Development of Protective Clothing against Nanoparticle Based on Electrospun Nanofibers

In this paper, the development of efficient protective clothing against nanoparticulate aerosols is presented. Nanofibrous mats of polyamide 6 (PA6) were deposited onto a nonwoven viscose substrate by electrospinning technique. The influence of electrospinning parameters, including solution concentration, viscosity, and conductivity, was studied for the production of nonwovens with controlled fiber diameter showing a size distribution ranging from 66 to 195 nm. By varying several process parameters, textiles with different thickness of the nanofiber layer and thus air permeability were obtained. A hot-press lamination process using a thermoplastic resin as glue was applied to improve the adhesion of the nanofiber layer onto the textile support. After 1500 cycles of repeated compression and torsion, the nanofiber layer was still firmly attached to the support, while mechanical damage is visible in some areas. The penetration of NaCl particles with diameter ranging from 15 to 300 nm through the electrospun textiles was found to be strongly dependent on nanofiber layer thickness. A really thin nanofiber coating provides up to 80% retention of 20 nm size particles and over 50% retention of 200 nm size nanoparticles. Increasing the thickness of the nanofiber mat, the filtration efficiency was increased to over 99% along the whole nanoparticle range. The results obtained highlight the potential of nanofibers in the development of efficient personal protective equipments against nanoparticles.The financial support of this work was provided by MICINN (Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation) and ERDF (European Regional Development Fund) (ref.: PSE-420000-2008–003), and ACC1´O (Catalan Business Competitiveness Support Agency

Nanofiber-based filters as novel barrier systems for nanomaterial exposure scenarios

In this article our latest advances in the development of efficient barrier systems against micro- and nano-particulate materials are presented. Nanofibrous polyamide 6 (PA6) mats were fabricated by electrospinning onto a nonwoven viscose substrate. The influence of electrospinning parameters including solution concentration, viscosity, and conductivity, were studied for the production of nonwovens with different fiber size distribution ranging from 74 to 261 nm in diameters. Moreover, the formation of nanowebs (30-40 nm) which are widely distributed among fibers was observed. By varying several process parameters, membranes with different thickness of the nanofiber layer and therefore air permeability and nanoparticle filtration efficiency were obtained.The financial support of this work was provided by MICINN (Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation) and ERDF (European Regional Development Fund) (ref: PSE-420000-2008-003)

Monitoring System of Eastern Sicily (Italy) devised by a specialist team (UFSO) at the INGV- Catania Section, Italy.

Eastern Sicily in Italy is well-known as a high seismic and volcanic risk area. From a monitoring point of view, a team/unit of people has been created (UFSO) with the task of managing all the activities connected to the faultless operation of the Working Room that is the strategic centre during periods of routine operations or in the case of emergency. Among the primary activities of monitoring and surveillance, the management of the video camera network located on the main Sicilian active volcanoes represents a major goal. This task is achieved by means of permanent, visible and infrared cameras together with similar mobile systems, in order to observe each phenomenon related to the volcanic activity. The expert staff can therefore make decisions, in real time, from useful information in order to understand the phenomena in action. With the aim of maximizing the results and performance of all the networks, the UFSO is attentive to the planning and realization of hardware and software systems that are always available in the mobile van unit. In this context, the staff actively participates in national and European research projects dealing with the development and use of new systems with high technological content. Another aspect of the work, moreover, is represented by the development of supervisory control software, namely software providing automatic control of the working systems. Such algorithms allow to immediately and remotely signal to the duty-personnel states of alert of several modules, indicating, when possible, the probable failure causes

La stazione video prossimale dell’Etna in località Schiena dell’Asino

INGVPublished5V. Sorveglianza vulcanica ed emergenzeope