Filter Clogging by Bimodal Aerosol

Pressure drop evolution during filtration of bimodal aerosol was studied experimentally. A low-pressure drop pre-filter upstream of the actual collection filter was demonstrated to significantly reduce the pressure drop growth rate, when the aerosol is dominated by coarse particles. The pressure drop evolution during depth-filtration, that took place mainly in a pre-filter, could be predicted by adding up the separately measured contributions from the unimodal fine and coarse aerosols. However, the cake filtration (pre-filter was not used) of coarse particles alone resulted in a faster clogging rate as compared to the same amount of coarse particles accompanied with fine particles (mass ratio coarse:fine 3:1). Apparently, fine particles deposited on coarse particles affect their surface properties and thus the porosity of the cake formed.     

Experimental Study on the Loading Characteristics of Needlefelt Filters with Micrometer-Sized Monodisperse Aerosols

In this work, three types of needlefelt filters, made of Polyester (PE), Ryton Sulfar (RS), and Polyaramid (PA), were tested to in- vestigate the aerosol loading characteristics of fabric filters when challenged with micrometer-sized monodisperse potassium sodium tartrate (PST) particles. A fibrous filter with packing density of 9%, thickness of 0.38 mm, and fiber diameter of 5.1 θ m was included for comparison. A vibrating orifice monodisperse aerosol generator was used to produce three different sizes (5, 10, and 20 θ m) of PST particles for aerosol loading experiment. An ultrasonic atomizing nozzle and a TSI constant output nebulizer were used to generate polydisperse PST particles for the aerosol penetration test. The aerosol penetration of submicrometer-sized particles through the filters was measured by using a Scanning Mobility Particle Sizer. An Aerodynamic Particle Sizer was used to measure the penetration fraction of aerosol particles larger than 0.8 θ m. The pressure drop across the filter was monitored by using pressure transducers, which were calibrated against an inclined manometer. Airflows of 5, 10 , 20, and 30 cm/s were used to study the flow dependency. The aerosol penetration results showed that the particles larger than 3 θ m did not penetrate the clean fabric filters tested in the present study. The loading curves (plots of pressure drop against sampling time) displayed three regions: an initial region of fast increase, a transition region, and a final linear region after the dust formation point. After the formation point of the dust cake, both fabric and fibrous filters shared the same slope (of the loading curves). The slope of different regions of the loading curves was determined by many factors, such as size of challenge aerosol, face found to be critical to the performance of the fabric filters. In order lower porosity, which caused an extra rise in pressure drop across velocity, surface treatment, and the compressibility of the dust cake forming on the filter. The method of final surface treatment was to avoid the unnecessary rise in air resistance, the melting clumps formed during final surface treatment should be as thin and narrow as possible, just enough to support the filter bag cleaning. From the standpoint of filter quality and energy consumption, the low filtration velocity has to be adopted whenever possible, because high filtration velocity not only led to lower filter quality (in particular for submicrometer-sized particles) but also created dust cake of lower porosity, which caused an extra rise in pressure drop across thet dust cake.     

Experimental Study on the Effect of Fiber Orientation on Filter Quality

Most filtration models assume that the air stream runs perpendicularly to the orientation of the filter fibers. However, cigarette filters remove aerosol particles apparently by a different filter configuration in that the fiber orientation almost parallels the air streamlines. To focus on the effect of fiber orientation, cellulose acetate filters were used in this work to facilitate the filter performance comparison. A piece of original round cigarette filter was molded to form a cube. The same piece of filter was used for both perpendicular and parallel orientations, to avoid the variability caused by the non-uniform filter media distribution. DOP aerosol particles used in the tests were generated by either a constant output aerosol nebulizer or an ultrasonic atomizing nozzle. A Po-210 radiation source was used to neutralize the challenge aerosols to the Boltzmann charge equilibrium. A scanning mobility particle sizer (for < 0.8 μm) and an aerodynamic particle sizer (for > 0.8 μm) were used to measure aerosol number concentrations and size distributions upstream and downstream of the cigarette filters. The results showed that parallel and orthogonal filters behave similarly. However, the pressure drop across parallel filter was lower than for the perpendicular filter, indicating that the airflow is more laminar passing through the parallel filters. Possibly for the same reason, aerosol penetration through parallel filter was higher than the orthogonal filter, although the difference may not be statistically significant. When a comparison of the fiber orientation is based on filter quality, orthogonal filter performs better than parallel filter, if face velocity is lower than 60 cm/s. Parallel filter performs better only when the particles are smaller than the most penetrating size and under high face velocity.     

Aligned carbon nanotube sheet high efficiency particulate air filters

Aerosol filters, made with conventional micro-fiber fabrics, are designed to efficiently capture small particles from the air. Filters constructed of nano-fiber fabric structures provide even greater filtration efficiency than conventional micro-fiber fabrics due to their higher surface area and smaller pore size. Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are very small diameter fibers that have the potential to be integrated into filters to further increase particle capture efficiency. In this study, CNT sheets, drawn from millimeter tall CNT arrays, were integrated between traditional micro-fiber fabrics to produce aerosol filters. The filtration performance of the novel filters showed that when the number of CNTs layers increased, the filtration efficiency increased dramatically, while the pressure drop also increased. In order to meet high efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filter requirements with a reasonable pressure drop, CNTs were laid in a cross-plied structure within the filter. The results demonstrated that the three layer cross-ply structure provided 99.98% filtration efficiency at 0.3 μm particle size at a 10 cm/s face velocity, making it a viable method for producing low basis weight HEPA filters utilizing CNTs as the main filtration component.     

Effects of Vehicle Cabin Filter Efficiency on Ultrafine Particle Concentration Ratios Measured In-Cabin and On-Roadway

Understanding the in-cabin microenvironment of vehicles is important for assessing human exposure to ultrafine particles (UFPs) of vehicular origin. Filtration through the cabin filter is one of the processes that determine the ratio of in-cabin to on-roadway (I/O) UFP concentrations. In this study, two filter test systems were used to measure the particle filtration efficiencies of fine, ultrafine, and coarse particles. Two types of particles (diesel exhaust UFPs and Arizona test particles) were used to represent the particle types expected in the on-roadway environment. The most penetrating particle size was around 300 nm with filtration efficiency lower than 20%. As the filter face velocity increased from 0.1 to 0.5 m s^?1, the filtration efficiency decreased by 10–20%. For vehicles that were frequently driven under heavy traffic conditions (65,000–72,000 vehicles day^?1) the pressure drop across the cabin filter increased up to 45 Pa within 10 months. It took 20 months to achieve the same pressure drop under moderate traffic conditions (10,000–24,000 vehicles day^?1) and 30 months under light conditions (700–2,000 vehicles day^?1). When the vehicle ventilation fan was on and the recirculation was off, it took approximately 10 months under heavy traffic conditions for UFP I/O ratios to increase by 40%. Explicit relationships between UFP I/O ratios and filter usage under various conditions were derived to facilitate cabin filter change decisions based on individual preferences.     

Characteristics of electrostatic cyclone/bag filter with inlet types (lab and pilot scale)

The main purpose of this study was to investigate experimentally the characteristics of an electrostatic cyclone/bag filter with inlet types (upper and bottom inlet) in order to overcome the low collection efficiency for submicron particles and high pressure drop, which were the main problems of general fabric bag filters. The experiment was performed to analyze the collection efficiency and pressure drop of the electrostatic cyclone/bag filter compared with that of conventional fabric bag filters with various experimental parameters such as the inlet type (upper and bottom), inlet velocity (filtration velocity) and applied voltages. From the results, the upper inlet type showed a slightly higher pressure drop reduction ratio as 40–90% than that of bottom inlet. In addition, the electrostatic cyclone/bag filter represented an increment of over 5% for the collection efficiency of submicron particles (around 1 Μm) in comparison with the general fabric filter. Presented at the Int’/Sym. on Chem. Eng. (Cheju, Feb. 8–10, 2001), dedicated to Prof. H. S. Chun on the occasion of his retirement from Korea University.     

Analytical expressions for predicting capture efficiency of bimodal fibrous filters

In this work, a series of numerical simulations are formulated for studying the performance (collection efficiency and pressure drop) of filter media with bimodal diameter distributions. While there are numerous analytical expressions available for predicting performance of filters made up of fibers with a unimodal fiber diameter distribution, there are practically no simple relations for bimodal filters. In this paper, we report on the influence of the fiber diameter dissimilarity and the number (mass) fraction of each component on the performance of a bimodal filter. Our simulation results are utilized to establish a unimodal equivalent diameter for the bimodal media, thereby taking advantage of the existing expressions of unimodal filters for capture efficiency prediction. Our results indicate that the cube root relation of Tafreshi, Rahman, Jaganathan, Wang, and Pourdeyhimi (2009) offers the closest predictions for the range of particle diameters, coarse fiber number (mass) fractions, fiber diameter ratios, and solid volume fractions (SVF) considered in this work. Our study revealed that the figure of merit (FOM) of bimodal filters increases with increasing fiber diameter ratios for Brownian particles (d_p<100 nm), and decreases when challenged with larger particles. It has also been shown that when increasing the ratio of coarse fibers to fine fibers, FOM increases for Brownian particles, and decreases for larger particles.     

Surface-collection efficiency of Nuclepore filters for nanoparticles

The flat surface of Nuclepore filters is suitable for observing collected particles with a scanning electron microscope (SEM). However, experimental data on surface-collection efficiency are limited because surface-collection efficiencies cannot be measured directly using aerosol measuring instruments. In this study, the surface-collection efficiencies of Nuclepore filters were determined by establishing the ratio of the number of particles deposited on the surface of the filter visually counted with an SEM to the number of inflow particles counted by a condensation particle counter, using monodispersed polystyrene latex particles (30–800 nm) and silver particles (15–30 nm). Because Nuclepore filters with smaller pore sizes would be expected to produce higher minimum surface-collection efficiency and a higher pressure-drop, 0.08 and 0.2 µm Nuclepore filters were chosen as the test filters in view of both collection efficiency and pressure drop. The results showed that the minimum surface-collection efficiencies of the 0.08 µm pores at face velocities of 1.9 and 8.4 cm·s^?1 were approximately 0.6 and 0.7, respectively, and those of the 0.2 µm pores at face velocities of 1.5 and 8.6 cm·s^?1 were approximately 0.8 and 0.6, respectively. Because the pressure drop of the 0.2 µm pore filter was lower than that of the 0.08 µm pore filter under the same flow-rate conditions, the 0.2 µm pore filter would be more suitable considering the pressure drop and collection efficiency. The obtained surface collection efficiencies were quantitatively inconsistent with theoretical surface-collection efficiencies calculated using conventional theoretical models developed to determine the collection efficiency of filters with larger pores.

© 2016 American Association for Aerosol Research     

Filtration and loading characteristics of granular bed filters

The purpose of this study was to investigate the filtration and loading characteristics of granular bed filters. Stainless steel holders (diameter 71.6 mm, height 70 mm) were fabricated to accommodate 500 g of zirconium oxide (ZrO₂) beads, as the packed media of granular bed. Monodisperse ZrO₂ granules (0.3, 0.8, 2 and 4 mm in diameter) were used to demonstrate the effect of the granule size and packing geometry on both pressure drop and aerosol penetration. From the filter quality perspective, the selection of the ‘best” filter is complicated. Assuming a low face velocity (e.g., 0.58 cm/s), large granule size is more cost-effective because of the higher filter quality factor. The phenomenon implies that the gain in filtration efficiency due to larger surface area (of small granules in the filter) did not compensate for the increase in air resistance. After the cake formation point, the dust cake on glass fiber filter became compressed. This dust cake compaction caused the pressure to drop precipitously and intermittently. In contrast, the rate of increase in pressure drop of the dust cake formed on the granular bed filters decreased with time probably due to the pinhole channels in the increasing mass load. The size and density of the pinholes are determined by the granule size, the face velocity and the size of the challenge aerosols.     

Size-Resolved Penetration Through High-Efficiency Filter Media Typically Used for Aerosol Sampling

We have developed a new, fully controlled filter testing device and have used it to measure size-resolved penetration through a typically used filtration media for (but not only) atmospheric aerosol sampling. Twenty membrane and fiber filter pieces (mixed cellulose ester filters, polytetrafluoroethylene filters, quartz fiber filters, glass fiber filters, and polycarbonate filters) of various manufacturers and filter codes were examined. High variability in the penetration curve shapes, most penetrating particle size (MPPS) (from 20 nm to 90 nm) and penetration maxima (from 0.001% to almost 100%) has been found. The dependence of pressure drop on face velocity generally agrees with theory, the comparison of penetration at various face velocities proved the theoretical equations being able to determine MPPS only partially correctly. Although the variability within an individual filter of the same code is not negligible, it is small compared to the differences between the various filter types. The results not only differed from the information provided by the manufacturers, but in many cases also provided information otherwise unavailable, although affecting the sampling and also the ability of comparison with theory. To have enough information for the proper choice of the filter for a given purpose, it would be necessary to have not only total penetration given from the DOP standard measurement, but the MPPS, penetration maximum value and pressure drop as well.

Copyright 2015 American Association for Aerosol Research     

Collection efficiency of sintered ceramic filters made of submicron spheres

The performance of filters made of sintered submicron alumina particles was evaluated. The filter has a high collection efficiency and high pressure drop, requiring the development of a special measuring system for its evaluation. The system consists of a polydisperse NaCl particle generator, a differential mobility analyzer (DMA), an ejector to supply aerosols for testing filters with high pressure drop, and a mixing-type condensation nucleus counter (CNC) capable of obtaining a stable reading of very low concentration particles. Penetrations as low as 10⁻⁹ can be measured in the particle diameter range of 0.02-0.14 μm. Two filters made by sintering 0.60 and 0.84 μm alumina particles were evaluated. The experimental data collected served as the basis of theoretical development. Following the single fibre theory, the filter penetration is calculated by using a single sphere as the element. Both the diffusion and interception collection mechanisms were taken into account. The resulting equation gives a general trend of efficiency curves as a function of the parameters involved, e.g. the test aerosol size, packed particle size and filtration velocity. However, it is not sufficiently accurate for providing quantitative performance results.     

Effect of solid monodisperse particles on the pressure drop of fibrous filters

The increase in pressure drop across glass HEPA filters has been measured as a function of particle mass loading using polystyrene latex particles (PSL). PSL particles in several different sizes were generated as challenge aerosols. For each particle size distribution, the specific resistance (K₂) was calculated by measuring the mass of PSL particles loaded per unit area of filter and the pressure drop across the filters at a given filtration velocity. In all cases, the specific resistance of the filter cake increased as the aerodynamic mean particle diameter decreased at the same mass loading. This correlation equation was modified by using the lognormal conversion method suggested by Raabe [1971] for a polydisperse particle size distribution; then the modified equation was expressed as a function of geometric mean particle diameter and standard deviation which could be obtained by the measuring instruments (PDS 3603; TSI Inc.). The advantage of this approach over other methods is the use of a more convenient prediction of pressure drop, if we know the geometric mean particle diameter and standard deviation, which could be easily measured. The values of porosities, obtained from the pressure drop responses of loading in the filters using the Rundnick and First equation, were compared with other researches.     

Kinetics of the clogging and optimization of prefilters in a two-stage air cleaning system

The kinetics of the clogging of filters by submicron solid aerosol particles in the diffusion mode of deposition is studied, and a method is developed for optimizing the parameters of a prefilter in a two-stage system of fine air cleaning that consists of a prefilter and a final filter. The relation of the maximum allowable pressure drop to the optimum radius of the fibers, the optimum thickness of the prefilter, and the volume of the particles captured by the system is derived. It is shown that at a fixed radius of the fibers, the dependence of the final pressure drop and the dust holding capacity on the radius of the particles has a maximum that approximately corresponds to the radius of most penetrating particles.     

High-Volume Aerosol Filtration and Mitigation of Inertial Particle Rebound

The performance of electrostatically charged blown microfiber filter media was characterized for high-volume sampling applications. Pressure drop and aerosol collection efficiency were measured at air pressures of 55.2 and 88.7 kilopascals (kPa) and filter face velocities ranging from 2.5 to 11.25 meters per second (m/s). Particle penetration was significant for particles above 0.5 micrometers (μm) in aerodynamic diameter where the onset of particle rebound was observed as low as 200 nanometers (nm). Particle retention was enhanced by treating filters in an aqueous solution of glycerol. Adding this retention agent eliminated electrostatic capture mechanisms but mitigated inertial rebound. Untreated filters had higher nanoparticle collection efficiencies at lower filter face velocities where electrostatic capture was still significant. At higher filter face velocities, nanoparticle collection efficiencies were higher for treated filters where inertial capture was dominant and particle rebound was mitigated. Significant improvements to microparticle collection efficiency were observed for treated filters at all air flow conditions. At high air pressure, filter efficiency was greater than 95% for particles less than 5 μm. At low air pressure, performance enhancements were not as significant since air velocities were significantly higher through the fiber mat. Measured single fiber efficiencies were normalized by the theoretical single fiber efficiency to calculate adhesion probability. The small fiber diameter (1.77 μm) of this particular filter gave large Stokes numbers and interception parameters forcing the single fiber efficiency to its maximum theoretical value. The adhesion probability was plotted as a function of the ratio of Stokes and interception parameter similar to the works of others. Single fiber efficiencies for inertial nanoparticle collection were compared to existing theories and correlations.

Copyright 2014 American Association for Aerosol Research     

Clogging of fibrous filters by liquid aerosol particles: Experimental and phenomenological modelling study

Fibrous filters are the most common means used to separate liquid aerosol particles from an industrial gas stream. The pressure drop and penetration (=1-efficiency) are the most important performance criteria of the filter. In this study, experimental and modelling results describing the pressure drop and penetration evolution of a glass microfibre HEPA filter are presented. For the experimental part, the pressure drop and penetration evolutions of a HEPA filter are described as well as the influence of the filtration velocity on those evolutions. For the modelling part, the physical collection mechanisms taken into account and their mathematical expressions which are the basis of the phenomenological model are described in a first step. After that the experimental values are compared to their modelled counterparts. Different efficiency models from the literature have been tested in order to determine the one closest to the experimental values. The influence of the filtration velocity on the model is studied in the last part. The model presented here is capable of describing the pressure drop and penetration evolution of a HEPA filter over the whole filtration period.     

Application of nanofibers to improve the filtration efficiency of the most penetrating aerosol particles in fibrous filters

Conventional, mechanical fibrous filters made of microfibers exhibit a local minimum of fractional collection efficiency in the aerosol particle size-range between 100 and 500 nm, which is called the most penetrating particle size (MPPS). Simple theoretical calculations predict that this efficiency may be significantly increased using nanofibrous media. The main objective of this paper is an experimental verification of these expectations and simultaneously checking whether this anticipated gain in the filtration efficiency is not overpaid with an excessive pressure drop. For this purpose we developed a modified melt-blown technology, which allowed us to produce filters composed of micrometer as well as nanometer sized fibers. One conventional microfibrous filter and five nanofibrous filters were examined. The complete structural characteristics, pressure drop and efficiency of removal of aerosol particles with diameters 10-500 nm were determined for all media. The results of the experiments confirmed that using nanofibrous filters a significant growth of filtration efficiency for the MPPS range can be achieved and the pressure drop rises moderately. Simultaneously, we noticed a shift of the MPPS towards smaller particles. Consequently, the quality factor for bilayer systems composed of a microfibrous support and a nanofibrous facial layer was considerably higher than this one for a conventional microfibrous filter alone. Additionally, it was found that utilization of many-layer nanofibrous filters combined with a single microfibrous backing layer is even more profitable from the quality factor standpoint. Comparing experimental results with theoretical calculations based on the single-fiber theory we concluded that for microfibrous filters a fairly good agreement can be obtained if the resistance-equivalent fiber diameter is used in calculations instead of the mean count diameter determined from the SEM images analysis; in the latter case, filtration efficiency computed theoretically is slightly overestimated. This is even more evident for nanofibrous media, suggesting that in such case a structural filter inhomogeneity has a strong influence on the filter efficiency and its resistance and one should strive for minimization of this effect manufacturing nanofibrous filters as homogeneous as possible. We can finally conclude that fibrous filters containing nanofibers, which are produced using the melt-blown technique, are very promising and economic tools to enhance filtration of the most penetrating aerosol particles.     

Enhancing the performance of fibrous filters by means of acoustic waves

The influence of low-frequency acoustic waves on the operating time of fibrous filters was investigated experimentally. It was found that the application of acoustic waves can dramatically extend the operating time of fibrous filters. The experiments indicate that at frequencies of 50–1000 Hz and sound pressure levels of 110–130 dB the operating time of fibrous filters increases 2–10 times, as compared to filtration without acoustics. The effect is more pronounced at lower frequencies and higher sound intensities. A simple theoretical model shows that, because of secondary acoustic streaming, the aerosol particles moving toward the filter surface are deflected toward the deposited particles, resulting in increased voids and a more porous structure of the filter cake, which in turn leads to a lower pressure drop across the filter. This conjecture is supported by pictures of the filter cake surface.     

Performance Evaluation of Electrostatically Augmented Air Filters Coupled with a Corona Precharger

An experimental study of electrostatically augmented air (EAA) filters coupled with a corona precharger has been conducted using Arizona road dusts and tobacco smoke. The measurements of filter efficiency and pressure drop across the EAA filter have been made using an ASHRAE 52.1-1992 filter test system and an opacity meter to measure the particle concentration upstream and downstream of the test filter. The two-stage EAA filter unit consists of the positive corona precharger upstream of a filter, to precharge particles with the electrical strength of 4.7 kV/cm, and an electrified filter collector, which has folded media with meshy metal separators, in the upstream and downstream side gaps. DC voltage of +1,000 V (1.4 kV/cm) is applied between the upstream and downstream separators to produce an electric field between the separators and media as well as across the media in a polarity so that most of the precharged particulates are collected on the upstream filter collector. A conventional filter was measured and had 70.0% efficiency with dusts of 1.96 w m in mass median diameter and 2.5 m/s face velocity, while the EAA filter had 92.9% efficiency. An electrical effect on the EAA filter was evaluated to both improve the filter efficiency and reduce the pressure drop across the filter. Also, the performance evaluation of the EAA filter using an air handling chamber system in occupied space was investigated with tobacco smoke particles.     

进料位置与风速对旋风分级器颗粒分级效果的影响

根据旋风分级器内气流速度分布特点进行了进料区域划分,运用非稳态离散相模型和分级实验对比了3个代表性进料位置对颗粒运动轨迹及分级精度的影响,分析了1 μm和10 μm颗粒在不同区域内的受力情况。结果表明,边壁区域进料造成粗组分中细粉夹带现象严重,分级精度差;中部进料区域内流场强度大,粗颗粒受离心力强,细颗粒受轴向气流曳力大,有利于减少颗粒在分级区的停留时间,实现粗、细颗粒的快速分级,对改善分级精度有利;中心位置进料延长了粗颗粒的分级运动路程,增加了粗组分跑损的概率,模拟计算15 μm的粗颗粒进入细组分的质量分数达到11.7%。经实验验证,入口气速在10～22 m·s^-1,中部区域进料时分级后粗、细组分粒度分布曲线重合区面积最小,分级粒径比率值平均提高了25.3%,研究结果为离心气流分级设备的进料位置设计提供了一定的指导。     

Performance of fibrous filters during nanoparticle cake formation

Fibrous filters are highly efficient in removing micrometer particles, but their performance in the nanometer particle range is still little known. The aim of this study was to evaluate pressure drop and collection efficiency during nanoparticles cake formation using commercial fibrous filters. The filter media used were High Efficiency Particulate Air (HEPA) and polyester filters. The aerosols were generated by a commercial inhaler using a 5 g/L solution of NaCl and the particles produced were in the size range from 6 to 800 nm, with a peak at around 40 nm. A superficial velocity (v_s) of 0.06 m/s was employed. During the filtration, the maximum pressure drop established was ?P ₌ ?P_f +980Pa, where ?P_f is the initial pressure drop of the filter. The collection efficiency was determined for a clean filter and for intermediate pressure drops. The filtration curves obtained showed that the HEPA filter provided greater surface filtration, compared to the polyester filter. Comparison of the collection efficiencies for clean filters revealed that the HEPA filter was highly efficient, even in the absence of cake, while the polyester filter showed initial collection efficiencies of between 20 and 40% for particles in the size range from 100 nm to 1000 nm. However, after formation of the filter cake, the collection efficiencies of both filters were almost 100% during the final stage of filtration. This shows that the fibrous filter can be applied in several industrial processes with highly efficient nanoparticle separation, after the formation of a thin layer cake filtration.