CNR ExploRA

Articolo in rivista, 2022, ENG, 10.1016/j.jece.2022.108452

A review on electrospun membranes for potential air filtration application

Francesca Russo; Roberto Castro-Muñoz; SergioSantoro; Francesco Galiano; Alberto Figoli

1. Institute on Membrane Technology (CNR-ITM), Via P. Bucci 17/c, 87036 Rende, CS, Italy; 2. Gdansk University of Technology, Faculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Department of Sanitary Engineering, G. Narutowicza St. 11/12, 80-233 Gdansk, Poland 3. Tecnologico de Monterrey, Campus Toluca. Av. Eduardo Monroy Cárdenas 2000 San Antonio Buenavista, 50110 Toluca de Lerdo, Mexico 4. Department of Environmental Engineering (DIAm), University of Calabria, Via P. Bucci 45/a, 87036 Rende, CS, Italy

Air pollution is one of the major environmental concerns in most highly populated cities, which is typically caused by particulate (PM2.5 and PM0.1) or gaseous pollutants. In this framework, membranes produced by the electrospinning technique are attracting more and more interest thanks to their peculiar properties such as interconnected pore structure, tunable porosity and fiber dimension, high surface area to volume ratio and controllable morphology. This review aims to provide an exhaustive overview on the electrospun membranes applied in air filtration introducing the key principles and fundamentals of the separation mechanisms and discussing the influence of membrane properties (e.g., morphology and charge) on their filtration efficiency. The materials generally employed for the fabrication of electrospun membranes (polymers, solvents) and their combination with additives with defined properties are reviewed also in light of the new environmentally friendly approaches which are increasingly adopted in membrane fabrication. Finally, the practical use of electrospun membranes in several application fields such as individual protection devices, environmental remediation, recovery of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), and ventilation and climate control aspects is widely discussed providing also an outlook on the upscaling potential of electrospun membranes and future directions.

Journal of Environmental Chemical Engineering