Dust loading performance of the PTFE HEPA media and its comparison with the glass fibre HEPA media

Abstract

HEPA filter media have been used in many fields to maintain super clean air in an indoor environment. Due to their much lower initial resistance, PTFE HEPA media has increasingly attracted the interest of researchers. Solid KCl particles loading experiments were conducted to examine the dust loading performance of PTFE media and compare it with that of glass fiber media. The experimental results provided insights into the surface deposition mode of particles captured by PTFE media. A new resistance growth coefficient, k2, was defined to reflect both the instantaneous growth rate of the dynamic pressure drop and the dust loading stage of HEPA media. In addition, a method of evaluating the energy consumption of HEPA media was developed by calculating the average pressure drop during laboratory dust loading experiments. Based on the results, PTFE overall is more energy efficient than glass fiber except in circumstances of heavy loading or infrequent maintenance.