Coronavirus Technology Solutions
June 11, 2020
Foot Sanitizer Provides Major Reduction in COVID
Transmission
PFNonwovens is a Major European Media Supplier
Fiberweb is Part of Berry Global
Fiberweb (India) is a Separate Company
Masks very Effective According to British Study
Milwaukee County Requires Wearing of Face Masks
in County Facilities
North Carolina Implements Mask Regulations
WHO
Recommends Three Layer Masks
Meltblown Media Prices Fall in China
Lydall Makes Masks for First Responders
Pure Living Provides Melt Blown Fabric
Production Machines
Lear Corporation Making 500,000 Masks per Week.
_____________________________________________________________________________________
Foot Sanitizer Provides Major Reduction in COVID
Transmission
Since our earlier webinar with PathO3Gen
Solutions there have been many more examples of
foot sanitizers reducing pathogens. Hospitals
are quantifying the reduction of HAI including
coronavirus with sanitizers placed at main
entrances and to sensitive areas such as
compounding pharmacies. Charlie Rodriguez and
Robyn Collins explained why a combination
of ozone and UV light makes a foot sanitizer
very effective for reducing infections. The
sanitizer is finding used in cleanrooms, food
manufacturing, restaurants and other facilities.
To view
this YouTube recording click here:
https://youtu.be/2k1_pB21wKw
PFNonwovens is a Major European Media Supplier
PFNonwovens is one of the leading global
producers of nonwoven textiles for use primarily
in the personal hygiene products market. The
Group supplies its customers with spunmelt
polypropylene and polyethylene based textiles
principally for use in disposable hygiene
products (such as baby diapers, adult
incontinence and feminine hygiene products) and,
to a lesser extent, in construction,
agricultural and medical applications.
The total production capacity is currently up to
100 thousand tonnes of nonwoven fabric per annum
in the Czech Republic and up to 20 thousand
tonnes in Egypt.
PFNonwovens introduced
a qualitatively new type of non-woven
fabric of the S (spunbond) and SMS (spunbond/meltblown/spunbond)
type comprising of more-component synthetic
fibre - Pegatex® Bico Core/Sheath,
C/S (core/sheath).
Fiberweb is Part of
Berry Global
In
2015 Berry Plastics generated about half of its
sales through flexible packaging and the other
half through rigids. Avintiv which owned
Fiberweb mostly manufactured and sold
polypropylene and polyethylene flexible nonwoven
products that are then converted by others into
a wide variety of consumer and industrial
products.
Similarities between the flexible packaging and
nonwovens businesses, along with the fact that
both companies use a great deal of PP, are two
reasons why the merger was attractive,
Fiberweb manufactures
spunbond, carded and meltblown nonwovens, in a
variety of FDA compliant polymers for specific
medical end uses. Bi-component polymer systems
combine the benefit of each of the polymers to
provide hybrid solutions in critical
applications. Functional additives, such as
antimicrobial treatments and colorants, can be
added in the spinning process, eliminating the
need for additional process
steps. Additionally, single-use, disposable nonwoven
fabrics are an affordable alternative to
traditional fabrics that must be decontaminated
after each use.
Uses in medical applications include:
Clean rooms, bedding,
electrodes and other devices, disposable gowns,
booties and masks, filtering, packaging, patient
transfer, wound care.
Cleanliness, purity, softness and strength are
vital attributes for textiles used in medical
applications. Fiberweb® nonwovens can be
engineered and finished for stretch, sterility,
liquid repellency, bacterial barrier and more,
and they continue to develop multi-use nonwovens
that are ideal for a variety of innovative
medical applications. Nonwovens are used
in:
·
Bed and table clothes
·
CSP Wraps
·
Drapes
·
Gowns
·
Medical devices
·
Packaging
·
Patient transfer
·
Wound care
·
Ice pads
·
Ostomy bags
·
Clean-room contamination protection
Fiberweb (India) is a Separate Company
This is a company founded in 1985. The company
manufactures innovative, quality spun-bond
polypropylene nonwoven roll goods and products
used globally in various industries, such as
hygiene, agriculture crop cover and medical &
industrial clothing. FWB is an 100% export
oriented unit (EOU) with ~75% of its products
exported to countries like U.S.A., U.K., Europe,
Australia, New Zealand, South Africa And Gulf
countries.
Meltblown applications include surgical face
masks, liquid filtration, gas filtration,
cartridge filters, clean room filters.
Masks very Effective According to British Study
Population-wide face mask use could push
COVID-19 transmission down to controllable
levels for national epidemics and could prevent
further waves of the pandemic disease when
combined with lockdowns, according to a British
study on Wednesday.
The research, led by scientists at the Britain’s
Cambridge and Greenwich Universities, suggests
lockdowns alone will not stop the resurgence of
the new SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus, but that even
homemade masks can dramatically reduce
transmission rates if enough people wear them in
public.
“Our analyses support the immediate and
universal adoption of face masks by the public,”
said Richard Stutt, who co-led the study at
Cambridge.
He said combining widespread mask use with
social distancing and some lockdown measures,
could be “an acceptable way of managing the
pandemic and re-opening economic activity”
before the development of an effective vaccine
against COVID-19, the respiratory illness caused
by the coronavirus.
The study’s findings were published in the
“Proceedings of the Royal Society A” scientific
journal.
At the onset of the pandemic, scientific
evidence on the effectiveness of face masks in
slowing transmission of respiratory diseases was
limited, and there was no data on COVID-19 since
it was a previously unknown disease.
But, prompted by some new research in recent
weeks, the World Health Organization said on
Friday it now recommends that everyone wear
fabric face masks in public to try to reduce
disease spread.
In this study, researchers linked the dynamics
of spread between people with population-level
models to assess the effect on the disease’s
reproduction rate, or R value, of different
scenarios of mask adoption combined with periods
of lockdown.
The R value measures the average number of
people that one infected person will pass the
disease on to. An R value above 1 can lead to
exponential growth.
The study found that if people wear masks
whenever they are in public it is twice as
effective at reducing the R value than if masks
are only worn after symptoms appear.
In all scenarios the study looked at, routine
face mask use by 50% or more of the population
reduced COVID-19 spread to an R of less than
1.0, flattening future disease waves and
allowing for less stringent lockdowns.
Experts not directly involved in the latest
British study were divided over its conclusions.
Brooks Pollock, a Bristol University infectious
disease modelling expert, said the likely impact
of masks could be much smaller than predicted.
Trish Greenhalgh, an Oxford University
professor, said the findings were encouraging
and suggested masks “are likely to be an
effective population measure”.
Milwaukee County
Requires Wearing of Face Masks in County
Facilities
Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley issued
a "universal face mask policy" Tuesday.
The policy requires that employees, contractors,
vendors, volunteers, service users and members
of the public wear face masks when entering
county facilities and grounds that have a
"controlled entry point."
Masks are recommended but not required at the
airport, on buses and in outdoor park spaces
including the beer gardens, according to a
statement from his office.
North Carolina
Implements Mask Regulations
With
coronavirus hospitalizations reaching a new
daily high in North Carolina, Orange County
announced it would require people to wear face
masks. Customers and employees entering any
store or restaurant are required to wear a face
mask starting Friday. This requirement will be
in effect until Aug. 31, the county said in a
statement.
Anyone "in an indoor or outdoor situation"
who can't maintain a 6-foot distance from
another person is required to wear a mask.
If someone is driving or riding public
transportation, they also have to wear a mask.
On the same day, the University of North
Carolina at Chapel Hill laid out plans for the
fall semester that make masks mandatory on
campus. Students could risk an honor code
violation if they are caught without a mask.
WHO Recommends Three Layer Masks
Fabric masks, either homemade or
store-bought, can help prevent the spread of the
novel coronavirus in settings where physical
distancing is difficult, according to new
research that informed the World Health
Organization’s updated guidelines on mask
wearing.
The guidelines,
detail the type of fabric masks that are
effective. They should have three layers: an
inner layer that absorbs, a middle layer that
acts as a filter, and an outer layer made from a
non-absorbent material like polyester.
Those layers in that order can "provide a
mechanistic barrier," epidemiologist Maria D.
Van Kerkhove, the WHO technical lead
on COVID-19, said during a media briefing from
Geneva Friday. The guidance, she emphasized, is
based on "new, novel research" commissioned by
the WHO.
Fabric masks should also be cleaned and worn
correctly, since contaminated hands can infect a
person adjusting their mask or frequently taking
it on or off, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the
WHO director-general said.
The specifics of how to wear and clean them will
be included in the soon-to-be-released guidance.
The updated guidelines also encourage people
working in clinical settings in areas with
widespread coronavirus transmission to wear
medical masks – even if they're not working
directly with COVID-19 patients.
"That means for example, that when a doctor is
doing a walk around on the cardiology or
palliative care units, where there are no
confirmed COVID-19 patients, they should still
wear a medical mask," Tedros said.
They also say that, in areas with community
transmission and in settings where physical
distancing is difficult, like on public
transportation or in a grocery store,
governments should encourage community members
to wear masks.
Those over 60 and with underlying conditions
should wear medical masks in such situations,
the director-general said.
What hasn't changed in the WHO mask-wearing
guidelines is advice that people who are sick
with COVID-19 remain home, consult with their
healthcare providers, and seek care if
necessary, isolate themselves, and have their
contacts quarantined.
"If it's absolutely necessary for a sick person
or a contact to leave the house, they should
wear a medical mask," Tedros said.
The WHO still recommends that caretakers of
COVID-positive people should wear a medical mask
while in the same room as the infected person,
and that healthcare workers wear medical masks
and other PPE when working with suspected or
confirmed COVID-19 patients.
And the organization continues to emphasize
that masks alone cannot defeat the coronavirus
and can lead to a false sense of security
leading people to slack on other important
prevention measures.
"I cannot say this clearly enough: Masks alone
will not protect you from COVID-19. Masks are
not a replacement for physical distancing, hand
hygiene, and other public health measures,"
Tedros said.
"Masks are only of benefit as part of a
comprehensive approach in the fight against
COVID-19," he continued. "The cornerstone of the
response in every country must be to find,
isolate, test, and care for every case, and to
trace and quarantine every contact. That's what
we know works."
Meltblown Media
Prices Fall in China
A fall in Chinese demand for face masks as the
Covid-19 outbreak is brought under control in
the country has weighed on melt-blown
polypropylene (PP) prices amid ample supplies of
the medical product.
Prices of melt-blown PP grade 1500 fell to
20,000 yuan/t ($2,820/t) this week from a peak
of Yn80,000/t in early April. Prices of
high-melt-index fibre grade PP also declined to
Yn8,300-8,450/t ex-warehouse this week from a
peak of Yn30,000/t two months ago.
Their price premiums to PP raffia have narrowed
to a reasonable level over the last three weeks.
Domestic raffia prices were at Yn7,700-7,900/t
ex-warehouse this week, up by Yn200/t from last
week. Some PP plants are shifting back to
producing more raffia grade. Around 40pc of PP
plants were producing the fibre grade in early
April compared with the usual 10pc now.
Inventories of polyethylene and PP at Chinese
state-controlled producers Sinopec and
PetroChina rose slightly to 730,000t on June 3rd
from 705,000t last week. But this is still
within typical inventory levels of around
700,000-800,000t.
China's overall PP market has lost some support
following the fall in domestic demand for face
masks. Seasonal demand for PP is declining as
well, although supplies have also fallen in the
second quarter of this year amid ongoing
turnarounds.
Lydall Makes Masks
for First Responders
Lydall, Inc. announced that during the COVID-19
pandemic, Lydall Thermal Acoustical Solutions,
located in Hamptonville and Yadkinville,
converted their automotive cut and sewing
operations to produce protective masks,
primarily for use within Lydall company
facilities. The masks, known as BriCo masks,
named for their developers, employ a meltblown
filtration media manufactured by Lydall’s
Performance Materials business which supplies
similar material to medical mask producers.
On
May 20 representatives from Lydall delivered
protective masks to local first responders in
Yadkinville.
“We are extremely pleased, and honored, to be in
a position to donate 2,000 masks today to the
Yadkin County Health Department and County EMS,
Yadkin Medical Associates, the Yadkinville
Police Department and the Yadkin County
Sheriff’s Department,” said Scott Bathrick, Vice
President of Global Manufacturing of Lydall
Thermal Acoustical Solutions.
Joe Abbruzzi, President Lydall Thermal
Acoustical Solutions, added “On behalf of all
our Lydall employees, we want to thank our first
responders, medical workers, police and all
others on the front line fighting this pandemic.
We hope, in some small way, that this donation
shows our appreciation for all that you do to
keep our employees, neighbors and general public
safe”.
With sewing equipment onsite and access to
high-quality face mask materials from another
Lydall facility, the Hamptonville team acted
quickly. In record time, they converted a
conference room to a clean room and cut-and-sew
operation, and they reallocated their resources
to quickly establish a face mask production
line.
The team now produces 2,000+ face masks per day
and distributes them to local first responders,
healthcare professionals and other Lydall
facilities for employee use.
The materials used to make the face masks comes
from Lydall’s Rochester, New Hampshire facility
where they manufacture high-quality, specialty
filtration materials for use in a variety of
finished products, including N95 respirators,
surgical and medical face masks, and HEPA and
ULPA air filters. In addition to the
high-performing filtration efficiency layer,
Lydall also manufacturers media for the other
components of the face mask.
Manufactured in Hamptonville, Lydall’s BriCo
face masks consist of Lydall’s MB 1049HW media
in the filtration efficiency layer. This media
performs at a Bacterial Filtration Efficiency
(BFE) level of >98% according to Lydall’s
proprietary and correlated flat sheet test
method.
The comfort layer, also known as the skin
contact layer, and the protective layer are also
manufactured within Lydall and offer excellent
moisture management and a soft surface for
all-day comfort.
Pure Living Provides Melt
Blown Fabric Production Machines
Pure Living, a Hong Kong-based
chemical engineering company, has launched
one-stop melt-blown fabric solutions designed by
local experts for Hong Kong. The solution offers
melt-blown fabric manufacturing machines,
innovative techniques and processes for mask
production. This is an important milestone for
mask manufacturing in Hong Kong, offering a
steady supply of material to meet the needs of
the local market. Pure Living has successfully
launched MBHK01, its self-developed melt-blown
fabric manufacturing machine, and has top notch
testing and quality control. The high quality
protective masks manufactured by Pure Living
have obtained ASTM Level 1 certification.
At
the beginning of the Covid-19 outbreak, Pure
Living planned to produce masks to supply
hospitals, universities, and some institutions.
But there was a shortage of masks available to
the general public and major manufacturers
because of a failure to ensure a stable supply
of melt-blown fabrics. With the inconsistency in
the quality of melt-blown fabric supplied by
traders it was be difficult to assure the
overall quality.
The team hoped to purchase small-scale equipment
to produce melt-blown fabric, but they
discovered the design and performance of the
melt-blown fabric equipment and accessories on
the market made it difficult to melt
polypropylene and create microfibers, and the
spray heads could easily become blocked and
crystallize the cloth, causing some masks to
fail the ASTM Test.
Pure Living made use of its strong network of
raw materials suppliers from all around the
world and developed its own melt-blown fabric
production to develop a one-stop solution for
the production of mask materials in Hong Kong.
The masks made by Pure Living obtained ASTM
Level 1 certification, and the fabric
permeability is better than most masks, which
allows for easier breathing.
Vanessa Ho, CEO of Pure Living, said, "At the
beginning of the outbreak, many of our business
partners faced great challenges with sourcing
high-quality melt-blown fabric. Therefore, we
believed there was an imminent need to develop
the capability to produce high-quality
melt-blown fabric locally, to provide
manufacturers with an effective solution. Our
Pure Living team is comprised of talents with
expertise in scientific research and solid
industry experience. From materials sourcing to
machine assembly, we have taken a pragmatic
approach by combining our experience, knowledge,
and technology. Our goal is to develop and
launch a production line for high-quality
melt-blown fabric. With tireless efforts over
the past four months, Pure Living has now met a
significant milestone in the research and
development of high-quality melt-blown fabric
production in Hong Kong."
To
address the challenges faced by local small and
medium-sized mask manufacturers, they focused on
the research and development of horizontal
melt-blown fabric equipment to replace the
traditional vertical design. The MBHK01 first
generation melt-blown fabric production machine
can be set up in spaces with lower ceilings and,
at the same time, it requires less space. Small
and medium-sized mask manufacturers can now
become self-sufficient with the capability to
produce melt-blown fabric with lower set up
costs and less space. They will be able to
supply Hong Kong with quality and cost-effective
masks for the long-term.
This project required a high level of industry
expertise and technical sophistication in
different disciplines at every step, including
project planning, design, development of
production line, selection of materials, and
production. Finally, quality assurance checks
and controls are the most important elements of
the process.
Pure Living invited Professor Hu Jinlian of the
Department of Biomedical Engineering of the City
University of Hong Kong to take part in the
project as a technical consultant. Professor Hu
gave recommendations on the parameters of
formulation for production and production line
enhancement. She also led the testing and
analysis of product quality, which is essential
in enhancing the production process and assuring
the product quality meets international
standards.
The production process of Pure Living
high-quality melt-blown fabric is rigorous and
precise. The raw polypropylene is melted in the
extruder at high temperatures and filtered by
multi-layer fine metal mesh to isolate
impurities. Following that, the polypropylene is
ejected from a nozzle through a series of fine
holes at high pressure to produce a filiform
shape. These filaments are collected and cooled
by a transportation belt, and the original
filaments soon become a dense melt-blown fabric.
Finally, the melt-blown fabric is double-electrostatically
treated to enhance filtering and permeability.
Then, it is cut and collected into rolls of the
required size.
Vanessa Ho added, "Although we have seen an
increase in overall supply of melt-blown fabric
in the market and adjustments in pricing, we
noticed that the public is increasingly
attentive to the quality of the materials used
for mask production. The market demand for
high-quality melt-blown fabric will continue
unabated. Pure Living developed a one-stop
solution for melt-blown fabric for masks,
through their own research and development
capabilities.
This provides local mask manufacturers with
suitable equipment, high-quality materials and
the process to finetune their production lines.
Local manufacturers will be able to manage the
quality control to enhance filterability of
masks. The lower production costs allow local
mask manufacturers to adopt a more long-term and
sustainable business approach."
Moreover, the protective masks produced by Pure
Living have obtained ASTM Level 1 certification.
Currently, Pure Living is a supplier of masks to
major local organizations such as the University
of Hong Kong. The company also exports the masks
to overseas markets.
Pure Living, founded in 2017, is one of the key
technology training companies in Hong Kong
Science Park's Incu-Tech Program. It mainly
sells automated sub packaging systems (EPR,
Enhanced Programmed Re-Bottler) and high-purity
chemical reagents. The company aims to develop
and launch innovative products with excellent
scientific research and a deep understanding of
the machinery and chemical industries
Lear Corporation Making
500,000 Masks per Week.
Lear Corporation, a global automotive
technology leader in Seating and E-Systems,
today announced that it has added new equipment
to its operations in Pine
Grove, PA, to make up to 500,000
protective face masks per week.
The Pine Grove facility
is among ten Lear plants on three continents
that are now producing masks for front line
workers, local communities and company employees
to help prevent the spread of COVID-19. In
addition to Pine
Grove's output, company employees are
currently producing 600,000 masks at other
global locations each week. Lear's facility in Mocksville,
N.C., is also making face shields,
including about 60,000 units in April.
"Adding production capacity
at our Pine Grove facility
is the most recent action we have taken to use
our available manufacturing and technology
resources to quickly and effectively address the
health care crisis worldwide," said Ray
Scott, Lear President and CEO.
Employees at the Pine
Grove facility completed training to
operate the mask-making machines, while also
practicing new health and safety protocols from
Lear's Safe Work Playbook, including wearing
personal protective equipment, and following
social distancing procedures.
"We are incredibly grateful
to our team members at the Pine
Grove facility for their efforts to
produce these critical products for frontline
heath care workers, and first responders as well
as their fellow employees," said Scott. "As the
world combats this virus, we remain committed to
making personal protective equipment,
prioritizing the health and safety of our
employees, and supporting the communities where
we live and work."
