Erlab Captair 391 Smart – 1-Metre Ductless Fume Hood for Powders, Weighing & Low-Energy Laboratories

The Erlab Captair 391 Smart extends Erlab’s compact ductless range with a practical 1,000 mm working width, offering more workspace than the 321 while preserving the same ultra-efficient single-column filtration architecture.

Its distinctive oblong front sash with two hand openings minimizes the impact of surrounding air movements on containment performance while improving ergonomics — and because only one filtration column is required, purchase cost and long-term operating expenses remain significantly lower than wider multi-column systems.

Instead of exhausting conditioned laboratory air outdoors like conventional ducted hoods, the Captair 391 Smart continuously draws contaminated air through a modular filtration column combining activated carbon for vapours and HEPA or ULPA filters for particulates, before safely returning purified air to the laboratory. This design dramatically reduces HVAC energy consumption and eliminates outdoor chemical emissions.

For powder handling, ductless filtration offers a critical advantage: particles are captured at source rather than settling inside extraction ducts. When equipped with particulate filters, the hood becomes ideal for APIs, toxic solids and pharmaceutical weighing tasks.

Because airflow is independent from building exhaust fluctuations, the hood delivers exceptional stability — enabling precision weighing down to semi-micro level (0.01 mg) without balance drift caused by pressure variations.

According to the datasheet, airflow is 220 m³/h, face velocity ranges from 0.4–0.6 m/s, and electrical consumption is only 65 W .

The unit complies with AFNOR NF X 15-211:2009, DIN 12 927, BS 7989 and EN 1822 HEPA/ULPA standards. Erlab’s Smart Technology provides continuous safety communication via light and sound signals, while monitoring airflow, temperature and humidity in real time.

Installation remains extremely flexible: the hood can be placed on an existing laboratory bench (Benchcap) or mounted on an Erlab mobile or fixed support stand (Mobicap), supporting future lab reconfiguration.

Each project includes Erlab’s ESP programme — covering risk analysis, certified installation and long-term protection monitoring — reinforcing Erlab’s position as the inventor and world leader in ductless fume hood technology .