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Nithya R, Thirunavukkarasu A, Hemavathy RV, Sivashankar R, Kishore KA, Sabarish R. Functionalized nanofibers in gas sorption process: a critical review on the challenges and prospective research. ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING AND ASSESSMENT 2023; 195:969. [PMID: 37466735 DOI: 10.1007/s10661-023-11491-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/06/2023] [Accepted: 06/10/2023] [Indexed: 07/20/2023]
Abstract
Air pollution has become the most important environmental and human health threat as it is accounting for about 7 million deaths across the globe every year. Particulate matter (PM) derived from the combustion of fossil fuels, biomass, and other agricultural residues pollutes the atmospheric air which affects the quality of the environment and poses a great threat to human health. Ecological imbalance, climatic variation, and cardiovascular and respiratory problems among humans are significant extortions due to PM pollution. Scientific approaches were initiated to limit the levels of PM in the atmospheric air and the use of nanofiber mats has received wide attention as these possess versatile properties including nanoscale-sized pore structure, homogeneity in their size distribution with high specific surface area, and low basis weight. To exploit their filtration potential towards wide classes of pollutants and also to enhance the capturing efficacy, functionalized nanofibers are currently in practice with tailor-made modifications on the surface. The present review provides a comprehensive report on the different fabrication processes of functionalized nanofibers along with the controlling factors affecting the efficacy of the gas separation process. Also, it provides technical insights on the mass transfer aspects of PM filtration by elucidation their mechanism which can provide vital information on the rate-controlling diffusive flux(es). Conclusively, the practical challenges encountered in the large-scale air filtration systems such as filter cleaning, flow-rate regulation, pressure drop, and extent of reusability are discussed, and the review has identified potential gaps in the current research and can be considered for the prospective research in the area of PM separation process.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rajarathinam Nithya
- Department of Industrial Biotechnology, Government College of Technology, Coimbatore, India
| | | | - R V Hemavathy
- Department of Biotechnology, Rajalakshmi Engineering College, Chennai, India
| | - Raja Sivashankar
- Department of Chemical Engineering, National Institute of Technology, Warangal, India
| | - Kola Anand Kishore
- Department of Chemical Engineering, National Institute of Technology, Warangal, India
| | - Radoor Sabarish
- Department of Materials and Production engineering, King Mongkut's University of Technology, North Bangkok, Thailand
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2
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Cheng P, Espano J, Harkaway A, Naclerio AE, Moehring NK, Braeuninger-Weimer P, Kidambi PR. Nanoporous Atomically Thin Graphene Filters for Nanoscale Aerosols. ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES 2022; 14:41328-41336. [PMID: 36036893 DOI: 10.1021/acsami.2c10827] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Filtering nanoparticulate aerosols from air streams is important for a wide range of personal protection equipment (PPE), including masks used for medical research, healthcare, law enforcement, first responders, and military applications. Conventional PPEs capable of filtering nanoparticles <300 nm are typically bulky and sacrifice breathability to maximize protection from exposure to harmful nanoparticulate aerosols including viruses ∼20-300 nm from air streams. Here, we show that nanopores introduced into centimeter-scale monolayer graphene supported on polycarbonate track-etched supports via a facile oxygen plasma etch can allow for filtration of aerosolized SiO2 nanoparticles of ∼5-20 nm from air steams while maintaining air permeance of ∼2.28-7.1 × 10-5 mol m-2 s-1 Pa-1. Furthermore, a systematic increase in oxygen plasma etch time allows for a tunable size-selective filtration of aerosolized nanoparticles. We demonstrate a new route to realize ultra-compact, lightweight, and conformal form-factor filters capable of blocking sub-20 nm aerosolized nanoparticles with particular relevance for biological/viral threat mitigation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Peifu Cheng
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee 37212, United States
| | - Jeremy Espano
- Interdisciplinary Graduate Program for Material Science, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee 37212, United States
| | - Andrew Harkaway
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee 37212, United States
| | - Andrew E Naclerio
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee 37212, United States
| | - Nicole K Moehring
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee 37212, United States
- Interdisciplinary Graduate Program for Material Science, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee 37212, United States
| | | | - Piran R Kidambi
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee 37212, United States
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee 37212, United States
- Vanderbilt Institute of Nanoscale Sciences and Engineering, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee 37212, United States
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Baldridge KC, Edmonds K, Dziubla T, Hilt JZ, Dutch RE, Bhattacharyya D. Demonstration of Hollow Fiber Membrane-Based Enclosed Space Air Remediation for Capture of an Aerosolized Synthetic SARS-CoV-2 Mimic and Pseudovirus Particles. ACS ES&T ENGINEERING 2022; 2:251-262. [PMID: 37406036 PMCID: PMC8768008 DOI: 10.1021/acsestengg.1c00369] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/11/2023]
Abstract
Reduction of airborne viral particles in enclosed spaces is critical in controlling pandemics. Three different hollow fiber membrane (HFM) modules were investigated for viral aerosol separation in enclosed spaces. Pore structures were characterized by scanning electron microscopy, and air transport properties were measured. Particle removal efficiency was characterized using aerosols generated by a collision atomizer from a defined mixture of synthetic nanoparticles including SARS-CoV-2 mimics (protein-coated 100 nm polystyrene). HFM1 (polyvinylidene fluoride, ~50-1300 nm pores) demonstrated 96.5-100% efficiency for aerosols in the size range of 0.3-3 μm at a flow rate of 18.6 ± 0.3 SLPM (~1650 LMH), whereas HFM2 (polypropylene, ~40 nm pores) and HFM3 (hydrophilized polyether sulfone, ~140-750 nm pores) demonstrated 99.65-100% and 98.8-100% efficiency at flow rates of 19.7 ± 0.3 SLPM (~820 LMH) and 19.4 ± 0.2 SLPM (~4455 LMH), respectively. Additionally, lasting filtration with minimal fouling was demonstrated using ambient aerosols over 2 days. Finally, each module was evaluated with pseudovirus (vesicular stomatitis virus) aerosol, demonstrating 99.3% (HFM1), >99.8% (HFM2), and >99.8% (HFM3) reduction in active pseudovirus titer as a direct measure of viral particle removal. These results quantified the aerosol separation efficiency of HFMs and highlight the need for further development of this technology to aid the fight against airborne viruses and particulate matter concerning human health.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kevin C Baldridge
- Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering, University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky 40506, United States
| | - Kearstin Edmonds
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry, University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky 40508, United States
| | - Thomas Dziubla
- Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering, University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky 40506, United States
| | - J Zach Hilt
- Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering, University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky 40506, United States
| | - Rebecca E Dutch
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry, University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky 40508, United States
| | - Dibakar Bhattacharyya
- Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering, University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky 40506, United States
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Multilevel structured TPU/PS/PA-6 composite membrane for high-efficiency airborne particles capture: Preparation, performance evaluation and mechanism insights. J Memb Sci 2021. [DOI: 10.1016/j.memsci.2021.119392] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
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Bulejko P, Krištof O, Dohnal M. An Assessment on Average Pressure Drop and Dust-Holding Capacity of Hollow-Fiber Membranes in Air Filtration. MEMBRANES 2021; 11:467. [PMID: 34202790 PMCID: PMC8306576 DOI: 10.3390/membranes11070467] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/03/2021] [Revised: 06/18/2021] [Accepted: 06/22/2021] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
In this work, we tried to analyze dust loading behavior of polypropylene hollow fiber membranes using average pressure drop models. Hollow fiber membranes varying in fiber diameter were loaded with a standardized test dust to simulate particle-polluted air. We measured pressure drop development of the membranes at different flowrates and dust concentrations, and, after each experiment, the dust deposited on the membrane fibers was weighed to obtain dust holding capacity (DHC). The obtained experimental data was analyzed using various average pressure drop models and compared with average pressure drop obtained from pressure drop/dust load dependence using a curve fit. Exponential and polynomial fitting was used and compared. Pressure drop in relation to the dust load followed different trends depending on the experimental conditions and inner fiber diameter. At higher flowrate, the dependence was polynomial no matter what the fiber diameter. However, with higher fiber diameter at lower permeate velocities, the dependence was close to exponential curve and followed similar trends as observed in planar filter media. Dust-holding capacity of the membranes depended on the experimental conditions and was up to 21.4 g. However, higher dust holding capacity was impossible to reach no matter the experiment duration due to self-cleaning ability of the tested membranes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pavel Bulejko
- Heat Transfer and Fluid Flow Laboratory, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Brno University of Technology, 61669 Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Ondřej Krištof
- ZENA Membranes s.r.o., 62100 Brno, Czech Republic; (O.K.); (M.D.)
| | - Miroslav Dohnal
- ZENA Membranes s.r.o., 62100 Brno, Czech Republic; (O.K.); (M.D.)
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Arlt CR, Brekel D, Neumann S, Rafaja D, Franzreb M. Continuous size fractionation of magnetic nanoparticles by using simulated moving bed chromatography. Front Chem Sci Eng 2021. [DOI: 10.1007/s11705-021-2040-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/14/2023]
Abstract
AbstractThe size fractionation of magnetic nanoparticles is a technical problem, which until today can only be solved with great effort. Nevertheless, there is an important demand for nanoparticles with sharp size distributions, for example for medical technology or sensor technology. Using magnetic chromatography, we show a promising method for fractionation of magnetic nanoparticles with respect to their size and/or magnetic properties. This was achieved by passing magnetic nanoparticles through a packed bed of fine steel spheres with which they interact magnetically because single domain ferro-/ferrimagnetic nanoparticles show a spontaneous magnetization. Since the strength of this interaction is related to particle size, the principle is suitable for size fractionation. This concept was transferred into a continuous process in this work using a so-called simulated moving bed chromatography. Applying a suspension of magnetic nanoparticles within a size range from 20 to 120 nm, the process showed a separation sharpness of up to 0.52 with recovery rates of 100%. The continuous feed stream of magnetic nanoparticles could be fractionated with a space-time-yield of up to 5 mg/(L∙min). Due to the easy scalability of continuous chromatography, the process is a promising approach for the efficient fractionation of industrially relevant amounts of magnetic nanoparticles.
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Mamun A, Blachowicz T, Sabantina L. Electrospun Nanofiber Mats for Filtering Applications-Technology, Structure and Materials. Polymers (Basel) 2021; 13:1368. [PMID: 33922156 PMCID: PMC8122750 DOI: 10.3390/polym13091368] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/27/2021] [Revised: 04/16/2021] [Accepted: 04/20/2021] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Air pollution is one of the biggest health and environmental problems in the world and a huge threat to human health on a global scale. Due to the great impact of respiratory viral infections, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, lung cancer, asthma, bronchitis, emphysema, lung disease, and heart disease, respiratory allergies are increasing significantly every year. Because of the special properties of electrospun nanofiber mats, e.g., large surface-to-volume ratio and low basis weight, uniform size, and nanoporous structure, nanofiber mats are the preferred choice for use in large-scale air filtration applications. In this review, we summarize the significant studies on electrospun nanofiber mats for filtration applications, present the electrospinning technology, show the structure and mechanism of air filtration. In addition, an overview of current air filtration materials derived from bio- and synthetic polymers and blends is provided. Apart from this, the use of biopolymers in filtration applications is still relatively new and this field is still under-researched. The application areas of air filtration materials are discussed here and future prospects are summarized in conclusion. In order to develop new effective filtration materials, it is necessary to understand the interaction between technology, materials, and filtration mechanisms, and this study was intended to contribute to this effort.
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Affiliation(s)
- Al Mamun
- Junior Research Group “Nanomaterials”, Faculty of Engineering and Mathematics, Bielefeld University of Applied Sciences, 33619 Bielefeld, Germany;
| | - Tomasz Blachowicz
- Institute of Physics-CSE, Silesian University of Technology, 44-100 Gliwice, Poland;
| | - Lilia Sabantina
- Junior Research Group “Nanomaterials”, Faculty of Engineering and Mathematics, Bielefeld University of Applied Sciences, 33619 Bielefeld, Germany;
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Kůdelová T, Bartuli E, Strunga A, Hvožďa J, Dohnal M. Fully Polymeric Distillation Unit Based on Polypropylene Hollow Fibers. Polymers (Basel) 2021; 13:polym13071031. [PMID: 33810297 PMCID: PMC8037513 DOI: 10.3390/polym13071031] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/25/2021] [Revised: 03/23/2021] [Accepted: 03/24/2021] [Indexed: 01/16/2023] Open
Abstract
Access to pure water is a very topical issue today. Desalination represents a promising way of obtaining drinking water in areas of shortage. Currently, efforts are being made to replace the metal components of existing desalination units due to the high corrosivity of sea water. Another requirement is easy transportation and assembly. The presented solution combines two types of polymeric hollow fibers that are used to create the distillation unit. Porous polypropylene hollow fiber membranes have been used as an active surface for mass transfer in the distillation unit, while non-porous thermal polypropylene hollow fibers have been employed in the condenser. The large active area to volume ratio of the hollow fiber module improves the efficiency of both units. Hot water is pumped inside the membranes in the distillation unit. Evaporation is first observed at a temperature gradient of 10 °C. The water vapor flows through the tunnel to the condenser where cold water runs inside the fibers. The temperature gradient causes condensation of the vapor, and the condensate is collected. The article presents data for hot water at temperatures of 55, 60, and 65 °C. Optimization of the membrane module is evaluated and presented.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tereza Kůdelová
- Heat Transfer and Fluid Flow Laboratory, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Brno University of Technology, Technická 2, 61669 Brno, Czech Republic; (E.B.); (A.S.); (J.H.)
- Correspondence:
| | - Erik Bartuli
- Heat Transfer and Fluid Flow Laboratory, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Brno University of Technology, Technická 2, 61669 Brno, Czech Republic; (E.B.); (A.S.); (J.H.)
| | - Alan Strunga
- Heat Transfer and Fluid Flow Laboratory, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Brno University of Technology, Technická 2, 61669 Brno, Czech Republic; (E.B.); (A.S.); (J.H.)
| | - Jiří Hvožďa
- Heat Transfer and Fluid Flow Laboratory, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Brno University of Technology, Technická 2, 61669 Brno, Czech Republic; (E.B.); (A.S.); (J.H.)
| | - Miroslav Dohnal
- ZENA s.r.o., Branky 278/21, 66449 Ostopovice, Czech Republic;
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Bulejko P, Krištof O, Svěrák T. Experimental and modeling study on fouling of hollow-fiber membranes by fine dust aerosol particles. J Memb Sci 2020. [DOI: 10.1016/j.memsci.2020.118562] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
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Astrouski I, Raudensky M, Kudelova T, Kroulikova T. Fouling of Polymeric Hollow Fiber Heat Exchangers by Air Dust. MATERIALS 2020; 13:ma13214931. [PMID: 33147833 PMCID: PMC7663544 DOI: 10.3390/ma13214931] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/23/2020] [Revised: 10/25/2020] [Accepted: 10/29/2020] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Currently, liquid-to-gas heat exchangers in buildings, domestic appliances and the automotive industry are mainly made of copper and aluminum. Using plastic instead of metal can be very beneficial from an economic and environmental point of view. However, it is required that a successful plastic design meets all the requirements of metal heat exchangers. The polymeric hollow fiber heat exchanger studied in this work is completive to common metal finned heat exchangers. Due to its unique design (the use of thousands of thin-walled microtubes connected in parallel), it achieves a high level of compactness and thermal performance, low pressure drops and high operation pressure. This paper focuses on an important aspect of heat exchanger operation-its fouling in conditions relevant to building and domestic application. In heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) and automotive and domestic appliances, outdoor and domestic dust are the main source of fouling. In this study, a heat exchanger made of polymeric hollow fibers was tested in conditions typical for indoor HVAC equipment, namely with the 20 °C room air flowing through the hot water coil (water inlet 50 °C) with air velocity of 1.5 m/s. ASHRAE test dust was used as a foulant to model domestic dust. A polymeric heat exchanger with fibers with an outer diameter of 0.6 mm (1960 fibers arranged into 14 layers in total) and a heat transfer area of 0.89 m2 was tested. It was proven that the smooth polypropylene surface of hollow fibers has a favorable antifouling characteristic. Fouling evolution on the metallic heat transfer surfaces of a similar surface density was about twice as quick as on the plastic one. The experimental results on the plastic heat exchanger showed a 38% decrease in the heat transfer rate and a 91% increase in pressure drops after eighteen days of the experiment when a total of 4000 g/m2 of the test dust had been injected into the air duct. The decrease in the heat transfer rate of the heat exchanger was influenced mainly by clogging in the frontal area because the first layers were fouled significantly more than the deeper layers.
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Wang LY, Yu LE, Chung TS. Effects of relative humidity, particle hygroscopicity, and filter hydrophilicity on filtration performance of hollow fiber air filters. J Memb Sci 2020. [DOI: 10.1016/j.memsci.2019.117561] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
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Experimental Study on Spray Breakup in Turbulent Atomization Using a Spiral Nozzle. Processes (Basel) 2019. [DOI: 10.3390/pr7120911] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
Spiral nozzles are widely used in wet scrubbers to form an appropriate spray pattern to capture the polluting gas/particulate matterwith the highest possible efficiency. Despite this fact, and a fact that it is a nozzle with a very atypical spray pattern (a full cone consisting of three concentric hollow cones), very limited amount of studies have been done so far on characterization of this type of nozzle. This work reports preliminary results on the spray characteristics of a spiral nozzle used for gas absorption processes. First, we experimentally measured the pressure impact footprint of the spray generated. Then effective spray angles were evaluated from the photographs of the spray and using the pressure impact footprint records via Archimedean spiral equation. Using the classical photography, areas of primary and secondary atomization were determined together with the droplet size distribution, which were further approximated using selected distribution functions. Radial and tangential spray velocity of droplets were assessed using the laser Doppler anemometry. The results show atypical behavior compared to different types of nozzles. In the investigated measurement range, the droplet-size distribution showed higher droplet diameters (about 1 mm) compared to, for example, air assisted atomizers. It was similar for the radial velocity, which was conversely lower (max velocity of about 8 m/s) compared to, for example, effervescent atomizers, which can produce droplets with a velocity of tens to hundreds m/s. On the contrary, spray angle ranged from 58° and 111° for the inner small and large cone, respectively, to 152° for the upper cone, and in the measured range was independent of the inlet pressure of liquid at the nozzle orifice.
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