Measuring the Filtering Efficiency of Sustainable Textiles Applied in Personal Protective Face Mask Production During Pandemic

The COVID-19 outbreak increased demand for protecting respirator masks. Textile masks appeared as a sustainable, comfortable and cost-effective alternative available in global communities. In this paper we used laser-based particle counting as a novel measurement method for mask material qualification, to determine concentration filtering efficiency. The efficiency of eleven different commercially available textile materials were measured in mono-, double- and triple stacked layer configurations in accordance of grammage, mesh (XY) and inter-yarn gap. It was found that in monolayer configurations, most materials are well below acceptable standards, with a wide variation of filtering efficiency, ranging from 5% to 48%. However, when testing fabrics in two or three layers, the efficiency can increase significantly, up to 70-80%, which is exceeding the standard for the medical masks. Breathability limits the layer stacking however. The paper presents measurement-based qualitative and quantitative recommendation for textile application in face mask manufacturing.