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Millions of masks
in a time of need
Recyclers and researchers all over the world
have been putting their heads together to find
innovative ways to fight the coronavirus.
Creating simple yet essential accessories such
as mouth masks from waste materials is having
a ripple effect.
ture top quality masks from discarded
plastic bottles.
The pioneers used post-consumer
polyethylene (PET) bottles to develop
a single thin layer of nano-nonwoven
membrane that provides desirable
particle filtration efficiency. This is said
to boast the same quality as a govern-
ment-issued medical mask. The nano-
fibre membrane contains fibres which
are 250 times thinner than a human
hair, says Sumit Sinha Ray, assistant
professor at the IIT’s engineering
department.
This was achieved by a method called
electrospinning – meaning the
researchers shredded the plastic bot-
tles and dissolved the flakes using a
combination of solvents, after which
they extruded the nano-fibres from
the solution.
A single thin layer of nano-nonwoven
membrane used in the new masks can
remove particles from the air at the
critical size of 0.3 micron with more
than 98% efficiency. These particles
are ‘the most difficult to catch,’ Ray
notes. He hopes the innovative nano-
nonwoven masks will ultimately
replace commercially available melt-
blown fabric versions.
‘Nano-fibres can do wonders for face
masks,’ the academic insists. They can
help masks filter out small particles
effectively while allowing the wearer
to breathe comfortably. Material costs
at lab scale are around 30 cents per
mask.
The IIT team has filed a provisional
patent for the scrap-based filter mem-
brane solution. ‘We hope to find inter-
ested industrial partners to take this
technology for large scale produc-
tion,’ Ray says.
‘Lost pLastic’ from Labs
R&D specialists at Belgium’s Centre
for Polymer and Material Technology
have recycled laboratory waste into a
practical accessory that makes the
wearing of masks more comfortable.
Anticipating a spike in demand,
researchers in Ghent have created the
‘EarBuddy’. This flexible strap with
multiple settings hooks onto the ear
loops of a face mask, securing it
‘Personal protection equipment’, or
PPE, was unfamiliar to most people
until a few months ago. Suddenly,
items typically reserved for medical
professionals and first responders
became the most popular product on
the market.
Global sales of surgical masks reached
a record level of almost US$ 75 billion
(EUR 67 billion) in the first quarter of
the year, reports Grand View
Research, and China’s production of
masks has increased more than 10
times to 120 million units per day.
‘However, the global supply and
demand gap of masks still cannot be
alleviated,’ the analysts note.
masks by monks
Chak Daeng temple in Thailand made
the news when its monks started pro-
ducing robes from the 15 tonnes of
discarded plastic bottles it receives
each month. Together with local vol-
unteers, they weave synthetic fibres,
extracted from the plastic, with cotton
into piles of saffron-coloured cloth.
Now, the monks are also creating face
masks. An extra filter layer is sewn
on the inner lining and the monks
decorate the masks with a Buddhist
prayer.
out of the waves
The Professional Association of Diving
Instructors has created masks made
from ocean plastics in partnership with
Rash’R, a company that sells eco-
friendly active wear. More than 15 000
masks have been pre-ordered, divert-
ing more than half a tonne of waste
plastics.
rpet heLps you breathe
Researchers at the Indian Institute of
Technology Mandi (IIT) have devel-
oped a new way to recycle manufac-
a u t h o R Kirstin Linnenkoper
26-27-28-29_mouthmasksrecyclinghype.indd 26 06-07-20 15:04
