Electrostatic Air Filtration by Multifunctional Dielectric Heterocaking Filters with Ultralow Pressure Drop

In air filtration, for creating healthy indoor air, there is an intrinsic conflict between high filtration efficiency and low wind pressure drop. In this study, we overcame this conflict by developing new dielectric heterocaking (HC) filters, in which high relative dielectric constant (ε_r) materials were heterogeneously loaded on traditional polymer fibers. The dielectric HC filters in an electrostatic polarizing field generate a great amount of charges on their surface, leading to a strong attraction to precharged aerosol particles, and result in high filtration efficiency. Observing via a charged coupled device camera, the migration speed of aerosol smoke particles toward the polarized HC fiber exceeded those toward the unpolarized HC fiber by a factor of 6. We loaded high-ε_r HCs including manganese dioxide (MnO₂), activated carbon, zinc oxide (ZnO), copper oxide (CuO), and barium titanate (BaTiO₃) on polyurethane foams using a fast and large-scale roll-to-roll gel squeezing method. Based on the experimental results, when HCs had a ε_r larger than 5.1, an increased ε_r did not benefit electrostatic filtration efficiency for aerosol particles much, but resulted in a larger net ozone production. We suggested a MnO₂-HC filter for efficient and multifunctional filtration of indoor particles, ambient ozone, and formaldehyde with only 3.8 Pa pressure drop at 1.1 m/s filtration velocity. This efficient and cost-effective dielectric HC filter opens a new avenue for the design of multifunctional filters, which will facilitate its large-scale production and commercial application in the ventilation system for healthy buildings.