Nanotechnology
Barra L. Abbood; Khalid A. Sukkar; Jenan A. Al-Najar
Abstract
Air quality is an important factor for human breathing requirements. The presence of the particulate matter which is a mixture of solid particles and liquid droplets presence in atmosphere such as PM10 and PM2.5 in the indoor air leads to fatal problems for human health. In the present investigation, ...
Read More ...
Air quality is an important factor for human breathing requirements. The presence of the particulate matter which is a mixture of solid particles and liquid droplets presence in atmosphere such as PM10 and PM2.5 in the indoor air leads to fatal problems for human health. In the present investigation, two types of nanofilters (polyacrylonitrile PAN, 15wt.% and polyvinyl alcohol PVA 12wt.%) were synthesized using the electrospinning method. The polymeric solutions were prepared under high mixing conditions. The structural and morphological specifications of produced nanofibers were characterized using many measuring devices. Also, airflow characteristics across the prepared nanofilter were evaluated by designing and constructing an airflow apparatus. The apparatus consisted of two stainless steel sections and the middle zone was designed to fit the filter media. The characterization results indicated that the synthesized of PVA 12 wt.% nanofilter has uniform morphological distribution with fibers average diameter of 92 nm while the produced PAN with 15wt.% showed and an average fibers diameter of 556 nm. Moreover, the PVA nanofilter showed high-pressure values in comparison with the PAN filter. Interestingly, both filters provided high air permeability. Furthermore, the produced PAN nanofilter showed a high ability to capture the PM10 and PM2.5 due to the significant properties and specifications of nanofibers. Additionally, the produced nanofilter can be applied in air filtration processes effectively with low manufacturing costs.
