Demonstration of Hollow Fiber Membrane-Based Enclosed
Space Air Remediation for Capture of an Aerosolized Synthetic SARS-CoV‑2
Mimic and Pseudovirus Particles
posted on 2022-01-11, 21:29authored byKevin
C. Baldridge, Kearstin Edmonds, Thomas Dziubla, J. Zach Hilt, Rebecca E. Dutch, Dibakar Bhattacharyya
Reduction of airborne viral particles
in enclosed spaces is critical
in controlling pandemics. Three different hollow fiber membrane (HFM)
modules were investigated for viral aerosol separation in enclosed
spaces. Pore structures were characterized by scanning electron microscopy,
and air transport properties were measured. Particle removal efficiency
was characterized using aerosols generated by a collision atomizer
from a defined mixture of synthetic nanoparticles including SARS-CoV-2
mimics (protein-coated 100 nm polystyrene). HFM1 (polyvinylidene fluoride,
∼50–1300 nm pores) demonstrated 96.5–100% efficiency
for aerosols in the size range of 0.3–3 μm at a flow
rate of 18.6 ± 0.3 SLPM (∼1650 LMH), whereas HFM2 (polypropylene,
∼40 nm pores) and HFM3 (hydrophilized polyether sulfone, ∼140–750
nm pores) demonstrated 99.65–100% and 98.8–100% efficiency
at flow rates of 19.7 ± 0.3 SLPM (∼820 LMH) and 19.4 ±
0.2 SLPM (∼4455 LMH), respectively. Additionally, lasting filtration
with minimal fouling was demonstrated using ambient aerosols over
2 days. Finally, each module was evaluated with pseudovirus (vesicular
stomatitis virus) aerosol, demonstrating 99.3% (HFM1), >99.8% (HFM2),
and >99.8% (HFM3) reduction in active pseudovirus titer as a direct
measure of viral particle removal. These results quantified the aerosol
separation efficiency of HFMs and highlight the need for further development
of this technology to aid the fight against airborne viruses and particulate
matter concerning human health.