# Enhancement of Filtration Performance Characteristic of Glass Fiber-Based Filter Media, Part 2: Chemical Modification with Surface-Active Treatment

## TL;DR

This paper shows how chemical treatments can improve the performance of glass fiber filters by enhancing their ability to capture small particles and reduce pressure drop.

## Contribution

The study demonstrates that surface-active chemical modifications can significantly enhance filtration efficiency and dirt holding capacity.

## Key findings

- Chemical modification increased separation efficiency for small particles below the mean porosity of the original substrate.
- Surface modifications with varying surface energy values showed distinct effects on separation efficiency.
- Contact angle measurements correlated with improved filtration performance metrics like dirt holding capacity.

## Abstract

Standard glass fiber filter media were chemically modified with suitably chosen surface-active agents. The aim of these modifications was to improve the three fundamental filtration performance characteristics, namely, to increase the separation efficiency, reduce the differential pressure (∆P) and increase the dirt holding capacity (DHC). The increase in separation efficiency was considered quantitatively in terms of changes in the work of adhesion between the contaminant and the modified media substrate derived from the contact angle measurements. The experimental confirmation of this behavior was demonstrated by an improved separation efficiency especially for particles in the smaller size ranges, well below the mean porosity of the original substrate. In addition, the effect of different surface modifications, especially those of the opposite ends of the surface energy values, has clearly manifested itself in the experimental results of separation efficiency derived from the multipass evaluations. Collectively, the obtained contact angle (surface energy) and separation efficiency results are strongly indicative of a wide range of filtration performance enhancements that can be achieved through suitably chosen surface-active modification of standard substrate materials.