Iranian Researchers Produce Nanofilters to Absorb Tiny Particles in Air
“As the cities grow bigger and there is an increase in sources of air pollution, and also given the risks that air pollution creates for people's health, knowledge and awareness of the various aspects of this issue are of great importance. Today, one of the most important environmental problems in Iran is air pollution,” said Alireza Ashuri, a professor at IROST and the supervisor of Sima Sepahvand's postdoctoral project entitled "Modification of cellulose nanofibers for the producing nanofilters for absorbing air polluting particles" to explain about the project.
“There are two types of pollutants in the air, primary and secondary. Primary pollutants are substances that enter the air from origins such as cars, industries, factories and agricultural machinery,” he added.
He said that the air purification is one of the most complicated scientific and practical solutions due to the diversity of pollutants and enormous air pollutants.
“The current methods used for air purification were all invented in the early 20th century and were based on home air purification systems. One of the effective ways to reduce air pollution is the use of polymer nanofibers and their use in air filtration that are widely used in industries,” the IROST professor said.
“These filters are used with different applications for use in refrigerators, cars, homes, hospitals and clinics to remove bacteria, fungi, odors and volatile organic compounds. However, the main disadvantage of these types of filters is that they are not biodegradable and remain in the environment for more than 400 years because the polymers obtained from oil are very stable and do not degrade naturally; therefore, this factor causes more environmental pollution after discharge,” Ashuri said.
“In recent years, most of the research and studies have focused on replacing cellulose fibers instead of synthetic fibers such as glass and carbon fibers to make environmentally friendly products, green technologies try to produce safe materials with by-products and waste with the least environmental damage,” he continued to explain.
“Among the materials used to make filters, cellulose is of particular importance because it is the most abundant biological raw material in nature and it can easily be accessed in micrometer to nanometer scales...,” added the researcher.
“The purpose of this project is to make air purification nanofilters using nanographene. The automakers that manufacture light, semi-heavy, heavy and industrial vehicles are the consumers of this project. Also, other industries that use gasoline, diesel and gas combustion engines can also use these nanofilters,” the researcher concluded.
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