“Polymers” the renowned journal of polymer science by MDPI published
an article entitled “Electrospun Nanofibre Filtration Media to Protect against Biological or Nonbiological Airborne Particles”. The authors of the article state that electrospun nanofibres can outperform their melt-blown counterparts in many applications, especially air filtration. The finding is backed by data monitored with the Palas® PMFT 1000.
Increasing awareness of the correlation between air quality and human health has led to a rise in the demand for improved personal protection from airborne pollutants and disease-causing microbes. In this respect, electrospun nanofibres (NFs) provide unique capabilities if used as an active protective layer in facemasks. When compared with commonly used filters containing melt-blown (MB) fibres, electrospun NFs provide enhanced protection against airborne particles, bacteria, and viruses such as COVID-19.
SEM micrographs of melt-blown fibres and ES nanofibres from FilterLayrTM
The article introduces the electrospun nanofibre filter media, FilterLayrTM. The outstanding uniformity of the nanofibres was indicated by the correlation between pressure drop (∆P) and areal weight with R2 values in the range of 0.82 to 0.98 across various test air velocities.
Comparison of filtration test method requirements.
The researchers used the Palas® PMFT 1000 as a monitoring instrument to compare the filtration efficiency of the filter media. Different filter materials, including NF-containing materials, are measured at different areal weights per NIOSH 42CFR84 (N95), ASTM D3502, and ASTM F2299.Test of respiratory masks better than the standard with additionally exact analysis of filter mask efficiency for SARS-CoV-2 (size approx. 120 nm up to 160 nm). 8 size channels for efficiency from 100nm and 180 nm.
（A）Size comparison of particles present in nature; (B) the filtration mechanisms associated with electrospun nanofibre filters.
In this article, the authors describe the process of filter inspection using the Palas® PMFT 1000 and the comparison method of monitoring data in the experiment. If you would like to read the full article, please click to register now to download the technical article in pdf format.