Coronavirus Technology Solutions
April 21, 2020
Viroblock Effective Against Coronavirus
Sciessent Antimicrobial in Nextera Mask
Spectrashield Meets Efficiency Requirements
Berry Global has New Material for Surgical Masks NC State Develops Two Polymer
Spunbond for Masks Which Can Be Sewn and is
Washable Sandler Building a New Non
Wovens Line for Mask Media
Mitsui Chemicals has Expanded Melt Blown
Capacity
Three Layer Wipe is a Good Solution for
Coronavirus Mitigation
Large Non-Woven Demand to Mitigate Virus
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Sciessent Antimicrobial in Nextera Mask
Agion Antimicrobial (AM)
by Sciessent,
a
U.S.-based provider of antimicrobial (AM)
solutions based on naturally occurring elements,
is incorporated into FDA cleared N95 respirator
masks, the type most in-demand in the fight
against the COVID-19 pandemic. As of March 31,
2020, over three million Nexera SpectraShield
9500 masks incorporating the Agion AM have been
delivered to healthcare facilities worldwide.
Spectrashield Meets Efficiency Requirements
The filtration technology in the SpectraShield™
Series of antimicrobial respirator masks
formally passed penetration and resistance in
multiple testing at numerous independent testing
laboratories in the European Union. These tests
require the SpectraShield™ masks to be subject
to exposure of a quantity of particulate
aerosols at .3 micron in size at a specific
velocity rate. Upon the exposure of the
aerosols, the amount of droplets that penetrate
the mask are measured. In the European Union,
for the masks to be rated a FFP2 it must meet a
minimum of a 97% filtration rate, and for a
FFP3, it must meet a minimum 99% filtration
rate.
In addition to conventional testing for a
disposable respirator mask, the SpectraShield™
mask was also subjected to rigorous testing for
reusability in which each mask was tested for
filtration performance, inhalation and
exhalation minimum tolerances after the masks
had been subjected to severe clogging in a
dolomite dust test. Two of the SpectraShield
masks passed this rigorous reusability testing
to earn a classification of FFP2 RD and FFP3 RD.
Extensive toxicology testing has been performed
by AgION regarding the silver-copper zeolite
antimicrobial agent. Independent tests results
indicate the antimicrobial agent to be safe and
non-toxic causing no negative side effects,
conditions, or consequences.
Berry Global has New Material for Surgical Masks
Berry Global will
increase production of face mask materials. The
initiatives include additional capacity for the
production of face mask materials in North
America and a new material for face masks in
Europe. With demand outpacing current supply for
face mask filter media, the product development
team at Berry has responded to deliver
innovative solutions in a matter of weeks to
support the demand. These solutions include
pivoting existing manufacturing assets and
creating alternative materials for face masks.
surgical masks. The newly introduced Synergex
ONE provides a multilayer nonwoven composite
product in a single sheet, as an alternative to
traditional face mask layer structures. This new
material will be manufactured in Europe and
serve the European market and is available
immediately.
·
Multi-layer composite material – no lamination
needed
·
Filtration core of unique meltblown technology
·
Suitable for general use
NC State Develops
Two Polymer Spunbond for Masks Which Can Be Sewn
and is Washable
NC State’s Nonwovens Institute (NWI) is using
its two research and training pilot production
lines to produce face mask materials that will
be used to protect medical workers on the front
lines of fighting the effects of COVID-19.
Surgical face masks are made with nonwoven
materials, says Behnam Pourdeyhimi, executive
director of NWI, Wilson College of Textiles
associate dean for industry research and
extension and William A. Klopman Distinguished
Professor.
Because of the current critical need for masks
caused by COVID-19, Pourdeyhimi and his NWI team
created a new spunbond material that can serve
as an effective filter without the need for a
meltblown filtration layer. The unique fabric is
composed of two different polymer materials that
are combined to make a single fiber with
significant strength and bulk – and that shows
effectiveness in filtration similar to current
materials used.
“Because of the COVID-19 crisis, we took the
spunbond technology and created a new generation
of unique filters that have excellent filtering
capability and can potentially be reused after
cleaning with peroxide, or potentially alcohol
solution,” Pourdeyhimi said. “Because these
materials are strong, unlike classical meltblown
filters, they can also be cut and sewn by
traditional techniques.”
Typically, one meter of spunbond material
provides enough material for about 20 to 25
masks when using the current designs,
Pourdeyhimi said. One of the NWI’s production
lines started producing 2,000 meters of spunbond
material per hour, with the potential to create
some 20,000 meters of spunbond material in a
day. NWI currently has an agreement to provide
large amounts of spunbond nonwoven material to
Brooks Brothers, which will make masks at its
manufacturing facilities.
NWI’s other production line is a
state-of-the-art meltblowing pilot line that
will make the classical meltblown material for
N95 masks and surgical masks.
“We created a recipe for the production of
classical N95 respirator materials and will ship
those materials out for industrial partners to
convert these into respirators,” Pourdeyhimi
said.
The meltblown material takes a bit more time to
produce; Pourdeyhimi estimates that his
production line can make about 12,000 meters of
material in one work shift.
Thanks to support from across the university,
Pourdeyhimi says that NC State has ordered
machines that will allow the NWI to make
surgical masks in its Centennial Campus
facilities. Those machines should arrive in the
next month.
https://news.ncsu.edu/2020/04/a-necessary-filter/
Sandler Building a
New Non Wovens Line for Mask Media
Sandler Group is investing in a high-tech
nonwovens line for the production of nonwovens
for respirator masks. Production is already
scheduled for the middle of the third quarter.
The new line will allow Sandler to produce
nonwovens for the manufacture of up to 800
million masks. The investment totals a
single-digit million Euro amount.
Mitsui Chemicals has Expanded Melt Blown
Capacity
Mitsui Chemicals has
expanded its production facilities for meltblown
nonwovens at wholly owned subsidiary Sunrex
Industry Co., Ltd., starting operations at the
new facilities in January. The move comes as an
effort to respond to growing demand for
industrial-use meltblown nonwovens and will
increase the Mitsui Chemicals Group’s overall
production capacity for these materials by 50%.
Three Layer Wipe is a Good Solution for
Coronavirus Mitigation
FiberTect is
a three-layer, nonwoven wipe that features an
activated carbon core sandwiched between
absorbent top and bottom layers.
“It is widely used as the primary dry
decontamination method in hospitals and
ambulances,” says Corey Collings, a training
specialist for First Line Technology, which
markets FiberTect. “Hospitals use it in bulk and
in rolls, and ambulances use it in a kit called
the FastGrab to do immediate decontamination of
patients contaminated with a wide variety of
substances.”
FiberTect was invented by Seshadri
Ramkumar,
a professor of chemical countermeasures and
advanced materials in the Texas Tech Department
of Environmental Toxicology.
He says the wipe’s structure is effective in
containing bodily fluids – like saliva and mucus
– through which viruses could be transmitted.
Its activated carbon also can absorb particles
transmitted in vapor phase through the air.
As a wipe or mitt, FiberTect holds great
potential for cleaning in settings where
transmission of the COVID-19 virus, is a
paramount concern.
It can be used to clean wet surfaces
contaminated with bodily fluids,” Ramkumar says.
“Highly porous carbon in the structure can trap
the vapors and aerosols in which microbes are
contained. The wipe structure is flexible and
can take the shape of the objects to be cleaned.
The three-ply structure without glue helps this
effective cleaning.”
FiberTect has previously been used successfully
by the U.S. military to decontaminate both
personnel and equipment, for oil spill cleanup
during the Deepwater Horizon spill in the Gulf
of Mexico, and by emergency response teams
across the country in dealing with highly
dangerous chemical substances, including
Fentanyl.
Its development and testing was sponsored by the
U.S. Department of Homeland Security and managed
by the Technical Support Working Group, Office
of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for
Special Operations/Low Intensity Conflict in the
U.S. Department of Defense. Product testing was
conducted by Lawrence Livermore National
Laboratory. FiberTect proved superior in
all testing results against 30 comparable
products for decontaminating against toxic
chemicals.
Large Non-Woven Demand to Mitigate Virus
Phil Mango of Smithers says that three major
nonwoven based products can help with the
current coronavirus crisis. These are:
In addition, general purpose medical nonwovens
like underpads, gauze, and medical garments may
all be useful in treating any increase in
patients.
If SMS (spunbond/meltblown/spunbond) is
included, though, the current production
capacity increases to almost 5.0 million tonnes
with almost 1.0 million tonnes of excess
capacity. Not all SMS would be suitable, though.
Already, significantly increased pricing and
demand for meltblown in some regions has been
reported. The key here may be converting
capacity, turning sufficient nonwoven supply
into face masks.
Most nonwoven producers can rapidly increase
production of needed products; converters may
have a more difficult time, as they tend to run
closer to full and have a more difficult time
changing from one product to
another. Additionally, disinfecting/sanitizing
solution and chemicals may be in short supply
initially.
The actual nonwovens, spunlaid and spunlace,
have more production and more available
production in Asia; but converting has better
availability in North America and Europe,
especially for wipes. Similarly, disinfecting
solutions that are specifically designed for
killing viruses have more availability currently
outside Asia, though this may not be as much an
issue. |