On June 5, 2019, World Environment Day sent a message with the theme of “Blue Sky Defense, I am an actor”, calling on the whole society to take action to improve the severe environmental problem of air pollution. The good news is that, as a leader in the kitchen appliances industry, FOTILE has been systematically working on improving air pollution from the scientific investigation of fume emission and pollution-causing mechanisms to the R&D of key technologies in the industry, the development of products and equipment, and the final demonstration to solve the problems of efficient separation and fume purification in restaurants, food processing, and residential kitchens. The key project during the 13th Five-Year Plan period led by FOTILE has passed the mid-term acceptance.

“National team” of fume management, 18% above the national standard
According to the Guardian, air pollution hazards have posed a threat to human health. Currently, 90% of the world’s population are breathing polluted air. In the main causes of atmospheric pollution, in addition to industrial emissions and motor vehicle exhaust, another major air “killer” is from the kitchens of all households; that is, the fumes generated in the cooking process of daily meals, collectively known as cooking fumes. As Chinese people prefer frying in their cooking, the high oil temperature and huge fumes thus generated contribute to atmospheric PM2.5 “over the chart”.
On one hand is the old dining habit that is hard to kick—“Chinese appetite”; on the other is the health hazard that cannot be ignored—high-temperature fumes. There is no doubt that kitchen fumes control has become a key technical problem to be resolved urgently in the kitchen appliances industry.

In 2017, FOTILE took the lead in the “Key Technologies and Equipment for Efficient Oil Fume Separation and Fume Purification” of the special project “Research on the Causes and Control Technologies of Air Pollution” in China’s National Key R&D Program (NKP) during the “13th Five-Year Plan” period, extending focus from the effect of fume extraction in the kitchen to the control of fume emissions into the atmosphere. From the scientific investigation of fume emission and pollution-causing mechanisms to the R&D of key technologies in the industry, the development of products and equipment, and the final demonstration, this system project will provide strong support for the prevention and control of air pollution.
On May 10, 2019, the project successfully passed the mid-term acceptance and achieved the target beyond expectation. It is reported that the milestone achievements of the project have been applied in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei, Yangtze River Delta, and Pearl River Delta regions in the formulation of fume emission standards and group standards for environment-friendly range hoods. Meanwhile, in the emission reduction transformation of catering and food processing industrial units, FOTILE has conducted the first round of demonstration by applying efficient oil fume separation and fume purification technology, which has effectively reduced the odor of oil fume and noise nuisance to the public.
As one of the core research and technologies of the system, “electrostatic separation technology” enhances the grease separation effect based on the different electrical conductivity of grease due to the different structure, as well as the difference of electrostatic force acting on grease through the electric field. For range hoods, grease separation is an essential indicator to determine the pollution of grease emissions. The national standards expressly stipulate that: The grease separation rate of external exhaust hoods should be no less than 80%. A higher the grease separation rate means that more grease will be separated from the oil fume collected in the grease cup, and less grease particles will be discharged into the outdoor atmosphere.

For example, FOTILE Smart Star Cube CXW-358-Z1T is equipped with electrostatic separation technology based on the original contact, filter, rotation, and fling suction separation. The grease separation rate is increased from 95% to 98%*, one seemingly small 3% improvement for a product, but one giant leap for the hood industry. Behind it are the concerted efforts of FOTILE R&D team for thousands of days and nights, with more than 200 items tested alone. It is reported that the electrostatic separation technology will be gradually extended from domestic to commercial use and eventually provide solutions for efficient separation and purification of grease in restaurants, food processing and residential kitchens, reducing the pollution caused by grease emissions to the social environment to a greater extent.
Improve the “Breathing Happiness Index” for every inch of breathing space
Embedded inside the hood, the efficient oil fume separation and fume purification technology is not visible to the user. However, it has game changer to the efficiency optimization of range hoods. It allows users to truly enjoy the comfortable experience offered by the powerful function of range hoods, which solves not only the fume problem in the kitchen, but also the fume discharged to the outside.
FOTILE has innovation “ambition” beyond the mere technology PK, but more importantly, to enhance people’s happiness—for every inch of breathing space. For users, what kind of kitchen makes them happy? The kitchen that protects health is undoubtedly one. Kitchen health is not only about dining health, but also about breathing health. Just like GDP per capita and urban happiness index, breathing experience can also be quantified by “Breathing Happiness Index”. Through the control of kitchen fume and the improvement of users’ “Breathing Happiness Index”, FOTILE has extended the issue of fume extraction from the kitchen air to the atmospheric environment and achieved the unity of knowledge and action in response to the call of “Blue Sky Defense” on the World Environment Day.

FOTILE has always adhered to the concept that an enterprise should grow not only based on industry innovation, but also starting with consumer demand and respecting the general social environment, which is what an enterprise and a brand with decent ethics and good deeds should be. Responding to the call of World Environment Day this year means a lot for FOTILE: Firstly, continuously improving the control of kitchen fumes by accelerating the continuous innovation of own technology; secondly, increasing the users’ “Breathing Happiness Index” and guiding their awareness of environmental protection: “Protecting the air environment starts with the kitchen”; thirdly, releasing a strong signal to the kitchen appliances industry as a whole as the leader, driving the healthy growth of the industry and the sustainable development of the environment with technological innovation, and shouldering the social responsibility to protect the environment.
With relentless efforts, FOTILE has extended the research of fume purification technology from indoor to outdoor and from the kitchen to the whole society. A small progress in the kitchen will also bring about a giant leap of the society.
*98% grease separation available in models: Z1T-H, Z3T-H, EM7T.S-H, and EM10T.S-H only