Surface solution

The significant benefits which can be achieved by the plasma enhancement of nonwovens as filter media were outlined by Nick Rimmer of P2i at the recent EDANA Filtrex conference (October 17-18) in Cologne, Germany.

P2i – a spin-off from the UK’s Ministry of Defence – owns a proprietary liquid repellent nanocoating that bonds to surfaces, with a  coating thickness that is 1/1,000th of the width of a human hair.

It makes any 2D or 3D object – whether a raw material or a finished product – completely hydrophobic and oleophobic, without changing how it looks or feels.

The opportunities it presents to manufacturers of filter media, Rimmer said, are in allowing them to tailor surface properties to meet product requirements, with minimal effect on pressure drop.
It is also non?leaching and resistant to both steam sterilization and irradiation.

The coating process can be conducted in a sealed chamber and a strong molecular bond to the material is formed, with no wash?off.

There are a number of environmental benefits too – a minimal amounts of chemicals are employed in what is a solvent?free process and no post processing is required for drying or curing. It also creates negligible waste.

“High performance filter materials can be very expensive and it’s important to retain the consistency of pore size during the product’s full lifetime,” Rimmer said. “Filter media often require chemical treatment and high curing temperatures to add further performance benefits. The alternative option is to use a cheaper filter media and then modify the surface.”