Experimental and theoretical analysis of loading characteristics of electret filter media for charged particles

The degradation of filtration performance in electret filter media during usage poses a significant challenge. Pre-charging of aerosols has been identified as an effective method to mitigate this issue. However, the effects of particle charging characteristics on the loading characteristics of electret filters still need a comprehensive understanding. In this study, a needle-cylinder corona charger was employed to pre-charge aerosols, and the particle charge state was determined by multiphysics simulation. The effects of particle charge polarity and charge quantity on the loading performance of the electret filter were quantitatively investigated. The results showed that the particle charge polarity had a negligible impact on the loading performance under the condition of the equivalent particle charge quantity. In addition, the charged particles effectively improved the efficiency degradation during the loading process of electret media, with higher charge quantities resulting in more pronounced improvements. The electrostatic attenuation factor showed a negative exponential correlation with the particle charge quantity. This was attributed to the uneven particle deposition on fiber surface due to the attraction of charged particles by the opposite charges on the electret fibers, which alleviated the effect of electrostatic shielding.