Assessment of Dust Holding Capacity of Nanofiber Media and Its Ability to Capture Synthetic Dust

Background and Aim: Evaluation of the performance of these products is mainly based on their efficiency in numerical removal of particles in the range of different sizes. While the most important features of filters are the dust holding capacity, and the ability to remove the mass of particles with different densities, fewer studies have addressed this issue. Therefore, the present study evaluates the dust holding capacity of nanofiber media and its ability to capture synthetic dust to determine its ability to remove the mass of particles with different densities. At the same time, the initial efficiency of the fabricated media in the numerical removal of particles is also examined. Methods: For producing nanofibers, a 16% w/w electrospinning solution of polyacrylonitrile polymer was prepared. The initial efficiency test in numerical removal of particles was performed according to ISO 29463 standard and the BS EN 779 standard was used for synthetic dust capture or arrestance test. Morphological characteristics, diameter, and surface porosity of the produced nanofibers were investigated using scanning electron microscopy. Results: The investigation of the numerical removal of particles by the produced media showed that the average initial efficiency for collecting particles from 10 to 1000 nm was 72.06 ± 19.62%. The results of the arrestance test showed that with increasing the mass of injected particles in different loading stages, the media pressure drop also increases. The dust holding capacity and the arrestance of the media for the final pressure drop of 265 Pascal were calculated to be about 180 mg and 99.86%, respectively. The total mean of arrestance was calculated to be about 99.86% after 6 loading steps. The morphological characterization of the produced nanofibers showed that the average diameter of the fibers was 380 nm with a coefficient of variation of 1.20, the morphology of nanofibers was non-uniform, and the surface porosity was determined to be 51%. Conclusion: Proper collection efficiency and dust holding capacity, along with the low thickness of nanofiber media, make their applicability more specific in air filtration properties.