. These conditions create hotspots for contamination—often undetectable until failure occurs. For mission-critical environments running AI infrastructure, these risks cannot be ignored. 

Purafil’s Specialized Approach 

Purafil addresses these emerging threats with a layered and proactive methodology: 

• Environmental Monitoring: Real-time sensors continuously measure the chemical composition of the air in and around the data center. 

• Gas-Phase Filtration: Utilizing dry-chemical filtration media that reacts with and neutralizes harmful gases like SO₂ and H₂S, reducing the risk of corrosive buildup on sensitive components⁵. 

• Particulate Filtration: Multi-stage systems including MERV-rated and HEPA filters to remove fine and coarse particulates before they settle on equipment. 

• Integration with BMS/DCIM Systems: This enables smart automation—triggering alerts, filter maintenance, or airflow adjustments based on data trends rather than fixed schedules. 

By combining these technologies, Purafil enables a proactive strategy that evolves alongside data center infrastructure, reducing the risk of failure while optimizing operational efficiency. 

Purafil Can Help Keep Data Centers Clean and Cool 

In today’s AI-driven facilities, air quality is just as critical as cooling. As workloads grow more intense and infrastructures more complex, ignoring the invisible threats in the air can undermine even the most advanced data centers. Purafil provides the tools and expertise to protect AI investments from the inside out, ensuring that every byte of data is processed in a clean, safe, and efficient environment.  

Learn more about how Purafil can help data centers preserve their air quality. 
 

1. Uptime Institute. “Annual Global Data Center Survey 2023.” ↩︎
2. ASHRAE. “Thermal Guidelines for Data Processing Environments.” ↩︎
3.  Purafil. “Data Centers and Telecom.” https://www.purafil.com/markets/electronics/data-centers-telecom/ ↩︎
4.  Intel. “Best Practices for Electrostatic Discharge Protection.” ↩︎
5. Purafil. “CCC Product Bulletin.” https://www.purafil.com/ccc-product-bulletin/ ↩︎