12 / 2021-05-17 20:52:53

RADIAL PISTON TRIBOELECTRIC NANOGENERATOR-ENHANCED CELLULOSE FIBER AIR FILTER FOR SELF-POWERED PARTICULATE MATTER REMOVAL

Triboelectric nanogenerator, Cellulose fiber air filter, Particulate matter, Radial piston, Environmental protection

In recent years, air pollution has detrimentally affected human health. Particulate matter (PMx) is a primary component of air pollution, and significant research effort has been devoted to developing feasible technologies for its removal. With the rapid industrialization and urbanization seen in recent years, air pollution and the energy crisis are becoming increasingly more serious. Pollutants in the atmosphere are mainly a complex mixture of particulate matter (PMx) and gases. Industrial waste gas, vehicle exhaust, and crop burning, all emit large amounts of PMx, which severely impacts the health and lives of people worldwide. PMx contains numerous chemical components that are very harmful to the human body. Several studies have shown that PMx of various diameters contain bacteria and viruses, and long-term inhalation of polluted air can cause serious health problems, such as cardiovascular disease, respiratory disease, etc. The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) has classified the PMx component of outdoor air pollutants as carcinogenic to humans. The World Health Organization classifies PM_2.5 as a first class carcinogen and states that long-term exposure will greatly increase the risk of cancer. This demonstrates the threat that PMx poses to human health. In this study, a radial piston triboelectric nanogenerator (RP-TENG) enhanced cellulose fiber air filter (CFAF) was developed to remove PMx from outdoor ambient air. This self-powered PMx removal system can not only convert rotating mechanical energy into electrical energy, but it can automatically remove polluted air from the outdoor environment. After charging, the removal efficiency of the CFAF was 83.78% for PM_2.5 and 86.82% for PM₁₀, which were 1.21 times and 1.27 times greater than those of the uncharged system, respectively. The self-powered PMx removal system can be installed on an object with rotating mechanical energy, such as the rotating shaft of a shared bicycle, and the wasted rotating mechanical energy would be used to fully purify the outdoor environment. Furthermore, this system is environmentally friendly due to its low level of carbon emissions. This work has numerous potential applications as it provides a new and sustainable strategy for applying self-powered, TENG-enhanced air filters for the removal of PMx from outdoor air.