A method to obtain a well-defined fraction of respirable para-aramid fibers.

We developed a preparation method to obtain respirable-sized fractions of para-aramid fibers. The procedure, based on floatability, consists of stirring and subsequent settling of p-aramid pulp in distilled water. Two distinct phases are obtained, with small fibers in the upper part of the suspension, which represents about 33% of the total volume. Optimal results were obtained when 2.0 g pulp was stirred for 15 hr in 800 ml distilled water containing 0.125% ethanol and settled for 5 hr. The mass yield ranged between 0.4 and 0.6%, more than 90% of the particles had an aspect ratio > or = 3:1. The mean fiber length was about 6 microns, and the mean fiber diameter was about 0.4 microns as determined by transmission and scanning electron microscopy. The number of fibers obtained was 4 x 10(6) fibers/micrograms under our standard conditions.