Production of Nanofibers Containing Magnesium Oxide Nanoparticles for the Purpose of Bioaerosol Removal

Abstract

The present study aims at investigation of the performance of nanofibrous filter, containing magnesium oxide (MgO) nanoparticles, for bioaerosols removal from the air stream. It synthesizes two types of polyacrylonitrile (PAN) and PAN/MgO nanofibers via electrospinning technique, and investigates the antibacterial properties of the produced nanofibers through disk diffusion. The air containing staphylococcus epidermidis is introduced into the filter test rig by a nebulizer and air sampling from the microorganisms takes place before and after the filters by means of a cascade impactor with blood agar culture medium, with the filters, themselves, examined at two states of UVC radiation and dark. The mean diameters of PAN/MgO and PAN are 221.38±65.56 nm and 320.25±87.35 nm, respectively, with the mean length of the inhibition zone for these nanofibers calculated as 0 (for PAN) and 2.8 mm (for PAN/MgO). It turns out that the mean percentage of filtration efficiency is higher in case of PAN/MgO than PAN nanofiber filter; however, the former displays higher mean pressure drop than the latter. For both types of nanofibers under UVC radiation, the mean percentage efficiency for bioaerosol removal is higher than in the dark.