Suresh L. Shenoy, PhD

Senior Principal Scientist, Corporate Technology, Donaldson Company

Suresh Shenoy is a Sr. Principal Scientist in Corporate Technology at Donaldson
Company.

He has a Bachelor's in Chemical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology
(I.I.T), Mumbai (Bombay) and a PhD in Polymer Science from the Penn State. His
research experience includes academic stints in Spain, Scotland and the US before
joining industry.

Suresh's experience includes polymer composites, green processing, encapsulation
(flavor) technologies, electrospinning and more recently filtration technology specifically
related to fiber spinning and media development. He has a number of publications,
patents and pending patent applications.

Fine Fibers for Filtration: A Donaldson Perspective

Abstract: During the past three decades, Donaldson Company Inc. has pioneered the use of fine fibers in air filtration for various commercial, industrial and defense applications. The fine fiber layer dramatically increases the fractional efficiency of the filter media with minimal impact on air flow permeability. Typically, fine fiber layers with a thickness equal to only several nanofiber diameters are deposited on a fibrous substrate support layer via electrostatic processing or electrospinning.

Traditionally electrospinning is a solution based process employing a 5-15% polymer concentration. The inherent drawback of this process is the volatile organic compound (VOC) emission into the atmosphere and potential solvent toxicity which can be mitigated by the use of solvents that are safer and easier to use. From a robustness perspective, this can have negative implications since industrial applications necessitate that fine fibers survive different environmental exposures including prolonged exposures to humidity.
The presentation will cover the fundamental aspects of fine fiber formation and the impact fine fibers have on air filtration. Additionally, we will discuss an alternative approach which avoids using hard-to-handle or toxic solvents and yet leads to improved environmental resistance of electrospun fine fibers.