High efficiency low pressure drop synthetic fiber based air filter made completely from post consumer waste materials

An air filter for filtering air, comprising:

• (a) a frame;
• and
• (b) a non-woven textile filter media disposed in the frame, the nonwoven textile filter media comprising a needle-punched wadded mass comprising longer fibers and shorter fibers, wherein the shorter fibers range from 5 to 55 mm in length and make up a substantial majority of the wadded mass and the longer fibers range from 60 to 100 mm in length and make up a minority of the wadded mass, the longer fibers and shorter fibers being polyester fibers,
• wherein the polyester fibers comprise a combination of about 1.5 denier fibers and about 4 denier fibers,
• wherein a ratio of 1.5 to 4 denier fibers is between 1:1 to 1:4, and
• wherein the non-woven textile filter media exhibits a Minimum Efficiency Reporting Value (MERV) of about 8 without requiring electrostatic treatment, and a pressure drop of 2.9 PSI or less.

A method for making a non-woven textile filter media for filtering air, the method comprising the steps of:

• (a) providing a quantity of bulk polyester;
• (b) generating a quantity of polyester fiber having a predefined diameter from the quantity of bulk polyester;
• (c) cutting the polyester fiber to a predefined length;
• (d) using the polyester fiber having the predefined length to generate the non-woven textile filter media,
• (e) needle punching the polyester fiber to form a wadded mass comprising longer fibers and shorter fibers, wherein the shorter fibers range from 5 to 55 mm in length and make up a substantial majority of the wadded mass and the longer fibers range from 60 to 100 mm in length and make up a minority of the wadded mass, the longer fibers and shorter fibers being polyester fibers,
• wherein the polyester fibers comprise a combination of about 1.5 denier fibers and about 4 denier fibers,
• wherein a ratio of 1.5 to 4 denier fibers is between 1:1 to 1:4, and
• wherein the non-woven textile filter media exhibits a Minimum Efficiency Reporting Value (MERV) of about 8 without requiring electrostatic treatment, and a pressure drop of 2.9 PSI or less.