In the quest for cleaner indoor air, a team of researchers from The Chinese University of Hong Kong has made a significant stride. Led by Zhuolun Niu from the Department of Mechanical and Automation Engineering, the team has developed an efficient method for fabricating nanofiber air filters that could revolutionize indoor air quality management. Their work, published in the journal *Indoor Environments* (translated as “室内环境” in Chinese), promises to minimize pressure drop while maintaining high particle filtration efficiency, a critical factor for energy-efficient air cleaning systems.
The study focuses on electrospun nanofiber air filters, which have shown potential for high particle filtration efficiency with lower pressure drop compared to traditional high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filters. “Our method decouples the influence of applied voltage and electrospinning time, allowing us to identify the optimal applied voltage to minimize pressure drop and calculate the necessary electrospinning time to achieve the target filtration efficiency,” explains Niu. This innovation eliminates the need to measure structural parameters, significantly simplifying the optimization process.
The implications for the energy sector are substantial. Air filtration systems account for a significant portion of energy consumption in buildings, particularly in densely populated urban areas where indoor air quality is a pressing concern. By reducing the pressure drop in air filters, the energy required to circulate air through these systems can be significantly decreased, leading to more energy-efficient operations and lower carbon footprints.
Experimental measurements validated the feasibility of the proposed method, demonstrating that the optimized nanofiber air filters achieved the target particle filtration efficiency with relative errors of less than 1%. Moreover, the pressure drop of these optimized filters was up to 40.6% lower than that of randomly selected filters in the verification cases. “This reduction in pressure drop translates to substantial energy savings, making our method not only technically superior but also economically viable,” Niu adds.
The benefits of using these optimized nanofiber air filters were further assessed numerically. The results showed that using the nanofiber air filters optimized by the proposed method in an air cleaner reduced indoor PM0.3–0.4 of outdoor origin in a typical public housing apartment in Hong Kong by up to 22.7% compared to the randomly selected nanofiber air filters. This finding underscores the potential of the method to improve indoor air quality significantly.
As the world grapples with the dual challenges of climate change and urbanization, innovations like this are crucial. The research by Niu and his team could shape future developments in air filtration technology, paving the way for more efficient and sustainable indoor air quality management systems. The study’s findings, published in *Indoor Environments*, offer a promising glimpse into a future where clean air and energy efficiency go hand in hand.