Aerosol Filtration with Eco-Responsible Electrospun Nanofiber Media

High-efficiency filtration media are widely used in respiratory protective equipment and air purification systems to capture fine and ultrafine aerosols, which can penetrate deeply into the respiratory system and are associated with adverse health effects. However, most filtration media are manufactured from petroleum-based polymers such as polypropylene, raising concerns about their environmental impact.
To overcome these limitations, new fabrication technologies are being explored. Electrospinning has emerged as a promising technique for producing nanofibrous filtration media that maintain or even enhance filtration efficiency while reducing the environmental footprint of the materials used. This technique produces nanofibrous structures with nanoscale fiber diameters, high surface area, and interconnected porous networks. These structural features enhance aerosol capture through diffusion, interception, and inertial mechanisms, making electrospun nanofiber media promising candidates for high-efficiency aerosol filtration applications (Xue et al., 2019).
Previous studies have shown that electrospun nanofiber membranes can achieve excellent aerosol filtration performance while maintaining relatively low-pressure drops compared with conventional fibrous filters. In recent years, several studies have explored eco-responsible polymers to reduce the environmental impact of filtration media. However, many of these approaches still rely on organic solvents that present significant toxicity and environmental concerns, posing risks to workers and generating hazardous emissions during fabrication. Consequently, developing electrospun filtration media that combine high aerosol filtration performance with safer and more eco-responsible fabrication using biosourced polymers and less toxic solvents remains an important challenge.
Here, electrospun nanofiber filtration media were developed and their aerosol filtration performance evaluated while advancing more eco-responsible fabrication approaches. The resulting nanofibrous media exhibited uniform fiber morphology and high aerosol capture efficiency, reaching 99.3% filtration efficiency at the most penetrating particle size with a pressure drop of 5.8 Pa. These results highlight the potential of electrospun nanofiber media for high-efficiency and more eco-responsible aerosol filtration technologies.
Reference:
Xue, J., Wu, T., Dai, Y., & Xia, Y. (2019). Electrospinning and Electrospun Nanofibers: Methods, Materials, and Applications. Chemical Reviews, 119(8), 5298–5415. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.chemrev.8b00593