Advances in particulate matter filtration: Materials, performance, and application

Air-borne pollutants in particulate matter (PM) form, produced either physically during industrial processes or certain biological routes, have posed a great threat to human health. Particularly during the current COVID-19 pandemic, effective filtration of the virus is an urgent matter worldwide. In this review, we first introduce some fundamentals about PM, including its source and classification, filtration mechanisms, and evaluation parameters. Advanced filtration materials and their functions are then summarized, among which polymers and MOFs are discussed in detail together with their antibacterial performance. The discussion on the application is divided into end-of-pipe treatment and source control. Finally, we conclude this review with our prospective view on future research in this area. (c) 2022 Institute of Process Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences. Publishing services by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of KeAi Communications Co., Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).

Automated summary

Airborne pollutants in particulate matter (PM) pose a significant threat to human health and effective virus filtration is crucial during the COVID-19 pandemic. This review provides an overview of PM, including its source, classification, filtration mechanisms, and evaluation parameters. Advanced filtration materials, such as polymers and MOFs, and their antibacterial performance are discussed. The application of PM filtration is divided into end-of-pipe treatment and source control, and future research prospects are presented in the conclusion.