Multifunctional and Sustainable Nanoarchitectured Networks for High-Performance Filtering of Air Pollutants

While 84% of the European population is exposed to dust concentrations above the WHO guideline limits, several epidemiological studies have established a strong link between exposure to indoor air pollution and adverse health effects.

Commercial high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filters are inefficient in capturing particulate matter (PM) and toxic gases simultaneously. Their structural materials are also non-degradable and end up in landfills.

As society demands a better future, and with an economic incentive, developing innovatively sustainable and efficient air filters is gaining ground in research and policy.

The proposed SuSCoFilter project aims to develop brand-new sustainable air filters from spent coffee grounds (SCG) that possess unique multifunctional features such as simultaneous PM and SO2 removal capability, high efficiency, and low pressure drop.

Effective removal of pollutants from the air can be achieved by introducing an advanced class of active hybrid porous materials (e.g. metal-organic frameworks - MOFs) to electrospun polymeric fibers.

However, to develop a non-interfering “two-component MOF” system, two different surfaces should exist for each MOF component attachment.

Proposed in SuSCoFilter microparticles of chemically modified SCG will provide the extra surface and the air filters will be produced by concurrent electrospinning and electrospraying methods. Set targets for capture efficiency of SuSCoFilter are PM10> 99%, PM2.5> 95%, and SO2>90%; and pressure drop