Superoleophobic Filters: Improvement of Filtration Performance by Front Attachment of Oil-Guiding Fabric

In this paper, a novel, simple, but efficient method is reported to lower pressure drop and meanwhile maintain high filtration efficiency of superoleophobic filters for oil aerosol filtration. By close attachment of a thin oil-guiding fibrous layer to the front surface of a superoleophobic filter, the pressure drop at pseudostatic state can be reduced by 20%. Such a remarkable reduction in filtration resistance is originated from the capillary effect of the oil-guiding fabric, and pore size within the guiding fabric also played a role. This novel material may be useful for the development of high efficiency, low energy-consumption coalescing filters for various applications.