KR20240057480A - Manufacturing method of air filter for air purifier and air filter for air purifier manufactured thereby - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a method of manufacturing an air filter for an air purifier and an air filter for an air purifier manufactured thereby, comprising the following steps: selecting a PLA raw material for a biodegradable filter material, mixing an antibacterial agent, and melting it to obtain a resin raw material; Step 2 of drying the resin raw material of the first step to be spun into 3-denier or 6-denier PLA irregular cross-section yarn; Step 3 of wet stretching the resin raw material obtained in Step 2 to be spun into fiber bundles in tow to improve physical properties; Step 4 of manufacturing a filter medium by applying a crimp to the filter yarn obtained in Step 3; Step 5 of manufacturing a nonwoven fabric for a biodegradable pre-filter by weaving together the filter yarn obtained in Step 4 and the fiber yarn made of a plurality of fibers.

Description

Manufacturing method of air filter for air purifier and air filter for air purifier manufactured thereby {Manufacturing method of air filter for air purifier and air filter for air purifier manufactured}

The present invention relates to an air filter for an air purifier, and more specifically, to develop a biodegradable-antibacterial PLA material, and to manufacture an air filter for an air purifier using the PLA material through the development of needle-punching non-woven fabric manufacturing process technology, and thereby This relates to manufactured air filters for air purifiers.

Recently, as air pollution has increased, the use of air filters such as air purifiers and masks to directly protect the human body has increased.

As interest in air purification increases and regulations on indoor air quality related laws are strengthened, the demand for air purifiers is increasing significantly.

Air purification filters (air filters) are used to protect the human body from pollutants such as dust, gas, and VOC in the air and to keep the environment clean. The main materials for filters are paper, polyester needle-punched non-woven fabric, and polyester. Spunbond nonwoven fabric is being used.

An air purifier refers to a material or unit device, such as an air filter, that removes contaminants contained in the air. It is used for indoor use and maintains a sanitary and working environment by removing particles and gaseous substances floating indoors. , It is used separately for industrial purposes to prevent air pollution caused by pollutants emitted.

A filter-type air purifier is the most common air purification method, and purifies indoor air by filtering out dust and impurities.

Usually, a three-stage filter is used, with the first stage being a pre-filter that filters out large dust, the second stage being an activated carbon filter that removes odors, and the third stage being a HEPA filter (High Efficiency Particulate) that filters out fine dust. Arrestor), and the replacement cycle for each is 3 to 4 months for the pre-filter and about 1 year for the HEPA filter and activated carbon filter.

From the perspective of waste reduction, extension of use period, reduction in volume, and compactness of air filters are pursued, and requests for reuse and recycling are becoming stronger. However, due to the nature of the application, they contain a large amount of hazardous substances and filtered dust, so they cannot be recycled. This is a difficult situation, and there is a problem that harmful substances such as environmental hormones are generated when incinerated, so the development of biodegradable materials is urgent.

Recently, considerable research has been conducted on biodegradable polymer materials in various fields, and among biodegradable polymers, PLA (polylactic acid) is the most studied and used.

While common synthetic polymers are manufactured through distillation and polymerization from non-renewable petroleum reserves, PLA has the advantage of being derived from renewable resources such as corn starch or sugarcane.

Unlike existing non-absorbable plastics, which generally take hundreds to thousands of years to decompose, general biodegradable PLA plastic has the advantage of decomposing within 6 to 24 months. It is widely used in the environmentally friendly food packaging industry and edible tableware, and companies such as NatureWorks, BASF, and Total Corbion PLA are leading the market.

PLA has properties similar to thermoplastic polymers such as polystyrene (PS), polyethylene (PE), or polypropylene (PP), so it can be produced on existing manufacturing equipment designed for industrial plastics. Therefore, its production cost is relatively efficient and it is one of the most widely produced materials among biodegradable polymers.

In the case of PLA fiber, 1.5~2dpf low denier fiber is manufactured in China, but this has limitations in pre-filter application. To be used as a pre-filter, medium and high denier fibers of 6 to 15 dpf are required, and in particular, 15 dpf PLA fibers are having difficulties in development due to cooling and stretching problems during spinning.

Republic of Korea Patent Application No. 10-2011-0139648

The present invention was developed to solve the problems of the prior art, by selecting a PLA resin with an appropriate degree of polymerization, adding antibacterial minerals, developing a PLA material spinning/stretching process, and developing a non-woven fabric manufacturing process technology for a pre-filter to produce 15 dpf for air filters. The purpose is to develop a highly biodegradable and antibacterial PLA material and provide air filters for air purifiers using PLA material through the development of needle-punched non-woven fabric manufacturing process technology.

The object of the present invention described above is the first step of selecting a PLA raw material for a biodegradable filter material, mixing it with an antibacterial agent, and then melting it to obtain a resin raw material; Step 2 of drying the resin raw material of the first step to be spun into 3-denier or 6-denier PLA irregular cross-section yarn; Step 3 of wet stretching the resin raw material obtained in Step 2 to be spun into fiber bundles in tow to improve physical properties; Step 4 of manufacturing a filter medium by applying a crimp to the filter yarn obtained in Step 3; It can be achieved by a method of manufacturing an air filter for an air purifier, which includes step 5 of manufacturing a nonwoven fabric for a biodegradable pre-filter by weaving together the filter yarn obtained in step 4 and the fiber yarn made of a plurality of fibers.

According to the present invention,

The applicability of biodegradable materials, which are widely used in the food packaging industry and edible tableware, can be expanded for filter purposes and establish a foundation for related fields.

Through technology development such as PLA raw materials, additives, spinning technology, and stretching technology, it is possible to secure 15dpf fiber material manufacturing technology, which was difficult to develop with existing PLA resin.

We can play a leading role in the field of environmentally friendly material manufacturing by securing know-how in biodegradable non-woven fabric manufacturing technology for filters and filter product molding technology.

It is possible to establish and activate a natural circulation system through waste reduction and reduction of CO2 emissions during production.

1 is a process flow diagram of the manufacturing method of an air filter for an air purifier according to the present invention;
Figure 2 is a drawing substitute photo of the hot roller device for spinning in the two-stage multi-stage stretching process;
Figure 3 is a physical photograph of an air filter for an air purifier manufactured according to the present invention.

Hereinafter, the preferred embodiment will be described in detail based on the attached drawings.

The examples to be described below are intended to explain the invention in detail so that a person skilled in the art can easily carry out the invention, and this does not limit the technical idea and scope of the present invention. doesn't mean

In addition, the size or shape of the components shown in the drawings may be exaggerated for clarity and convenience of explanation, and terms specifically defined in consideration of the configuration and operation of the present invention may vary depending on the intention or custom of the user or operator. It should be noted that definitions of these terms must be made based on the content throughout this specification.

Among the attached drawings, Figure 1 is a process flow diagram for the manufacturing method of an air filter for an air purifier according to the present invention, Figure 2 is a drawing substitute photo for a hot roller device for spinning in a two-step multi-stage stretching process, and Figure 3 is a diagram of the present invention. This is an actual photo of an air filter for an air purifier manufactured in accordance with .

As shown in Figure 1, the method for manufacturing an air filter for an air purifier according to the present invention includes a first step (S1) of mixing PLA raw materials and additives to obtain a resin raw material, and a second step of drying the resin raw material ( It includes S2), step 3 (S3) of stretching the resin raw material, step 4 (S4) of manufacturing the filter medium, and step 5 (S5) of manufacturing the nonwoven fabric for the biodegradable pre-filter.

In the first step (S1), PLA raw material for biodegradable filter material is selected, additives to improve antibacterial properties are mixed, and then melted to obtain a resin raw material.

In an oven, melt the resin raw material mixed with PLA raw material for biodegradable filter material and additives and pass it through the oven 6 to 8 times to melt it.

Select a PLA resin with an appropriate degree of polymerization considering radioactivity and yarn properties.

Select additives and usage amounts to impart antibacterial properties.

Preferably, the antibacterial agent suitable for the filter medium may be any one or two or more selected from the group consisting of zinc oxide (ZnO), copper (Cu), and silver (Ag).

The antibacterial agent is mixed at 30 to 40 parts by weight based on 100 parts by weight of PLA raw material for biodegradable filter material, considering functionality and spinning properties.

In the second step (S2), the resin raw material of step 1 (S1) is dried to be spun into 3-denier or 6-denier PLA irregular cross-section yarn.

Preferably, the resin raw material is dried for 2 to 5 hours and dried at 70 to 90 ° C.

If it is less than 70°C for 2 hours, drying is insufficient, and if it is over 90°C for 5 hours, it is excessive and there is a risk of denaturation.

In addition, the dew point is set to 5 to 8 degrees for dehumidification. If it is less than 5 degrees, dehumidification is insufficient, and if it is more than 8 degrees, it is excessive and there is a risk of dehumidification.

Preferably, nozzle data suitable for the thermal behavior of PLA polymer is selected and manufactured.

In addition, the nozzle can be formed to form a cross-section of the release yarn that can optimize the air filter function.

For spinning PLA fibers for biodegradable filters, the temperature of the spinning system (extruder, polymer filter, and spin block) is set to 40 to 50°C.

Afterwards, set the tow cooling temperature of the spinning nozzle to 11~13℃.

In the third step (S3), the resin raw material obtained in the second step (S2) is wet stretched to be spun into a fiber bundle in a tow to improve physical properties.

Preferably, a multi-stage stretching process for PLA crystallization control is performed.

The hot rollers 100 are arranged in 3 to 7 stages, and the fiber bundle 200 is wound and passed through each hot roller 100 to optimize the wet stretching process.

Filter yarn is manufactured by stabilizing the molecular arrangement of the yarn through fine stretching through the passing speed of the hot roller (100) and controlling the roller temperature.

The fourth step (S4) provides a crimp to the filter yarn obtained in the third step (S3) to manufacture a filter medium.

Preferably, a crimper system suitable for the air filter application is selected. An example may be a 2D mechanical or 3D air crimper.

This provides a crimp to prevent deterioration of PLA Tow.

Step 5 (S5) produces a biodegradable pre-filter nonwoven fabric by weaving together the filter yarn obtained in Step 4 (S4) and a fiber yarn made of multiple fibers.

The fiber yarn is a combination of PLA 6D, PLA cross-section 6D, and PLA 3D, and breathability can be improved.

A pre-filter (A) is manufactured by stacking 6 to 8 pieces of the woven biodegradable pre-filter nonwoven fabric.

Preferably, the yarn specification for structuring the nonwoven fabric is such that the prefilter (A) with a weight of 150G consists of 6 layers.

If the number of layers is less than 6, there is a disadvantage in that the weight per layer increases and fiber pulling occurs.

Accordingly, by increasing the number of layers, the weight of each layer can be reduced and dispersibility can be maximized.

In addition, the web manufacturing department, which manufactures biodegradable non-woven webs, includes a main cylinder, a sub-cylinder, and wires provided in each for smooth carding.

Therefore, the pitch of the wire is set so that carding proceeds smoothly from low denier to high denier.

The pre-filter obtained after the above-described fifth step (S5), that is, the air filter for an air purifier targeted by the present invention, is subjected to one-stage punching.

This is because there is a risk that the fabric may fall off in the case of multi-stage punching, making its role as a pre-filter difficult.

In the case of single-stage punching, the strength of the needle is strong and there is a risk of fiber damage. Therefore, in order to maintain bulkiness and fix the web, set the needle to prevent damage to the PLA fiber and set the number of punching times.

Although the description has been made in relation to preferred embodiments, it will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made without departing from the gist and scope of the invention, and all such changes and modifications fall within the scope of the appended claims. is self-explanatory.

100: Hot roller 200: Fiber bundle
S1: Step 1 S2: Step 2
S3: Step 3 S4: Step 4
S5: Step 5

Claims (6)

Step 1: Select PLA raw material for biodegradable filter material, mix with antibacterial agent, and melt to obtain resin raw material;
Step 2 of drying the resin raw material of the first stage to be spun into 3-denier or 6-denier PLA irregular cross-section yarn;
Step 3 of wet stretching the resin raw material obtained in Step 2 to be spun into fiber bundles in tow to improve physical properties;
Step 4 of manufacturing a filter medium by applying a crimp to the filter yarn obtained in Step 3;
Step 5 of manufacturing a nonwoven fabric for a biodegradable pre-filter by weaving together the filter yarn obtained in Step 4 and the fiber yarn made of a plurality of fibers;
A method of manufacturing an air filter for an air purifier, comprising: According to clause 1,
The antibacterial agent of the first stage is any one or two or more selected from the group consisting of zinc oxide (ZnO), copper (Cu), and silver (Ag),
A method of manufacturing an air filter for an air purifier, characterized by mixing 30 to 40 parts by weight of an antibacterial agent based on 100 parts by weight of PLA raw material for filter material. According to clause 1,
The above 3 steps are
A multi-stage stretching process is performed to control PLA crystallization.
The multi-stage stretching process is a method of manufacturing an air filter for an air purifier, characterized in that the hot rollers are divided into 3 to 7 stages, and the fiber bundle is wound and passed through each hot roller. According to clause 1,
The fourth step is a method of manufacturing an air filter for an air purifier, characterized in that it includes a crimper system, which is a 2D mechanical or 3D air crimper, to provide a crimp. According to clause 1,
A method of manufacturing an air filter for an air purifier, characterized in that the fiber yarn of the 5th step is a mixture of PLA 6D, PLA cross-section 6D, and PLA 3D. An air filter for an air purifier, characterized in that it is manufactured by the manufacturing method according to any one of claims 1 to 5.

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