Sustainable biomass-based filter for high-efficiency PM0.3 filtration

Qingxiang Wang, Zhaoxuan Niu, Wanli Cheng (), Ming Yang, Jie Yan, Jiqing Lu, Haijiao Yu, Yiying Yue (), Yen Wei (), Dong Wang (), Shichao Zhang (), Bin Ding () and Guangping Han ()
Additional contact information
Qingxiang Wang: Northeast Forestry University
Zhaoxuan Niu: Northeast Forestry University
Wanli Cheng: Northeast Forestry University
Ming Yang: Donghua University
Jie Yan: Northeast Forestry University
Jiqing Lu: Northeast Forestry University
Haijiao Yu: Northeast Forestry University
Yiying Yue: Nanjing Forestry University
Yen Wei: Tsinghua University
Dong Wang: Northeast Forestry University
Shichao Zhang: Donghua University
Bin Ding: Donghua University
Guangping Han: Northeast Forestry University

Nature Communications, 2025, vol. 16, issue 1, 1-10

Abstract: Abstract Biomass materials have been widely used in various industries to achieve a carbon-neutral and sustainable society. Here, we show a heterogeneous corn-based precursor strategy that transforms low-value agricultural waste into structural air filters composed of alternating microfibers (2.61 ± 1.11 µm) with grooved surface and nanofibers (0.29 ± 0.18 µm). Utilizing a green solute-solvent system of zein derived from corn and cellulose extracted from corn straw, the process ensures sustainability across raw material sources, fabrication, filtration, and end-of-life degradation. By tailoring relative humidity and incorporating cellulose, an incomplete nonsolvent-induced phase separation is triggered, leading to a corn-based dual-network filter with high filtration performance (>99.99% PM0.3 removal) and low pressure drop (45 Pa). The life cycle assessment demonstrates that the corn-based filter results in lower carbon emissions and environmental impacts than petroleum-based filters. This work provides a promising pathway toward the development of sustainable and disposable filtration materials.

Date: 2025
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-025-61863-2 Abstract (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:nat:natcom:v:16:y:2025:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-025-61863-2

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
https://www.nature.com/ncomms/

DOI: 10.1038/s41467-025-61863-2

Access Statistics for this article

Nature Communications is currently edited by Nathalie Le Bot, Enda Bergin and Fiona Gillespie

More articles in Nature Communications from Nature
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sonal Shukla () and Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing ().