2026 Volume 80 Issue 2 Pages 94-97
In recent years, due in part to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, awareness of indoor air quality （IAQ） and SDGs has increased, and the demand for total heat exchange ventilation systems that can ventilate while reducing energy loss has been expanding. The system exchanges heat and moisture without mixing indoor and outdoor air. The energy recovery ventilation （ERV） core, which plays a key role in this system, is required to have a high degree of airtightness and heat and moisture exchange functions.
In this study, we have developed a new exchange liner for total heat exchange elements with enhanced functions by forming cellulose nanofibers （CNF） as ultra-thin films （moisture-permeable polymer films） on top of the base film （substrate） using our proprietary technology.
This moisture-permeable polymer film has a very dense mesh structure with no gaps because it uses CNF, and although it is ultra-thin, it has extremely high airtightness, and it is a membrane that does not allow CO2 or dirty air to pass through. In addition, taking advantage of the high hydrophilicity of CNF, it has significantly high moisture permeability, and has an ultra-thin structure with the substrate to achieve higher moisture exchange capacity than conventional exchange membranes. This report provides an overview of the new liner and its performance.
