Potential use of biodegradable polymers for facemask filter inserts produced using electrospinning methods

The elevated use of petroleum-based polymers to manufacture single-use disposable face masks is a serious environmental concern that has detrimental effects on the ecosystem. The research on using biodegradable facemasks is promising to reduce the environmental impacts of the single-use nondegradabl...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Polymer engineering and science 2023-10, Vol.63 (10), p.3362-3370
Main Authors: Khan, Junaid, Jaafar, Mariatti, Osman, Baderin, Mahmud, Haalah
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Analysis
Biopolymers
Cloth
Cotton
Electrospinning
Environmental impact
Filtration
Inserts
Methods
Morphology
Nanofibers
Nanoparticles
Polybutylenes
Polylactic acid
Polymer industry
Polymers
Polyvinyl alcohol
Terephthalate
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Summary:The elevated use of petroleum-based polymers to manufacture single-use disposable face masks is a serious environmental concern that has detrimental effects on the ecosystem. The research on using biodegradable facemasks is promising to reduce the environmental impacts of the single-use nondegradable facemask. A reusable cloth-based facemask with effective filtration could benefit society. Many studies suggest polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), polybutylene adipate terephthalate (PBAT), and polylactic acid (PLA) as viable biopolymers for facemask filter layer fabrication. In this work, an electrospun filter layer inserts with PVA, PBAT, and PLA polymers were produced by depositing electrospun nanofibers on non-woven cotton layers followed by conventional sealing. The fabricated filter inserts were used in cloth-based facemasks and were tested for filtration efficiencies and breathability. PVA facemask insert showed the best performance with 66.7% filtration efficiency and breathability of 0.66 m bar, whereas the lowest filtration efficiency was found for PBAT electrospun filter medium. The relation between filter membrane morphology and facemask performance indicates that a smaller diameter and uniform morphology results in better filtration and breathability of the facemask filter inserts.
ISSN:0032-3888
1548-2634
DOI:10.1002/pen.26451