Short nanofibers help purify air in vehiclesPaulo Chagas / UFSCar
In highly polluted cities, the air conditioning filters in cars are unable to eliminate all the impurities in the air being drawn into the vehicle, which can cause cardiovascular and respiratory diseases, such as asthma, bronchitis, and lung cancer. An experiment by engineers at the Federal University of São Carlos (UFSCar) is seeking to help solve the problem by producing cellulose acetate nanofibers, a biodegradable and nonpolluting material. They mixed the nanofibers with an aqueous solution that can be sprayed onto air conditioning filters. “The nanofibers help increase the filtration efficiency of air filters with an acceptable drop in pressure. In other words, the air still flows easily and is better filtered,” explains Paulo Chagas, an engineer who worked on the project at the Environmental Control Laboratory, headed by chemical engineer Mônica Lopes Aguiar. The sprayed filters outperform uncoated filters and high efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filters and can be used in vehicles, homes, and commercial appliances. As a result of the research, a patent application was filed with Brazil’s National Institute of Industrial Property (ScienceDirect, November 13).
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