Biodegradable Electrospun Poly(lactic acid) Nanofibers for Effective PM 2.5 Removal

In addition to the rapid urbanization and industrialization around the world, air pollution due to particulate matter is a substantial threat to human health. A considerable research effort has been devoted to the development of electrospun polymer nanofibers for air filter applications. Among these new technologies, electrostatic charge‐assisted air filtration is a promising technology for removing small particulate matter (PM). In this investigation, biodegradable electrospun poly(l ‐lactic acid) (PLLA) polymer nanofibers are employed for air filter applications. Electrostatic charges generated from the PLLA nanofiber can significantly enhance air filter applications. Compared with a 3M commercial respirator filter, electrospun PLLA fibrous filters exhibit a high efficiency of 99.3%. Even after 6 h of filtration time, the PLLA filtration membrane still exhibits a 15% improvement in quality factor for PM 2.5 particles than the 3M respirator. This is mainly attributed to the electrostatic force generated from the electrospun PLLA nanofibers, which significantly benefit submicron particle absorption. Due to their biodegradability, ease of fabrication, and relatively high efficiency, electrospun PLLA nanofibers show great promise in applications such as air cleaning systems and personal air purifier applications.     

Electrospinning polyethylene terephthalate/SiO2 nanofiber composite needle felt for enhanced filtration performance

In this study, polyethylene terephthalate (PET) nanofiber membrane fabricated by electrospinning was newly applied to needle-felt filters. The PET nanofiber membrane was electrospun in an optimal condition. Nanoparticles (SiO₂) were used to reduce the fiber diameter. Polyphenylene sulfide needle felt (PPS NF), hot melt adhesive film, and PET nanofiber membrane were compounded into sandwich-structured composite needle felt (PET/SiO₂ NNF) by heat treatment. The dynamic filtration performance of PET/SiO₂ NNF was compared with that of PPS NF and polytetrafluoroethylene-coated needle felt (PTFE CNF). The results showed that PET/SiO₂ NNF had a lower rate of increase of pressure drop and a higher dust removal rate. The completion cycle of PET/SiO₂ NNF was longer than PPS NF and PTFE CNF, which extended its service life in real applications. The successful synthesis of PET/SiO₂ NNF suggested a new method to synthesize an innovative high-performance needle-felt filter. © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2020 , 137, 48282.     

Preparation and Properties of PVDF/Fe3O4 Nanofibers with Magnetic and Electret Effects and their Application in Air Filtration

Electrospun electret filter material is widely studied because of its excellent removal effect on particulate matter from air streams. Here, a kind of high efficiency and low pressure drop nanofiber (NF) membrane with both electret effect and magnetic effect is developed, and compounded it with glass fiber mesh and polyester (polyethylene terephthalate) mesh to prepare a sandwich structure of NF anti‐haze window screen. Under the synergistic effect of magnetic particles, when the density is 2.06 g m^?2, the filtration efficiency of NF anti‐haze window screen can reach 99.95% for the fine particles below 0.3 µm, while the filtration pressure drop is only 58.5 Pa, with good light transmittance and excellent breaking strength (6.32 MPa). Therefore, polyvinylidene fluoride/Fe₃O₄ composite NF membrane has a potential application prospect in the field of air filtration.     

静电纺丝纤维滤材表征及其气液过滤性能

以聚丙烯腈与二甲基甲酰胺为原料配制纺丝溶液,采用静电纺丝技术制备玻璃纤维/聚丙烯腈纤维/玻璃纤维三层复合滤材,研究了纺丝溶液浓度与纺丝电压等参数对纤维形貌及尺寸的影响,分析了复合滤材的过滤性能. 结果表明,控制不同纺丝溶液浓度可得形貌不同的纤维,且溶液浓度越大纤维尺寸越大;纺丝电压对纤维形貌的影响较小,但增加纺丝电压使静电纺纤维层的孔径减小. 相比玻璃纤维滤材,复合滤材过滤效率明显提升,稳态效率最大可提升21%,最易穿透粒径效率最大可提升39%,但复合滤材孔径较小时,过程压降增加了一段跳跃阶段,纳米纤维层表面形成液膜,使复合滤材稳态压降升高.     

Improvement in nanofiber filtration by multiple thin layers of nanofiber mats

Nanofiber filtration is drawing great interest nowadays because of its large surface collection area as well as low air resistance. In this study, electrospun nanofiber mats of different thicknesses were evaluated for their filter quality factors. Shorter-term electrospun fiber mats exhibited a better quality factor than those longer-term electrospun ones. Multiple thin layers of nanofiber mats to improve the filter quality of the nanofiber filters were then evaluated. Filtration test results showed that the filter made up of multiple thin layers of nanofiber mats had a filter quality factor much higher than the single thick layer nanofiber mat. Better thickness uniformity in the multi-layer structure due to stacking compensation and smaller fiber diameters in nanofibers of short-term deposition time are two possible reasons for the improvement of the filter quality.     

Filter life comparison of different levels of nanofiber coated cleanable-surface filter for gas turbine

High-efficiency air filtration is a basic requirement for the most cost-effective operation of high-efficiency gas turbines. The filtration system protects the gas turbine from damaging debris. In gas turbine/dust collector applications, higher efficiency filtration could be achieved with nanofibers, which provide higher equipment protection than traditional media. With a nanofiber performance filter layer, the dust accumulates on the surface of the filtration media rather than within the media and could be cleaned off easily with a back pulse resulting in long filter life and a low-operating pressure drop. In this study five type of gas tribune nanofiber coated corrugated cellulose/synthetic filter media were developed. Nanofiber coating was adjusted for five filtration efficiency level, 50 ≤ E < 60, 60 ≤ E < 70, 70 ≤ E < 85, 85 ≤ E < 95 and 95 ≤ E, pore size and filter-life of the developed media were evaluated. One of the developed nanofiber coated media was also compared with two other commercial nanofiber coated gas tribune filter media, a glass fiber type filter media and a commercial fine fiber gas tribune filter media. It was seen that, with decreasing penetration levels due to nanofiber coating level, initial 30 cycle durations of filter life evaluation could reach about 229.9 to 250.7 min. Highest final cycle duration of 188.7 min belonged to cellulose/synthetic blend corrugated filter media with penetration of 13.66%. Nanofiber based surface filter media was cleaned up better than fine fiber media and final 30 cycle sequences were significantly higher. Surface of the nanofiber coated media was smoother when compared to fine fiber media and during the initial and final cycle test dust could not penetrate inside and could not hang to this smooth surface. So, with back pulse cleaning cake releasing have performed easily. It was also seen that, for higher filter life nanofiber coating should be uniform and robust to back pulse cleaning.     

Morphology enhancement of TiO2/PVP composite nanofibers based on solution viscosity and processing parameters of electrospinning method

In this work, different sol solutions with various titanium tetraisopropoxide (TIP)/glacial acetic acid ratios in 2‐propanol with 5 wt % poly(vinyl pyrrolidone) (PVP) (M_w = 360,000 g/mol) were prepared and electrospun. Composition of the prepared sols and as‐spun TiO₂/PVP nanofibers were determined by Fourier transform infrared and Raman spectroscopy methods. Morphology of the electrospun TiO₂/PVP nanofibers was studied by scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) techniques. Rheometry measurements of the sol solutions showed decrease of viscosity upon the addition of TIP to the polymer solutions with constant polymer and acid concentrations. The sol solution having the lowest viscosity (at shear rate 10 s^?1) but the highest TIP/glacial acetic acid ratio showed beaded nanofibers morphology when electrospun under 10 and 12 kV applied voltage while injection rate, needle tip to collector distance, and needle gauge were kept constant. However, smooth electrospun TiO₂/PVP composite nanofibers with the average nanofibers diameters (148 ± 79 nm) were achieved under the same condition when applied voltage increased to 15 kV. TEM micrographs of the electrospun TiO₂/PVP nanofiber showed that the TiO₂ particles with continuous structure are formed at the middle of the nanofiber and distributed along its axis. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2018 , 135, 46337.     

Performance of nanofiber/microfiber hybrid air filter prepared by wet paper processing

High-performance air filters composed of a hybrid structure of nanofiber/microfiber were fabricated using wet paper processing. Two types of nanofibers (NF) with average diameters of 180 and 234?nm were mixed with a suspension of microfibers (11.5 and 11.7?µm) in various mixing fractions. Then, the suspension was filtered to fabricate hybridized fiber sheets with a known nanofiber/microfiber composition. The effects of NF diameter and mixing fraction on the performance of the hybrid filters were experimentally investigated. With increasing NF fraction, both the particle collection efficiency and the pressure drop increased. The quality factor (Q_f) was used to evaluate the performance of the prepared filters. As predicted by the single fiber filtration theory, the experimentally obtained Q_f was almost independent of the mixing fraction of the NF. The collection efficiency and pressure drop of the hybrid filters could be controlled by the NF fraction at the same Q_f. Moreover, the inhomogeneity factor of fiber packing (δ) did not significantly affect Q_f over the δ range from 3 to 23 for our filters. This implies that the lower particle capturing efficiency due to heterogeneous packing could be compensated by a decrease in the pressure drop, resulting in the same Q_f value. Therefore, Q_f for particles smaller than 100?nm, which are in the diffusion-controlled regime, can be increased by reducing the NF diameter.

Copyright © 2019 American Association for Aerosol Research     

Development of a new personal air filter test system using a low-cost particulate matter (PM) sensor

Abstract

The extensive use of air filters has encouraged advances in both the fabrication and characterization of air filter technology. An affordable and accessible means of assessing the quality of air filters is greatly needed because of the high demand for these filters. We developed a personal air filter test (PAFT) system for measuring filter pressure drop, efficiency, and quality of filtration. The PAFT system utilizes a PM sensor (Sharp, GP2Y1010AU0F) to measure filtration efficiency. PM sensor performance was evaluated and optimized to guarantee its suitability for this application. The sensor performance evaluation studied the output responses to sampling flow, particle diameter, and PM sources. We also improved the sensor’s sensitivity. The experimental results show that the sensor had no significant influence on the sampling flow. The sensor output was highly dependent on the particle size and PM source, but its response curves remained linear, which was an advantage for filter efficiency measurement. We measured the efficiency of nanofiber filters of various efficiencies, comparing the results to a reference efficiency as measured by a CPC (TSI, 3772). The test resulted in a filtration coefficient (K_f), which was used to correct the PAFT efficiency measurement results. We also conducted filtration efficiency tests on commercial mask filters and the results showed good agreement to the reference, with a small average error of about 2.5%. The complete design of the PAFT and experimental methods is discussed in detail.

Copyright © 2020 American Association for Aerosol Research     

Preparation of TiO<Subscript>2</Subscript> incorporated polyacrylonitrile electrospun nanofibers for adsorption of heavy metal ions

This paper describes the adsorption of lead and cadmium ions from an aqueous solution using a composite of titanium dioxide (TiO₂)-incorporated polyacrylonitrile (PAN) electrospun nanofibers. Adsorption capacities and the mechanical response of the PAN/TiO₂ composite electrospun nanofibers are investigated at different weight percentages of TiO₂ (0.5, 1.0, 2.0, and 5.0 wt.%). The adsorption capacities of the composite PAN/TiO₂ (2.0 and 5.0 wt.%) for Pb(II) and Cd(II) are remarkably increased by approximately 114 and 47%, respectively, compared to those of pure PAN electrospun nanofibers. Moreover, the adsorption of Pb(II) and Cd(II) by PAN/TiO₂ nanofibers reaches an equilibrium within 60 min, and the process can be described using the nonlinear pseudo-second-order kinetic model. The adsorption isotherm study can be represented by the Langmuir model, which suggests the homogeneous distribution of monolayer adsorptive sites on the composite nanofiber surface. Furthermore, the ultimate tensile strength and ductility of all nanofiber membranes are measured through a uniaxial tension test. Mechanical tests reveal a reduction in the tensile strength of the PAN/TiO₂ composite nanofibers with increase in TiO₂ amount due to the possible formation of agglomerates and voids in the nanofiber structure.     

Fabrication and characterization of silver nanoparticle-incorporated bilayer electrospun–melt-blown micro/nanofibrous membrane

In this study, we fabricated an antifouling bilayered fibrous filter media having micro-nonwoven by melt blowing and nano-nonwoven by electrospinning process. Silver nanoparticle-incorporated polyurethane nanofibers were electrospun on the meltblown fiber of polypropylene. Silver nanoparticles were synthesized in situ in the polyurethane electrospun nanofibers through reduction of silver nitrate. The filter media were characterized by field emission scanning electron microscope, transmission electron microscopy, and X-ray diffraction and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy analyses. The composite membrane showed that a thin layer of electrospun nanofibers improved the filtration efficiency without substantial increase in pressure drop. In situ synthesis of Ag NPs imparted the antibacterial and antifouling characteristics to the membrane.     

Fabrication and Antibacterial Activity of Electrospun Nylon 6 Nanofibers Grafted With 2-Substituted Vinylimidazoles

The authors present the fabrication of electrospun nanofibers with antimicrobial properties by the UV-initiated grafting (photo-grafting) of 2-substituted vinylimidazoles onto nylon 6 nanofibers. The characterization was performed using IR spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM-EDX). The antimicrobial properties of the grafted electrospun nylon 6 nanofibers were evaluated against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus as model challenge microorganisms, using the dynamic shake flask method. All the grafted electrospun nylon 6 nanofibers exhibited excellent growth reduction of E. coli (99.94–99.99%) and S. aureus (99.55–99.99%). The electrospun nylon 6 nanofiber composites could be used twice before a decrease in antibacterial activity was observed. The study showed that electrospun nylon 6 nanofiber composites possess a potential for use to control pathogens in water.     

Bis-GMA/TEGDMA Dental Composites Reinforced with Electrospun Nylon 6 Nanocomposite Nanofibers Containing Highly Aligned Fibrillar Silicate Single Crystals

The objective of this research was to study the reinforcement of electrospun nylon 6/fibrillar silicate nanocomposite nanofibers on Bis-GMA/TEGDMA dental composites. The hypothesis was that the uniform distribution of nano-scaled and highly aligned fibrillar silicate single crystals into electrospun nylon 6 nanofibers would improve the mechanical properties of the resulting nanocomposite nanofibers, and would lead to the effective reinforcement of dental composites. The nylon 6/fibrillar silicate nanocomposite nanofibers were crystalline, structurally oriented and had an average diameter of approximately 250 nm. To relatively well distribute nanofibers in dental composites, the nanofiber containing composite powders with a particle structure similar to that in interpenetration networks were prepared first, and then used to make the dental composites. The results indicated that small mass fractions (1% and 2%) of nanofiber impregnation improved the mechanical properties substantially, while larger mass factions (4% and 8%) of nanofiber impregnation resulted in less desired mechanical properties.     

Dye-sensitized solar cells based on electrospun poly(vinylidenefluoride-co-hexafluoropropylene) nanofibers

Poly(vinylidenefluoride-co-hexafluoropropylene) (PVDF-HFP) nanofibers were prepared by the electrospinning method and used as polymer electrolytes in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). The electrolyte uptake and ionic conductivity of electrospun PVDF-HFP nanofibers with different diameters changed significantly, regardless of the nanofiber thickness. The PVDF-HFP nanofibers prepared from a 15 wt% spinning solution showed high ionic conductivity (1.295 S/cm) and electrolyte uptake (947 %). DSSCs based on the 15 wt% PVDF-HFP nanofiber electrolyte showed an electron transit time of 6.34 × 10^?3 s, electronic recombination time of 5.88 × 10^?2 s, and conversion efficiency of 3.13 %. Thus, we concluded that the electrospun PVDF-HFP nanofibers can be used as polymer electrolytes in flexible DSSCs as well.     

Effect of air blowing on the morphology and nanofiber properties of blowing‐assisted electrospun polycarbonates

Polycarbonate (PC) nanofibers are prepared using the air blowing‐assisted electrospinning process. The effects of air blowing pressure and PC solution concentration on the physical properties of fibers and the filtration performance of the nanofiber web are investigated. The air blowing‐assisted electrospinning process produces fewer beads and smaller nanofiber diameters compared with those obtained without air blowing. Uniform PC nanofibers with an average fiber diameter of about 0.170 μm are obtained using an applied voltage of 40 kV, an air blowing pressure of 0.3 MPa, a PC solution concentration of 16%, and a tip‐to‐collection‐screen distance (TCD) of 25 cm. The filtration efficiency improvement of the air blowing‐assisted electrospun web can be attributed to the narrow distribution of fiber diameter and small mean flow pore size of the electrospun web. Performance results show that the air blowing‐assisted electrospinning process can be applied to produce PC nanofiber mats with high‐quality filtration. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2011     

Acrylonitrile/vinyl acetate copolymer nanofibers with different vinylacetate content

In this study, free radical copolymerization of acrylonitrile (AN)–vinyl acetate (VAc) was performed for five different feed ratio of VAc (wt %) by using ammonium persulfate (APS) in the aqueous medium. The effect of VAc content on the spectrophotometric and thermal properties of AN–VAc copolymers was investigated by Fourier Transform Infrared–Attenuated Total Reflectance spectrophotometer (FTIR–ATR), differential scanning calorimeter (DSC), and thermal gravimetric analyzer (TGA). Thermal stability of homopolymer of AN is improved after being copolymerized. The electrospun P(AN‐co‐VAc) nanofibers were fabricated and the effect of VAc content on the morphologic properties of nanofibers was studied by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). The viscosity of the solution had a significant effect on P(AN‐co‐VAc) electrospinning and the nanofiber morphology. The average diameters of P(AN‐co‐VAc) nanofibers decreased 3.4 times with increasing feed ratio of VAc wt %. The P(AN‐co‐VAc) electrospun nanofiber mats, with the feed ratio of 30 wt % VAc, can be used as a nanofiber membrane in filtration and as a carbon nanofiber precursor for energy storage applications due to high surface to volume ratio, high thermal stability, homogeneous, and thinner nanofiber distribution. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci., 2013     

Figure of Merit of Composite Filters with Micrometer and Nanometer Fibers

We investigate the filtration performance of composite filters composed of micrometer and nanometer fibers. The filter quality is evaluated using the figure of merit, also known as the quality factor. We use analytical expressions for the pressure drop and filtration efficiency to compute the figure of merit. The effects on the figure of merit by fiber diameter, solidity, and thickness of nanometer and micrometer fibers and face velocity are investigated. Experimental data obtained using conventional filter media and nanofiber composite filters are then used to verify the calculated results. We find that for large particles (approximately 0.1 μm and above), nanofibers can improve the figure of merit compared to conventional filters. Smaller fiber size, larger solidity, and thickness of the nanofiber layer lead to better filtration performance in this size range. For small particles (approximately below 0.1 μm), nanofibers do not improve the figure of merit compared to conventional filter media. Larger fiber size, smaller solidity, and thickness of the nanofiber layer are preferred in this size range. We demonstrate that our procedure using analytical expression is a fast and effective tool for filter media design.     

Investigation of the figure of merit for filters with a single nanofiber layer on a substrate

We investigate filters composed of a layer of nanofibers on a substrate made of micrometer fibers and compare the performance of such nanofiber media to conventional micrometer fibrous filters. The performance of the nanofiber filters is evaluated using the figure of merit, which represents the ratio between the filtration efficiency and the pressure drop. Filtration tests were performed on four samples with different nanofiber solidities. As the nanofiber solidity increases, the filtration efficiency and the pressure drop both increase. We develop a numerical model to simulate the nanofiber filters. When the nanofiber solidity is appropriately adjusted, the pressure drop computed from the model is in good agreement with experimental results. Filtration efficiency for the nanofibers due to interception, inertial impaction and diffusion can be computed from the model. The simulation results are in good agreement with experiments for 20–780 nm particles but discrepancies exist for particles smaller than 20 nm. Our results show that nanofiber filters have better figure of merit for particles larger than about 100 nm compared to conventional fiberglass filters. For particles smaller than 100 nm, nanofiber filters do not perform better than conventional fiberglass filters.     

Experimental Study on Charge Decay of Electret Filter Due to Organic Solvent Exposure

The electret filter is a potential component to remove airborne particles due to its high collection efficiency and low pressure drop. However, its filtration performance is gradually decreased by exposure to organic solvents, which limits the application of electret filters. The effect of ethanol exposure on the filtration performance of polypropylene electret filters was investigated experimentally to clarify the charge decay phenomenon in this study. Experimental results revealed that filter performance is strongly dependent upon the challenged mass and existing state of an ethanol solvent. The filter performance was drastically degraded by exposure to ethanol droplets generated from a solution with ethanol concentrations above 30%; however, it was maintained during exposure to ethanol vapors. This tendency was also seen in the surface potentials of the exposed filter media. In addition, we found that the critical challenging amount of ethanol droplets was in the vicinity of 0.045 g/cm² to neutralize a tested electret filter in this study.

Copyright 2015 American Association for Aerosol Research     

Assessment of surface and depth filters by filter quality

This paper reviews the concept of filter quality (q_F) for dust filtration media composed of different structures: metal fiber beds (MFB), fabric filters (BF), and fly ash filters (FAF). Filter quality is a useful index of the filtration performance, which incorporates both pressure drop and filtration efficiency. Major parameters affecting the filter quality are filtration velocity in the range of 0.06-0.19 m/s, dust loading, porosity of the medium in the range of 75-93%, and internal structure of the medium. The experimental observation showed that filter quality decreased with increasing filtration velocity or dust concentration. A unique increase in filter quality during the initial stage of filtration appeared with the FAF as a result of the predominately surface filtration with less pore clogging. Nevertheless, the filter quality cannot be taken as an absolute indicator of filter performance, but rather it should be used just as a reference parameter depending on operating conditions. The results of this work show that fly ash filters are capable of providing more stable performance, particularly during the initial stage of filtration, and thereafter of a certain time filter quality initiates to decline as other filters.