What Fabrics Are Used for Making Masks?

Most of the current dust masks are made of two layers of non-woven fabric inside and outside, and a filter cloth (melt-blown cloth) in the middle.Filtering dust mainly depends on the middle filter cloth. Because the melt-blown cloth has the characteristics of static electricity, it can adsorb positive particles. Because the dust is adsorbed on the filter cloth, and the filter cloth is static and cannot be washed, the dust masks are disposable.

Dust masks are the first class in personal protective equipment, higher than earmuffs and protective glasses. The authoritative testing certifications include CE certification in Europe and NIOSH certification in the United States.

1. 3M8210 mask (N95): It meets the National Occupational Safety and Health Association Standard (NIOSH) N95 approval (N95 type mask), and the particle diameter of the filter can be as small as 0.3 microns. In the test, the success rate of blocking particles with a diameter of 0.075 microns was 95%. Coronavirus pneumonitis (atypical pneumonia) virus is about 0.1 to 0.12 microns in diameter.

2. Surgical mask: It is made of three layers of "non-woven", suitable for use in the operating room environment; it can block particles with a diameter of about 4 microns or more.

3. Activated carbon medical masks: The main role of activated carbon materials is to block the taste, not to prevent bacteria and viruses, and to increase respiratory resistance. The isolation function is 98%.

4. Dust respirator: It is mainly dustproof and antibacterial.

5. Ordinary paper mask: It is useful for blocking larger particles, and viruses less than 5 microns in diameter can pass easily, and it has limited bacteria isolation function.

The working principle of an air-filtering mask or a filtering mask for short is that the air containing harmful substances is filtered through the filter material of the mask and evolved before being inhaled. The structure of a filter mask is divided into two parts, one is the main body of the mask, and the other is the filter material, including filter cotton for dust prevention and chemical filter box for anti-virus and so on.

The dust blocking principle of general gauze masks is mechanical filtering. That is, when the dust hits the gauze, it will block some large particles of dust in the gauze through the layers of blocking. However, fine dust, especially dust smaller than 5 μm, passes through the mesh of gauze and enters the respiratory system. There are some dust masks on the market, whose filter material is composed of permanent static charged fibers. Respiratory dust smaller than 5 μm will be attracted by static electricity and adsorbed on the filter material during the process of passing through this filter material, which will really play a role in blocking dust.