Comfort Ventilation with Anti-Microbial Coatings can be Repurposed to Fight COVID

Marley Engineered Products Provides Anti-Microbial Coated Ventilation Products

Don & Low will Add New Meltblown Line for Face Masks in UK

Freudenberg Face Masks Made Available This Week
 

Drylock will Make 100,000 Masks per day in Spain

Kolmi-Hopen one of Four Major Manufacturers of N95 Masks in France

Ahlstrom -Munksio Media Being Used by French Mask Makers

Battelle H2O2 Decontamination System Being Deployed at Sixty Locations

Lehigh University and St Luke’s Team to Provide UV Mask Decontamination

UV Finding Decontamination Uses on Subways and Buses

 

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Comfort Ventilation with Anti-Microbial Coatings can be Repurposed to Fight COVID

Comfort heating and ventilation products with anti-microbial coatings can be repurposed to direct HEPA filtered air through the breathing zones of occupants or to direct fresh outside air into the breathing zone. Small COVID aerosols act like cigarette smoke. The ideal system allows pure air to flow downward and then potentially contaminated air to be removed. This example in a dentists office was supplied by Blue Sky Global.

The proportion of recirculating and purifying air with HEPA filters versus introduction of more outside air is dependent on costs such as heating the outside air. The use of anti-microbial coatings in ductwork and components which can come into direct contact with people is also important.

Marley Engineered Products Provides Anti-Microbial Coated Ventilation Products

Marley Engineered Products, LLC draws upon a long history of providing reliable comfort heating and ventilation solutions. It has manufacturing operations in Bennettsville, South Carolina along with regional sales representatives located throughout the United  Sates.

The company  offers anti-microbial coating on ceiling panels, cabinet unit heaters, convector heaters and wall heaters.

All healthcare facilities require comfort heating systems. Systems that can be enhanced with an antimicrobial coating include those in:
    
·         Hospitals and Doctors’ Offices: Radiant panels with antimicrobial coating are ideal for keeping people warm without blowing heat and spreading germs.

·         Waiting Rooms: Cabinet unit heaters with antimicrobial coating in waiting rooms supply additional heat for comfort while minimizing germs.

·         Geriatric Centers and Assisted-Living Facilities: Wall heaters or radiant heating panels with antimicrobial coating are useful for providing gentle comfort while preventing the spread of harmful bacteria.
   
There are a host of commercial and institutional spaces that can benefit from electric heating products that feature antimicrobial finishes:
   
·         Restaurants: Steel or aluminum convectors can be placed along windows to keep the cold out while helping maintain high cleanliness levels.

·         Daycare Centers: Radiant panels installed on ceilings keep children warm and, because the panels are out of reach, keep children safe.

·         High Schools and Universities: A variety of heaters can be installed in spaces that include classrooms, hallways, dormitories, restrooms, locker rooms and more.
   
Airports, office buildings and dozens of other applications also could benefit from comfort heating solutions with antimicrobial coatings. Many facilities today seek customized solutions beyond standard heating for improved quality of life.

Marley also makes air curtains. Air curtains are used for a variety of applications from thermal barriers at drive-thru windows to pest prevention. They enable traffic to flow unobstructed through openings while maintaining separate environments, resulting in energy savings. Spaces like supermarkets, schools, hospitals, restaurants, cafeterias, malls, and processing plants are ideal for electric air curtains. 

The main purpose of air curtains has been comfort from a temperature perspective. But these air curtains can also insure that air moves in the downward direction away from the breathing zone.  This is an example provided by Ortner.

In summary comfort heating and ventilation with anti-microbial coatings can be repurposed for cost effective coronavirus mitigation.

Don & Low will Add New Meltblown Line for Face Masks in UK

Don & Low will add a new meltblown line in Forfars, Scotland with the help of the Scottish Government. The government reportedly supplied £3.6 million of the £4.5 million cost of the supply and installation of the new line, which will produce meltblown material filter fabric for use in FFP3 masks, the highest designation of respirator.

It will make Don & Low one of a handful of companies in Europe capable of supplying the filter material used to make the respirator masks.

Scottish Government Minister for Trade, Investment and Innovation, Ivan McKee, says: “Covid-19 isn’t going away any time soon, so while we have enough masks to protect our frontline health and social care workers now, we are also taking a long-term view to build PPE manufacturing capability in Scotland to meet future need. During these challenging times it’s encouraging to see so many Scottish businesses quickly diversify their product lines and invest in new equipment to help us deliver what is needed, when it’s needed.”

Don & Low director, Colin Johnson says: “We are pleased to be supported in making this new investment that will allow us to use our existing expertise to address the shortages of these key materials during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond.”
 

In late March, Don & Low announced part of its business would close to allow the company to direct efforts towards the production of face masks for NHS workers. It said the company’s woven textile manufacturing facility would shut, with available staff transferred to nonwovens production.

Freudenberg Face Masks Made Available This Week

Freudenberg has started producing mouth-nose masks for end-consumers. The masks under the brand name “Collectex” are now available in the Vileda online shop and from retail partners of the Freudenberg Home and Cleaning Solutions Business Group – initially only in Germany. 

Three Freudenberg Business Groups – Freudenberg Filtration Technologies, Freudenberg Home and Cleaning Solutions and Freudenberg Performance Materials – have combined their expertise in technical nonwovens, filter media and distribution to begin commercially selling face masks.  These efforts initially centered on setting up inhouse mask production in a short space of time, initially delivering the needed volumes to Freudenberg sites. “Our objective was to fulfill our responsibility to our employees and society. We acted quickly, expanded our capacity and invested in production equipment for the manufacture of mouth-nose masks,” says Dr. Mohsen Sohi, CEO of the Freudenberg Group.  

Freudenberg is limiting sales of the masks to a maximum order of two boxes per online customer to help ensure fair distribution.

  
In contrast to the now common industrial and privately sewn cotton masks, the Freudenberg masks are made from a high quality, triple-layered filter medium.
 

This filter medium is made from a high-tech nonwoven, which is also manufactured in Germany. The materials are processed into masks in newly acquired production lines launched in phases at Freudenberg Filtration Technologies – a first for the German market. Freudenberg is planning to expand capacity in the next few weeks to eventually allow it to make one million masks per day in four shifts around the clock seven days a week. The technology group will also continue to deliver media for the production of face masks to professional converters and existing customers.  

Currently, efforts are also underway to produce masks in North America for the local market. Japan Vilene Company – a Freudenberg Business Group – has been producing masks for the Asian market, primarily Japan. However, these products are subject to individual countries' COVID-19 export restrictions.

 

Drylock will Make 100,000 Masks per day in Spain

 

Drylock Technologies has partnered with the Ministry of Development of the Junta de Castilla y León in Segovia, Spain, to create more than four million surgical-hygienic masks during the next three months. The masks will be distributed to community groups and organizations.

The conversations between Drylock, promoter of the project called ‘Masks with a soul’, and the regional government, began a month ago, allowing the Ministry of Development time to acquire specific machinery, which will leave the Shanghai airport on May 13.
 

Drylock, one of the leading companies in the manufacture of absorbent intimate hygiene products, has created a separate space for the line of manufacture of this sanitary material in its Segovian factory. A 200 square meter clean room will house a line able to make 100,000 masks per day.

Kolmi-Hopen one of Four Major Manufacturers of N95 Masks in France

In late March French president Emmanuel Macron toured the face-mask manufacturing plant Kolmi-Hopen, in Saint-Barthelemy-d’Anjou near Angers, to help reassure French citizens that the government is investing and working to increase output, add capacity and provide critical care professionals with the masks they need.

Kolmi-Hopen, a subsidiary of Medicom, headquartered in Montreal, Canada, is one of four major manufacturers of N95 efficiency level face masks in France, and will deliver up to 200 million masks in the coming months. In a statement, Macron said the government plans to increase its national output of masks from 3.3 million to 10 million weekly.

Ahlstrom -Munksio Media Being Used by French Mask Makers

Ahlstrom-Munksjö products  Reliance SMS 200, Reliance SMS 300, Reliance  Dextex 200 and Reliance Dextex 300 have been declared compatible with the French requirements for face masks used by civil servants in contact with the public. The material is typically used for the manufacturing of sterilization wraps for surgical instruments. Reliance SMS 200 and Reliance SMS 300 have also been tested compatible with the European standard EN 14683, meeting the performance criteria of surgical masks. 

During May the company will produce material equivalent to 100 million face masks for civil servants in contact with the public such as police officers, prison administrators and social workers as well as companies active in essential sectors such as food, energy, water and waste. 

“The attainment of this long-term work for the selection of our products represents a moment of collective pride at Ahlstrom-Munksjö. Our medical business serves the medical device market worldwide all year round, and our agility and ability to innovate makes us an ideal partner in critical situations,” says Lionel Bonte, vice president of medical business. 

In France, Ahlstrom-Munksjö has some 1600 employees, eight production sites, two global R&D centers and a sales office. Measured by the amount of employees, France is the second largest country of operations representing 20% of gross sales.

Battelle H2O2 Decontamination System Being Deployed at Sixty Locations

On March 28, the US Food and Drug Administration, which assesses the safety of medical products, issued its first emergency use authorization (EUA) for a mask decontamination technology to Battelle’s Critical Care Decontamination System. Then, in April, the U.S. Federal Government awarded Battelle a contract to fund the system’s deployment to 60 locations throughout the US, including sites in Seattle, Boston, Chicago, and near New York City. As of April 27, Battelle had processed tens of thousands of masks, including more than 30,000 for the Ohio Health network.

 

The decontamination process established in Ohio is just one example of an  effort to respond to shortages of N95 masks and other PPE during the novel coronavirus pandemic by finding ways to use disposable equipment more than once. Although such practices are not approved for standard care, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention notes that mask decontamination “may be necessary” when PPE supplies are severely constrained during a crisis. A handful of other technologies have now joined Battelle’s system on the FDA’s list of EUAs. And across the country, health-care facilities are establishing their own protocols, many relying on well-known disinfection methods like ultraviolet light and heat, as scientists work to understand such methods’ effectiveness and their long-term effects on equipment performance.

https://cen.acs.org/biological-chemistry/infectious-disease/During-the-coronavirus-pandemic-hospitals-have-taken-unprecedented-steps-to-disinfect-N95-face-masks/98/web/2020/04

Lehigh University and St Luke’s Team to Provide UV Mask Decontamination

A team from Lehigh University and St. Luke’s University Health Network created a system with  powerful ultraviolet light to kill the coronavirus, allowing the hospital to decontaminate and re-use N95 masks.

 

The challenge was in creating a machine that could handle a large number of masks and evenly bathe them in ultraviolet light, ensuring they were decontaminated on every surface.

The unit — 80 inches in diameter and 5 feet tall, with tubes of light surrounded by an octagonal metal cage — was engineered by Lehigh students and staff and transported in a pickup truck to St. Luke’s University Hospital in Fountain Hill, where it was assembled. Since April 5, The hospital has processed 15,000 masks, including those used by staff at nursing homes and emergency responders.

The goal was to use enough UV-C light to damage viruses and bacteria but retain the integrity of the N95 masks, which can be degraded over time by steam or chemicals. The masks are hung on a hinged frame that rotates, making sure both sides of the mask get a blast of sterilizing light that comes from up to 13 cylindrical bulbs at the center of the machine.

 

Masks can be zapped five to 10 times before they lose their shape.

 

UV Finding Decontamination Uses on Subways and Buses

 

The technology is being used elsewhere to control the spread of the virus.  New York City’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority in partnership with Columbia University announced plans to use UV-C lights to disinfect the agency’s trains, buses and work areas, according to the New York Daily News. Since the light is harmful in high doses, the subways will close from 1-5 a.m. for the cleaning. Columbia researchers are working on technology called “far UV-C” that could kill COVID-19 without harming people, making it possible to disinfect subways and buses while riders are aboard.