Coronavirus Technology Solutions
July 1, 2020
Camfil Expands Into Face Mask Production
Freudenberg Expanding Mask and Filter Activities
Worldwide
Well Air Supplies Plasma Treatment and Monitors
Flexible Air Filtration Strategies to Battle
COVID
Microglass or Membrane Media
Replacing Filters
Safely with BIBO Units
Chinese Meltblown
Prices Fall to $2800 Per Ton
What Would be Melt
Blown Revenues with Widespread Efficient Mask
Use?
______________________________________________________________________________
Camfil Expands Into Face Mask Production
Camfil offers a wide range of premium clean air
solutions for commercial and industrial air
filtration, air pollution control and
turbomachinery applications.
Founded: 1963
Global headquarters: Stockholm, Sweden
Number of manufacturing sites: 30
Number of R&D centers: 6
Number of employees worldwide: 4800
Net sales: $900 million
With regard to previous viruses such as SARS and
Ebola Camfil provided top-level biosafety
laboratories (BSL 4) with CamContain air filter
systems and CamSafe filter housing.
The Camfil products met the most demanding needs
and safety standards for the most hazardous
biological agents and microorganisms according
to statutory regulations such as TRBA, BGR 121,
ISO 14644 and EN 1822.
The air filter systems guarantee protection
against contamination because they prevent the
release and spread of microorganisms that cause
life-threatening diseases for which there is
neither a vaccine nor a cure.
In response to the Coronavirus pandemic, Camfil
is designing and developing respiratory
protection masks at its laboratory located in
Trosa Tech Center in Sweden along with other
parts of Swedish operations. The initiative was
raised to meet the urgent demand for respiratory
protection masks and its testing.
Considering Camfil’s extensive knowledge of
clean air filtration solutions in more than 30
countries across the globe, the idea of creating
respiratory protection masks came up quite
naturally at several Camfil Centers. The
preliminary project gained momentum through
Camfil’s Global Tech Center in Trosa. Together
with the Swedish business, a prototype of a
respiratory protection mask was developed, and
testing began in the laboratory. Since such face
masks
are not part of regular manufacturing output,
Camfil kicked off a large-scale internal
initiative with R&D. Product development in the
filter industry usually takes several months or
even years but due to urgent demand and hard
work, the strategic team redeployed production
lines while finding partners and suppliers who
could help make the idea a reality in a short
time. Along the way, Camfil consulted with
health care organizations and partners to
produce the best possible product and plan.
Here are links to Camfil information appearing
in our Alerts
1. McIlvaine
Coronavirus Market Alert
... 2.2
million Mask Contract from DOD One Million Meat
Processing Workers in EU Need PPE Camfil has
New Room Air Purifier More Efficient Air
Filtration Systems Needed for New York Malls ...
Terms matched: 1 - Score: 26 - 1
Jul 2020 - URL:
http://www.mcilvainecompany.com/coronavirus/subscriber/Alerts/2020-06-30/Alert_20200630.html
2. McIlvaine
Coronavirus Market Alert
... of
contaminant their product can actually address.
Biosafe Air uses the 3M products. Camfil Camfil supplies
air filters and systems for many applications
including the most severe. " ...
Terms matched: 1 - Score: 20 - 29
Apr 2020 - URL:
http://www.mcilvainecompany.com/coronavirus/subscriber/Alerts/2020-03-31/20200331.html
3. McIlvaine
Coronavirus Market Alert
... Defend
1050 (NV1050) uses patented ultra-low energy
plasma technology combined with a triple-stage Camfil®
filter system to provide a combined solution for
air disinfection and particle removal. ...
Terms matched: 1 - Score: 13 - 29
Apr 2020 - URL:
http://www.mcilvainecompany.com/coronavirus/subscriber/Alerts/2020-04-28/Alert_20200428.html
4. McIlvaine
Coronavirus Market Alert
... Need
High Efficiency Filtration and Up to 24 Air
Changes per Hour Studies cited by Camfil have
found that even the most efficient
air-conditioning system can spew out high
amounts of ...
Terms matched: 1 - Score: 11 - 29
Apr 2020 - URL:
http://www.mcilvainecompany.com/coronavirus/subscriber/Alerts/2020-04-16/20200416.html
5. McIlvaine
Coronavirus Market Alert
... the
coronavirus the medium and high risk areas are
greatly expanded. Here is the Camfil view
on filter recommendations for each
classification ...
Terms matched: 1 - Score: 5 - 29
Apr 2020 - URL:
http://www.mcilvainecompany.com/coronavirus/subscriber/Alerts/2020-04-29/Alert_20200429.htm
Freudenberg Expanding Mask and Filter Activities
Worldwide
Freudenberg is
a global technology group with around 50,000
employees in some 60 countries and annual sales
of more than 9.4 billion euros in 2019. The
Group’s headquarters are in Weinheim, 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. Together, the Freudenberg
specialists have set up inhouse mask production
in a very short space of time, initially
delivering the needed volumes to Freudenberg
sites.
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.
Last year Freudenberg made
a well-timed purchase of a Chinese air
purifier company “By purchasing the majority
stake in Apollo, we are strengthening our
position in China’s rapidly growing market for
filtration solutions,” says Dr. Mohsen Sohi,
Freudenberg Group CEO.
Air and water filtration solutions are enjoying
strong year-on-year growth rates, especially in
China, thanks to legislation demanding stricter
regulations and increased environmental
awareness. Experts estimate that the global
market for products of Apollo – filters for room
air purifiers, decentralized ventilation systems
and water treatment – will have a total value of
some 5 billion USD by the year 2022.
“Apollo is a great fit for Freudenberg,” says
Dr. Andreas Kreuter, CEO of Freudenberg
Filtration Technologies. “It is an innovative
technology company that complements our own
portfolio of filtration solutions for indoor air
and water purification. The company also has
first class production expertise and excellent
networks in the industry.”
The company provides filtration solutions for a
variety of applications, for example for
air-conditioners, refrigerators, room air
purifiers, vacuum cleaners, automobiles, kitchen
facilities, humidifiers, HVAC equipment, medical
purifiers, water purifiers, printers and copy
machines. The company was founded in July 2000.
In 2017, it reached sales of 750 million RMB
(approximately 96 million EUR) and employed some
1,000 people.
Among the products is a washable PTFE filter
with
high efficiency on 0.3 micron particles.
Anti-bacterial filters are also supplied.
Freudenberg is well positioned to pursue the
COVID opportunity with HEPA filters and with
masks. They recently finalized purchase of a
mask media company which we covered in a
previous Alert.
McIlvaine Coronavirus Market Alert
... 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 ...
Terms matched: 1 - Score: 91 - 14
May 2020 - URL:
http://www.mcilvainecompany.com/coronavirus/subscriber/Alerts/2020-05-13/Alert_202005013.html
Well Air Supplies Plasma Treatment and Monitors
WellAir and its brands, Novaerus and Plasma Air,
can be found installed in hundreds of hospitals,
senior living facilities, schools, casinos,
railway stations, residences, and industrial
facilities in more than 30 countries around the
world.
Plasma Air is located in the U.S. and
Noverus in Europe.
Our previous article covers the
effectiveness of plasma air treatment to
mitigate COVID
1. McIlvaine
Coronavirus Market Alert
... is
Booming More Evidence of Air Borne Virus
Transmission in a University of Nebraska Study Noverus Blog
Confirms the Dangers of Air Borne Virus
Transmission Novaerus Air Disinfection Unit
Recognized by ...
Terms matched: 1 - Score: 32 - 29
Apr 2020 - URL:
http://www.mcilvainecompany.com/coronavirus/subscriber/Alerts/2020-04-28/Alert_20200428.html
International Filtration News
conducted an exclusive panel discussion on the
air filtration industry in a post-COVID-19
world.
Panel members included academic
researchers and colleagues from air filtration
manufacturers.
In particular, these air filtration experts
weighed in on topics such as the ongoing threat
posed by global pandemics in the future, the
challenges associated with delivering quality
air to indoor spaces, the role of air filtration
in mitigating the threat posed by airborne
viruses and our modern lifestyle, and what types
of collaboration can help safeguard air quality
while ensuring that frontline healthcare workers
have the personal protective equipment (PPE)
that they need to perform their jobs.
AAF Flanders Vice President of Global Research
and Development – HVAC Nathaniel Nance
shared his vision of a future that includes a
mix of passive and on-demand air filtration. As
conditions change and spaces go from empty to
occupied, people would be able to select varying
levels of required filtration. Using sensor
technology and the ability to adjust variables
such as fan speed and percentages of
recirculated vs. fresh intake air, these
innovative air filtration systems could become
adaptive as well, ensuring comfortable, clean
air according to desired temperature ranges,
humidity levels, particulate counts, and even
the capture and removal of targeted pathogens.
Scott Tennison, Director of Filtration at
Kimberly Clark believes that the overall health
risk due to poor air quality is more than just
the spread of these viruses during global
pandemics. Everything from heart issues and
birth defects to a full range of respiratory
illnesses have been directly linked to the
quality – poor quality to be exact – of air that
people are breathing day in and day out. We need
to continue to tell the story and push the
importance of healthy indoor air daily, not only
during times
of global pandemics.
Scott continues “ I do believe that the COVID-19
situation has put a very public lens on how
microscopic particles in the air can affect our
health, and this will impact the future of
filtration in this post COVID-19 new normal.
There is a growing awareness of IAQ and critical
filtration in both commercial buildings and
residential homes.”
Higher MERV-rated products that can filter out
the very smallest particles I believe will be
the largest growth segments along with HEPA
filtration. Personally, I believe that MERV 13
and above will be the new demand growth for both
residential and commercial filtration in pleated
media. Bag media and mini pleats will also look
to MERV 13 and up to MERV 16 to deliver the best
air quality in locations that use these types of
filtration devices.
I know my comments might drive some concerns
with our HVAC equipment manufacturing friends,
but we must find the solution and create the
balance between high efficiency performance and
pressure drop. Kimberly-Clark, which has been a
long-time leader in the science and technology
of filtration media, as well as other media
producers, needs to match not only the new
demand for healthy air quality but also deliver
the lowest possible pressure drops to ensure the
least amount of additional strain on the HVAC
equipment as possible. Additionally, converters
will need to partner with media manufactures
that have the ability to service their needs, as
well as the industry demands, during these times
of global pandemics.”
Kimberly-Clark, which has been a long-time
leader in the science and technology of
filtration media, as well as other media
producers, needs to match not only the new
demand for healthy air quality but also deliver
the lowest possible pressure drops to ensure the
least amount of additional strain on the HVAC
equipment as possible. Additionally, converters
will need to partner with media manufactures
that have the ability to service their needs, as
well as the industry demands, during these times
of global pandemics.
https://www.filtnews.com/the-future-of-filtration-how-does-covid19-change-the-filtration-industry/
Microglass or Membrane Media
AAF says that. Microglass media filters still
have their place, such as high-temperature
applications. However, membrane media offers
compelling reasons to make a switch in HEPA and
ULPA filter media.
Particles that are 0.5μm in size or smaller tend
to follow increasingly erratic paths as particle
size decreases, a phenomenon known as the
diffusion effect. As such, HEPA and ULPA filters
are often rated according to their
most penetrating particle size, or the size of
particles that most readily pass through
them. As depicted in this line graph, filters
that achieve the same efficiency rating, in this
case ULPA filters rated at 99.999%, are not
necessarily equal in their MPPS performance.
AAF has systems which protect workers when
replacing filters used in conjunction with
isolation rooms.
Containment units provide a safe, reliable
method for removing contaminated particles in
hazardous environments. In particular, bag
in-bag out (BIBO) equipment minimizes exposure
to bacteria, viruses, and other contaminants.
These units incorporate a bagging ring behind an
access door, over which a PVC bag is attached,
allowing maintenance personnel to avoid direct
contact with contaminants on filters.
Robust units, such as the one in the diagram
below, come self-contained with HEPA filter,
prefilter, bag in bag out system for safe filter
replacement, isolation damper, base, and exhaust
stack. These systems allow existing rooms to be
transformed quickly into isolation rooms for
infected patients.
Chinese Meltblown
Prices Fall to $2800 Per Ton
Prices of melt-blown PP grade 1500 fell to
20,000 yuan/t ($2,820/t) this week from a peak
of Yn80,000/t in early April. Prices of
high-melt-index fibre grade PP also declined to
Yn8,300-8,450/t ex-warehouse this week from a
peak of Yn30,000/t two months ago.
Their price premiums to PP raffia have narrowed
to a reasonable level over the last three weeks.
Domestic raffia prices were at Yn7,700-7,900/t
ex-warehouse this week, up by Yn200/t from last
week. Some PP plants are shifting back to
producing more raffia grade. Around 40pc of PP
plants were producing the fibre grade in early
April compared with the usual 10pc now.
Inventories of polyethylene and PP at Chinese
state-controlled producers Sinopec and
PetroChina rose slightly to 730,000t on June 3rd
from 705,000t last week. But this is still
within typical inventory levels of around
700,000-800,000t.
China's overall PP market has lost some support
following the fall in domestic demand for face
masks. Seasonal demand for PP is declining as
well, although supplies have also fallen in the
second quarter of this year amid ongoing
turnarounds.
What Would be Melt
Blown Revenues with Widespread Efficient Mask
Use?
In the Alert yesterday we made the case that
most of the world’s 7.6 billion people will need
to wear
efficient masks to successfully vanquish
COVID.
At $3000 per ton and 600,000 masks per
ton = $0.005 meltblown cost per mask. With a
three layer mask the non-woven cost could be
$0.015 per mask.
If three billion people averaged 100
disposable masks per year, the production would
be 300 billion masks per year.
The meltblown media market would be $1.5
billion per year and the total media market
would be $4.5 billion per year.
It is likely that nanofibers and membranes will
take market share away from meltblowns. They
will be more expensive but will be washable so
the media market revenue could be about the same
with a high membrane market share.
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