Evaluation of a vacuum collection system in the preparation of PAN fibers by forcespinning for application in ultrafine particle filtration

Abstract

AbstractThis study investigates the use of a vacuum collection system (VCS) in the forcespinning formation of polyacrylonitrile fibers. The surface of different filter media (substrates) has been modified for air filtration applications. The evaluation was made of the effects of collection time (60 and 180 s), VCS power (25, 50, 75, and 100%), needle size (30G ½″ and 26G ½″), and rotation speed (4,000 and 6,000 rpm). The main results were that higher substrate permeability constant in association with VCS led to a decrease in the porosity of the fiber layer, an increase of the VCS power led to increases in the collection efficiency and pressure drop, while the superficial porosity and fiber diameter decreased, and fiber collection time analysis showed that the longer collection time led to higher fiber diameter and smaller pressure drop. In all cases, the addition of the fiber layer caused increases in the pressure drop and collection efficiency, together with decreased permeability constant. Although the collection efficiency values for nanoparticles are not as expressive, these results are encouraging and indicate that VCS can be used to improve the performance of the filter medium.