Gradient non-woven fabrics with a modified surface nanolayer for water filtration in construction industry

ABSTRACT: Introduction. The aim of the work is to determine the influence of the structure of the filter materials formed as a result of modification of the surface layer on their water permeability and the size of trapped solid particles. Materials and methods. The non-woven fabrics from a mixture of polyethylene-terephthalate (PET) (70 wt.%) and bicomponent fibers (BCF) of the coreshell structure were used as objects of the study. The non-woven fabrics were obtained by mechanically forming the canvas with its subsequent hardening by needle punching. The resulting materials were modified by heat treatment. The water transfer in the modified materials was determined by the permeability coefficient. The filtration efficiency was determined by the number of trapped particles of a certain size. Results and discussion. The needle-punched non-woven fabrics without additional heat treatment are not suitable for water filtration. The proposed method of thermal and deformation-thermal modification provides the production of gradient materials with a controlled thickness of the nanoscale surface layer. Although a decrease in water permeability is observed, the modified material traps solid particles with a smaller (compared to unmodified ~ 20 µm) equivalent diameter of 2–4 µm, which is sufficient to prepare water for use in steam generators and in the production of building materials. Conclusion. The optimal parameters of deformation-heat treatment for obtaining the high-effective filtration non-woven materials were established: the temperature – 180оC, the processing speed – 3.5 m/min