FILTER MEDIA COMPRISING NON-FLUORINATED WATER REPELLENT ADDITIVES
Filter media comprising water-repellent additives having minimal or no fluorine atoms are generally provided. In some embodiments, the water-repellent additives comprise one or more water-repellent functional groups. The water-repellent functional groups may comprise a carbon chain including three or more carbon atoms. In some embodiments, some or all of the water-repellent functional group(s) are bonded to a silicon atom and/or a metal atom. It is also possible for some or all of the water-repellent functional group(s) to form side chain(s) attached to a polymer backbone.
1 . A filter media, comprising:
a non-woven fiber web; and
a water-repellent additive, wherein:
the water-repellent additive comprises one or more water-repellent functional groups;
each water-repellent functional group is independently an alkyl group comprising greater than or equal to 3 carbon atoms, an alkenyl group comprising greater than or equal to 3 carbon atoms, and/or an alkynyl group comprising greater than or equal to 3 carbon atoms;
each water-repellent functional group is independently a side chain of a repeat unit of a polymer and/or bonded to a silicon atom and/or a metal atom;
the filter media has a gamma of greater than 6; and
the filter media has a water repellency of greater than 4 inches H 2 O.
2 . A filter media as in claim 1 , wherein the metal is titanium, zirconium, and/or aluminum.
3 . A filter media as in claim 1 , wherein the water-repellent additive is a reaction product of a silane, a titanate, a zirconate, and/or an aluminate.
4 - 6 . (canceled)
7 . A filter media as in claim 1 , wherein the polymer is a poly(siloxane), a poly(silazane), a poly(acrylate), a poly(urethane), a poly(ether), a poly(urea), a poly(ester), a poly(carbodiimide).
8 - 14 . (canceled)
15 . A filter media as in claim 1 , wherein the polymer is a hydrolysis product of a species comprising a metal atom, a hydrolysable functional group, and a water-repellent functional group.
16 . A filter media as in claim 1 , wherein the water-repellent additive comprises a silanol, a siloxide, a siloxane, and/or a silyl ether.
17 - 29 . (canceled)
30 . A filter media as in claim 1 , wherein the filter media comprises a resin.
31 . A filter media as in claim 30 , wherein the resin comprises a copolymer comprising a fluorinated repeat unit and a non-fluorinated repeat unit.
32 - 36 . (canceled)
37 . A filter media as in claim 30 , wherein the resin comprises poly(vinylidene difluoride).
38 . A filter media as in claim 30 , wherein the resin comprises a poly(vinylidene difluoride)-acrylic copolymer.
39 - 40 . (canceled)
41 . A filter media as in claim 1 , wherein the water-repellent additive comprises one or more polar, non-hydrolysable groups.
42 . A filter media as in claim 41 , wherein the one or more polar, non-hydrolysable groups are each independently bonded to a carbon atom, a metal atom, and/or a silicon atom.
43 . (canceled)
44 . A filter media as in claim 41 , wherein the one or more polar, non-hydrolysable groups are each independently a side chain of a repeat unit of a polymer.
45 . (canceled)
46 . A filter media as in claim 41 , wherein a ratio of the number of water-repellent functional groups to the number of one or more polar, non-hydrolysable groups is greater than or equal to 0.1 and less than or equal to 10.
47 - 49 . (canceled)
50 . A filter media as in claim 1 , wherein the non-woven fiber web comprises glass fibers.
51 . A filter media as in claim 50 , wherein the glass fibers comprise microglass fibers.
52 . A filter media as in claim 51 , wherein the non-woven web comprises two or more types of microglass fibers having different average diameters.
53 - 57 . (canceled)
58 . A filter media as in claim 50 , wherein the glass fibers comprise chopped strand glass fibers.
59 . (canceled)
60 . A filter media as in claim 1 , wherein the non-woven fiber web comprises synthetic fibers.
61 . (canceled)
62 . A filter media as in claim 1 , wherein the non-woven fiber web comprises cellulose fibers.
63 - 72 . (canceled)