Effect of PVDF content on the filtration performance and mechanical properties of melt-blown PP fibrous webs
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Abstract
Particulate matter (PM0.3) aerosols are the most penetrating particles, which pose a serious health threat to humans. Therefore, mechanical filtration alone is insufficient to effectively filter 0.3 µm aerosols from a polluted environment. Thus, the need for electrostatic filtration is undeniable. This study aims to investigate the effect of incorporating 10 wt.% and 20 wt.% mass fractions of Polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) on the filtration performance and mechanical properties of polypropylene (PP)-based melt-blown (MB) nonwoven filter webs for air filtration applications. Morphological tests, fiber diameter measurements, filtration tests, mechanical tests, contact angle tests, etc., were conducted for each filter web to characterize its properties. The test results revealed that PP/PVDF fibrous webs exhibited thicker micro-fibers in the range of 1.0 to 1.32 µm and rough surface morphologies (beads and droplets) compared to MB PP, which can be attributed to the incorporation of PVDF. Consequently, the introduction of 10 wt.% and 20 wt.% PVDF into PP resulted in the creation of super-hydrophobic MB nonwoven webs, as evidenced by their resistance to water droplets. However, the study also demonstrated that the incorporation of 10 wt.% and 20 wt.% PVDF into PP reduced the tensile strength of PP nonwoven filters by approximately 5.55% and 8.33%, respectively. Furthermore, the addition of 20 wt.% PVDF into PP, along with corona charging, induced a quality factor (QF) of 0.11 mmH2O-1 for the 80PP-20PVDF sample. A similar QF was observed for corona-charged MB PP, which exhibited a filtration efficiency of 99.01% against 0.3 µm aerosol particles, at the expense of a pressure drop of 427 Pa.