Durable nanofiber synthetic filter media
AssigneeNxtNano, LLC
InventorAlan Smithies
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Abstract
A present invention is directed to a laminated filtration media comprising a nanofiber coating applied onto a synthetic substrate. Generally, the laminated filtration media can be produced by applying the nanofiber layer onto the synthetic substrate via an electrospinning process and then thermo-mechanically bonding the nanofiber layer onto the synthetic substrate via a thermal bonding process. The laminated filtration media exhibits superior durability and can be used in a wide array of air filtration applications.
Claims20
A laminate filter media, said laminate filter media comprising:
- (a) a synthetic substrate;
- and
- (b) a nanofiber layer at least partially coating a surface of said synthetic substrate,
- wherein said nanofiber layer comprises a nanofiber having an average diameter of less than 1,000 nm, and
- wherein said nanofiber comprises polymer A and polymer B, said polymer A and said polymer B both comprise the same type of polymer, and said polymer A has a higher melting point temperature than said polymer B.
A nanofiber comprising polymer A and polymer B, wherein said nanofiber comprises the following characteristics:
- (a) said nanofiber has an average diameter of less than 1,000 nm;
- (b) said polymer A and said polymer B both comprise the same type of polymer;
- and
- (c) said polymer A has a higher melting point temperature than polymer B.
A method for producing a laminate filter media, said method comprising:
- (a) dissolving polymer A and polymer B in a solvent to form a spinning solution comprising a polymer solids content of 1 to 30 weight percent, wherein said polymer A and said polymer B both comprise the same type of polymer, said polymer A exhibits melting point temperature A and said polymer B exhibits melting point temperature B, and said melting point temperature A is greater than said melting point temperature B;
- (b) applying said spinning solution onto a synthetic substrate to thereby form an initial nanofiber layer on at least a portion of a surface of said substrate, wherein said initial nanofiber layer comprises a nanofiber having an average diameter of less than 1,000 nm;
- and
- (c) subjecting said initial nanofiber layer to a temperature that is less than said melting point temperature A and greater than said melting point temperature B to thereby thermo-mechanically bond the initial nanofiber layer onto the substrate and form a bonded nanofiber layer.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.