Abstract
Theoretical expressions of gas filtration science were applied for a rigorous evaluation of the enhanced efficiency of a micro-fibrous filter medium after coating it with electrospun nanofibers. An extended form of the Kuwabara hydrodynamic factor was used to cover the particle size range considered (5.94–224.7 nm). A Boltzmann particle charge distribution (as applied in the experiments) was assumed and the effects of the main particle deposition mechanisms were considered, most of which are ignored in studies concerning the collection of nanoparticles using filters. The absolute errors were ± 5% for particles in the size range 50–200 nm, which confirmed the better fits obtained with the assumptions adopted in this work. The collection efficiency was greatly enhanced by the addition of nanofibers (increasing from 6.39 to 94.2% for 200 nm NaCl particles), due to predominance of the diffusional mechanism and interception due to diffusion for particles with sizes up to 150 nm, while interception of particles flowing with the air streamlines was most important for larger particles.
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Acknowledgements
The authors are grateful for the financial support provided by CNPq (141299/2019-3) and CAPES (001). The authors also thank the Laboratory of Structural Characterization (LCE/DEMa/UFSCar) for the provision of general facilities, and Ahlstrom-Munksjö (Brazil) for supplying the cellulose filter media used in the tests.
Funding
This work was supported by grants from CNPq (141299/2019-3) and CAPES (001).
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Oliveira, A.E., Aguiar, M.L. & Guerra, V.G. Theoretical Analysis of Air Filtration Phenomena for a Micro-fibrous Filter Medium Enhanced with Electrospun Nanofibers. Aerosol Sci Eng 5, 81–92 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s41810-020-00086-y
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s41810-020-00086-y