Personal Protective Equipment
Millions of lives can be saved with an efficient mask program
Three billion people are wearing masks every day to reduce the spread of the SARS-Cov-2 virus. No mitigation option compares to providing them with tight fitting and efficient protection. When both transmitter and recipient wear masks with a fitted filtration efficiency (FFE) of 90%, the net result is 99% virus capture (i.e., 99% solution). It …
Filtration innovations in 2020
Facemask materials, surface treatments, intelligent sensors & carbon nanotubes That the COVID-19 pandemic has been a driver for filtration industry innovation is beyond dispute, and one of the commercial inventions of the year is undoubtedly the new bicomponent spunbond nonwoven material that can serve as an effective N95 facemask filter – without the need for …
Why is meltblown the material of choice for PPE and facemasks?
Meltblown has risen from a commodity nonwoven material for select applications to front-and-center in the response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Meltblown is created via an integrated extrusion process. It utilizes a stream of hot, high-velocity air to blow a molten thermoplastic resin from an extruder die tip onto a forming belt or rotary conveyor with …
Testing the limits of facemask filtration
As the COVID-19 pandemic began to spread worldwide in the early part of this year, one of the first things to become clear was the supply of personal protective equipment (PPE) – facemasks in particular – was not ready for the ensuing surge in demand. In many parts of the world impacted by the coronavirus, …
A civil approach to facemask filtration
Standardized facemasks typically fall into one of two categories — surgical or respirator. Both variants are designed to offer various levels of protection against the transmission of bacteria and other particulates. World facemask guidelines are about science, but go beyond that. The science is defined by test methods that each region/country espouses. As a rule …