Removal and retention of viral aerosols by a novel alumina nanofiber filter

Hsing-Wang Li; Chang-Yu Wu; Fred Tepper; Jin-Hwa Lee; Christiana Nicole Lee

doi:10.1016/j.jaerosci.2008.09.003

Removal and retention of viral aerosols by a novel alumina nanofiber filter

J Aerosol Sci. 2009 Jan;40(1):65-71. doi: 10.1016/j.jaerosci.2008.09.003. Epub 2008 Oct 7.

Authors

Hsing-Wang Li¹, Chang-Yu Wu¹, Fred Tepper², Jin-Hwa Lee¹, Christiana Nicole Lee³

Affiliations

¹ Department of Environmental Engineering Sciences, University of Florida, P.O. Box 116450, Gainesville, FL 32611-6450, USA.
² Argonide Corporation, Sanford, FL 32771, USA.
³ Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA.

Abstract

Nanomaterial, due to its unique physical, chemical and biological properties compared to its bulk counterparts, has the potential to provide a product superior to its bulk predecessor. In this study, a novel alumina nanofiber filter was assessed for its removal and retention capability for MS2 aerosol. Its physical removal efficiency in the 10-400 nm range was 94.35%, while its viable removal efficiency was 98.87%, which was slightly lower than three conventional HEPA filters tested. However, its pressure drop was much lower than HEPA filters, yielding a higher filter quality than HEPA filters. The average extracted fraction from the nanofiber filter was 8.64×10^-2±7.00×10^-2, which is three orders lower than other HEPA filters, demonstrating that the viruses were effectively retained in the nanofiber filter. Furthermore, the performance of the nanofiber filter showed no dependence on relative humidity. In conclusion, this novel alumina nanofiber filter presents advantageous potential for removal and retention of viral aerosol agents.

Keywords: Extracted fraction; Filter quality; MS2; Nanofiber filter; Removal efficiency.