印度IIT Mand利用廢塑膠瓶開發高效口罩

撰文者: 塑膠智庫 | 出刊日期:2022-07-15 | 文章編號:Z5K96JJBXB


印度技術學院(Indian Institute of Technology, IIT)的研究人員開發出一種利用廢棄PET(Polyethylene Terephthalate)瓶製造高效口罩的技術,該口罩不僅比市售口罩更透氣,而且可以清洗和重複使用多達30次。
 

新開發的口罩是由廢塑膠瓶製成,可提供理想的顆粒過濾效率

研究人員使用廢塑膠瓶開發了一層薄薄的奈米不織布膜,可提供理想的顆粒過濾效率,與N95呼吸器和醫用口罩相當。IIT Mandi開發的奈米纖維膜含有比人類頭髮細250倍的纖維。研究團隊開發的口罩中使用的單層奈米不織布膜可以去除空氣中直徑為0.3微米臨界尺寸的顆粒,效率超過98%。這些顆粒也被稱為最難捕捉並且最具穿透性的。以此,研究人員設想用這些超細奈米纖維的口罩取代市售含有微纖維的熔噴布口罩。


使用靜電紡絲技術押出奈米纖維,為口罩帶來奇蹟

空氣中的微粒、污染物去除效率和透氣性是高效口罩的兩個主要標準。市售的熔噴布的口罩可能會以高呼吸阻力為代價來提高效率,而普通的3層醫用口罩是透氣的,但效率很低。但是,奈米纖維的口罩雖然透氣舒適,但可以有效過濾小顆粒。研究團隊使用了靜電紡絲技術,將廢PET瓶切碎,並使用多種溶劑將其溶解,然後從溶液中押出奈米纖維。這些奈米纖維透過排除細菌和傳染性成分來滿足用戶的安全要求。


高效的奈米纖維口罩比三層醫用口罩,捕獲空氣中的微粒效率更高

研究團隊還開發了一種高效的奈米纖維,該纖維結合了三層半可重複使用的口罩,並使用由尼龍製成的膜,該膜具有獨立的奈米不織布結構。這些口罩比三層醫用口罩在類似的透氣性級別捕獲空氣中的顆粒方面更有效。

參考資料

Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Mandi researchers have developed indigenous technology for recycling and manufacturing high-efficiency face masks from waste ‘PET’ bottles.
A team of IIT Mandi researchers including Sumit Sinha Ray, Assistant Professor, at School of Engineering and his research scholars Ashish Kakoria and Sheshang Singh Chandel have come-up with new indigenous technology to make face masks.
The researchers used waste plastic bottles to develop a single thin layer of nano-nonwoven membrane that provides desirable particle filtration efficiency, at par with N95 respirator and a medical mask.
The product has been developed and tested in the Multi-scale Fabrication and Nanotechnology Laboratory at IIT Mandi.
Sumit Sinha Ray said a human hair is close to 50 micrometres (0.05 mm) thick, the nano-fibre membrane developed at IIT Mandi contains fibres which are 250 times thinner than a human hair.
A single thin layer of nano-nonwoven membrane used in the masks developed by the research team can remove particles from the air at the critical size of 0.3 micron with more than 98 percent efficiency. These particles are also called the most penetrating particle and are the most difficult to catch.
With this, the researchers envisage replacing the commercially available melt-blown fabric masks which contain microfibre with these ultra-fine nanofibre based masks.
“Nanofibres can do wonders for face masks. Air-borne particulate and pollutant removal efficiency and breathability are two main criteria for efficient face masks.
Commercially available melt blown fabric-based masks can be efficient at a cost of high breathing resistance whereas generic 3-ply surgical masks are breathable but have meagre efficiency.
Nanofibres based masks can filter out small particles effectively despite being comfortably breathable. We hope to find interested industrial partners to take this technology for large scale production,” he added.
To achieve this, Ray and his team used ‘Electrospinning’ in which the researchers shredded the waste plastic bottles (PET) and dissolved the pieces using a combination of solvents and extruded the nano-fibres from the solution.
These nanofibres meet the safety requirements of the user by excluding the bacteria and infectious components. The breathability in the developed masks is better than the commercially available masks.
Ray has filed a provisional patent for the waste plastic bottle derived filter membrane technology based on electrospinning.
At the laboratory scale, the material cost for the mask can be around Rs 25 per piece but during the commercial manufacturing stage, its cost will be nearly halved.
Ashish Kakoria, research scholar said, “These ultrafine fibres allow less resistance in airflow due to a unique phenomenon, what we call as the ‘slip flow’, which improves breathability.
Moreover, the thrown away PET bottles can be put to good use using this technique.”
Apart from this, the research teams had also developed an efficient nanofibre incorporating a 3-ply semi reusable mask using a membrane made out of Nylon which boasts free-standing nano-nonwoven architecture.
These masks are more efficient than 3-ply medical face masks in capturing airborne particulates at a similar breathability scale.

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Indian Institute of Technology Mandi researchers have developed indigenous technology for manufacturing high-efficiency face masks from waste ‘PET bottles’. Dr. Sumit Sinha Ray, Assistant Professor, School of Engineering, IIT Mandi, along with his research scholars, Mr. Ashish Kakoria and Mr. Sheshang Singh Chandel, have used waste plastic bottles to develop a single thin layer of nano-nonwoven membrane that provides desirable particle filtration efficiency, at par with N95 respirator and a medical mask. The product has been developed and tested in the Multiscale Fabrication and Nanotechnology Laboratory at IIT Mandi.
A human hair is close to 50 micrometres (0.05 mm) thick, the nanofibre membrane developed at IIT Mandi contains fibres which are 250 times thinner than a human hair. A single thin layer of nano-nonwoven membrane used in the masks developed by the research team can remove particles from the air at the critical size of 0.3 micron with more than 98% efficiency. These particles are also called the most penetrating particle and are the most difficult to catch. With this, the researchers envisage replacing the commercially available melt-blown fabric masks which contain microfibre with these ultra-fine nanofibre-based masks.
Speaking about the innovation, Dr. Sumit Sinha Ray, Assistant Professor, School of Engineering, IIT Mandi, said, “Nanofibres can do wonders for facemasks. Air-borne particulate and pollutant removal efficiency and breathability are two main criteria for efficient face masks. Commercially available melt blown fabric-based masks can be efficient at a cost of high breathing resistance, whereas generic 3-ply surgical masks are breathable but have meagre efficiency. Nanofibres based masks can filter out small particles effectively despite being comfortably breathable. We hope to find interested industrial partners to take this technology for large scale production.”
To achieve this, Dr. Sumit Sinha Ray and his team used ‘Electrospinning’ in which the researchers shredded the waste plastic bottles (PET) and dissolved the pieces using a combination of solvents and extruded the nanofibres from the solution. These nanofibres meet the safety requirements of the user by excluding the bacteria and infectious components. The breathability in the developed masks is better than the commercially available masks. Dr. Sumit Sinha Ray has filed a provisional patent for the waste plastic bottle derived filter membrane technology based on electrospinning.
At the laboratory scale, the material cost for the mask can be around Rs. 25/pc. However, during the commercial manufacturing stage, its cost will be nearly halved.
Speaking about the efficacy of the developed mask, Mr. Ashish Kakoria, Research Scholar, IIT Mandi, said, “These ultrafine fibres allow less resistance in airflow due to a unique phenomenon, what we call as the ‘slip flow’, which improves breathability. Moreover, the thrown away PET bottles can be put to good use using this technique.”
Waste plastic pollution has already posed a grave challenge for researchers across the globe. To add to it, production and consumption of plastic-based commodities have increased since COVID-19 pandemic. Researchers at IIT Mandi are trying to mitigate the plastic pollution and come up with a value-added product using the same plastic waste. The developed technology has many other applications as well including smoke filtration and regular air purification.
Nanofibre incorporated 3 ply semi reusable mask
Apart from this, Dr. Sumit Sinha Ray and his research scholars have also developed an efficient nanofibre incorporating a 3-ply semi reusable mask using a membrane made out of Nylon which boasts free-standing nano-nonwoven architecture. These membranes have individual fibres of diameter 0.5 micron and basis weight of 20-25 Grams per Square Meter (GSM). Such membranes were stitched between two thin cotton fabrics to manufacture a face mask with the help of EWOK Society at IIT Mandi.
These masks are more efficient than 3-ply medical face masks in capturing airborne particulates at a similar breathability scale. As of now, at laboratory scale, the team is able to manufacture 20 mask membranes per day which shall be increased as per demand. The nanofibre incorporated 3-ply semi-reusable masks are washable and reusable for several times. At the laboratory scale, the material cost for these masks is Rs. 12/pc.

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