Last month, companies in Guangdong province, Beijing and Shanghai reported producing a new type of face mask that uses a nanomaterial membrane, rather than the typical melt-blown fabric, to filter bacteria, viruses and other pathogens, according to local health and medical products authorities. The new masks are on par with N95 standards, meaning they filter particles of all sizes with at least 95 percent efficiency. The masks are also comfortable, easy to breathe through and can be reused up to 20 times depending on the user's setting and wear time, the authorities said. The retail price for the masks created by companies from Shanghai will be around 15 to 20 yuan ($2.14 to $2.85) each. The prices for the ones made by Beijing and Guangdong companies are still unknown because those companies just recently began production. On Feb 21, Premier Li Keqiang said during an inspection of one of the mask makers in Beijing that China would need to boost efforts to push face mask production to over 100 million a day to meet national demand. Li said face mask supply is a basic prerequisite for resuming work and production and serves as a key medical and psychological barrier that protects the public. Li urged the National Medical Products Administration to speed up appraisal of nanofiber membrane masks so factories could scale up production once approval is granted.

Click Here For Complete Overview Text

• Beijing University of Chemical Technology

• Mask

• Air Filtration

• Reuse

• Coronavirus

• Nanotechnology

• Overview