Study on the relationship between structure parameters and filtration performance of polypropylene meltblown nonwovens

Abstract

In this study, polypropylene meltblown nonwoven fabrics with different structure parameters such as fiber diameter, pore size, and areal density were prepared by the industrial production line. The morphology of meltblown nonwoven fibers was evaluated by using scanning electron microscope, and the diameter of fibers was analyzed by using image-pro plus software from at least 200 measurements. The pore size of nonwoven fabric was characterized by a CFP-1500AE type pore size analyzer. The filtration efficiency and pressure drop were evaluated by TSI8130 automatic filter. The results showed that the pressure drop of nonwoven fabrics decreased with the increase in pore size; the filtration efficiency and the pressure drop had a positive correlation with the areal density. However, when the areal density is in the range of 27–29 g/m2, both filtration efficiency and pressure drop decreased with the increase of areal density; when the areal density was kept constant, the filtration efficiency decreased as the pore size decreased; when the pore size of the meltblown nonwoven fabric is less than 17 μm, the filtration efficiency increased as the pore diameter decreased; when the pore diameter of the nonwoven fabric is larger than 17 μm. In a wide range, the pressure drop decreased as the fiber diameter decreased.