제 15 호 Efforts to Develop Eco-friendly Mask Technology
Kicker: SCIENCE (MASK TECHNOLOGY)
Efforts to Develop Eco-friendly Mask
Technology
By Su-Young Kim, Cub-reporter
Masks became a part of our lives during the Covid-19 pandemic. In this situation, do you know how many lung masks there are? According to the Anti-Corruption & Civil Rights Commission, they said one mask is used for two or three days per person, and more that 7.3 billion masks are discarded a year. Masks are made of various materials such as filters, nonwoven fabrics, iron cores, and straps, making it difficult to separate and discharge them. The main materials of masks with several layers of filters to prevent virus protection is polypropylene. It’s one of plastics. Plastic emits dioxine which is designated as a first-class carcinogen by the World Health Organization. For this reason, some people try to make eco-friendly masks for our environment and health.
In 2020, patent applications that applied for environmental pollution prevention technology to masks increased rapidly. According to the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the number of patent applications for mask-related technologies to prevent environmental pollution was 112 in 2020, when Covid-19 began. So far, the number of patent applications for environmental pollution prevention masks has been only 1 to 13 per year. An official from the Korean Intellectual Property Office explained that it was the result of efforts to recognize the seriousness of environmental pollution and find technical solutions as the emission of waste masks has increased significantly since Covid-19. Looking at the proportion of applications by technology over the past 10 years, there are about 14 biodegradable materials, about 104 multi-use masks, and about 4 waste mask recycling cases. Then what is the biodegradable material used in eco-friendly mask development technology?
The Biodegradable Material
Simply, it is an eco-friendly biodegradable plastic that decomposes polymer structures which means a molecule of high molecular weight consisting of many connected units of low molecular weight by microorganisms and decomposes for water, carbon dioxide, and compost naturally within months. The biodegradable plastics include cellulose, chitin, and starch, Polybutylenes succinate (PBS), etc. It can be used like normal plastic and decomposes under proper conditions, so it can solve the problem of waste caused by plastic. For this merit, the Korea Research Institute of Chemical Technology developed a biodegradable mask’s filter. It is based on chitosan using the seashells. Chitosan is +charged, so it does not use electrostatic methods and can hold small particles of charge. Since the charge principle is used, it is not vulnerable to moisture, so the function of the filter is maintained for a long time and can be reused several times. Filters can be decomposed within six hours using enzymes and within a month in high temperature and humid summer.
How Did the Biodegradable Mask Come Out?
The research team reinforced polybutylene, a representative biodegradable plastic, with its own technology, pulled it out in the form of thin nanofibers and microfibers, and overlapped each other to make a nonwoven fabric. Coating this nonwoven fabric with chitosan nano whiskers* extracted from nature completes the final filter. Then, the ability to capture external substances was increased by sticking viruses and dust with a chitosan nano whisker* coating. Chitosan nano whiskers are positive, while external substances such as viruses and fine dust are negative. Therefore, just as a magnet is attracted, the virus sticks to the chitosan coating and cannot pass through the mask. It was confirmed that this filter blocks 98.3% of small particles in the air. This shows the performance of the N95 filter, a product currently being sold. In addition, the difference in breathing pressure before and after wearing the mask was measured low at 59 pascals* (Pa), indicating good ventilation.
*Chitosan nano whisker: A material that increased the surface area by making chitosan, widely known as a health supplement, into nanoparticles with a diameter of 10 to 20 and a length of 200.
*General KF94’s breathing pressure is measured 70Pa.
Comparison between the existing mask and
eco-friendly biodegradable mask
Still Covid-19 continues until now, and it is obvious that our lives and environments are closely connected, and the impact of masks used every day and used by everyone cannot be ignored. Therefore, eco-friendly mask development technology should be carried out continuously, and we should pay attention to it and protect our safety and environment from infectious diseases wisely.
Sources:
https://www.fnnews.com/news/202106090834318007
