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Assessing the Effectiveness of Facemask Filter Materials Using DEHS Aerosol and the ELPI+
BORIS GALVIS, Nestor Rojas, David Sierra, Carlos Sanchez, Bernal Camilo, Andres Monroy, Gesoltec s.a.s
Abstract Number: 668
Working Group: Infectious Aerosols in the Age of COVID-19
Abstract
The Sars-CoV-2 pandemic sprang new businesses to manufacture protective coverings using common fabrics such as cotton and polyester, certified surgical masks, and respirators. As the scientific knowledge of the virus grew, namely its size, its main means of transmission through droplets spread originating in the respiratory tract and the distance it is propelled when we breathe, talk, cough, or sneeze, awareness of social distance and the importance of wearing masks grew.
In this work we assessed the filter material performance of facemasks found commercially in Bogota, Colombia. By challenging the material with Di-Ethyl-Hexyl-Sebacat (DEHS), an aerosol with a known size distribution, nebulized with a Topas’ generator and analyzed with the help of the Electrical Low-Pressure Impactor (ELPI+). We were able to determine the filtration efficiency and the most penetrating particle size of the sample materials. We found that the overall protective performance of a cotton/polyester fibers is between 10% and 12% of filtration, the material of a certified surgical mask offers up to 53% of filtration, and the material used in a certified respirator filters between 93% and 94% of particles ranging from1 00 nm to 1 micron. The woven cloth seems to filter only large droplets (>1 micron) but offer no protection against smaller droplets (<1 micron). To prevent the spread of the virus, surgical masks offer adequate protection, and certified respirators give the best protection.