Setra Provides Isolation Room Monitoring Solutions

Particle Counting for Filtration Monitoring in Medical Facilities

Lydall Investing in Meltblown Line in France

Toray Expands Spunbond Capacity in China

MELTBLOW will Make Meltblown Media in France

Oceancash Pacific will Make Nonwovens and Three Ply Masks in Malaysia

FAU Research Shows Superiority of N95 Masks With Tight Fit

Xian Ambient Air Filter Concept Should be Reviewed With COVID in Mind

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Setra Provides Isolation Room Monitoring Solutions

The most resourceful way to implement an isolation room strategy is to employ a room pressure monitor's (RPM) real-time monitoring and alarm capabilities. RPMs are the safest and most reliable monitoring solution for isolation rooms. Some RPMs even have the ability to monitor temperature and humidity.

A room pressure monitor produces both audible and visual alarms as well as connect to a building management system. When a room is compromised, the alarms sound, reducing the labor necessary to manually certify negative pressure. This minimizes the possibility of a catastrophic oversight.

Setra has engineered technology to protect patients and staff, especially those in isolation rooms. Setra FLEX and Setra Lite can help prevent airborne infections like the coronavirus from spreading.

Setra FLEX™ provides a flexible room environmental control and monitoring solution in a simple-to-use package.

The unit supports 3 rooms, monitoring up to 6 parameters for each room. These optional additional parameters can include humidity, temperature, occupancy, particle count, door status, air velocity, and many more environmental factors. An optional differential pressure sensor can be either factory-installed in the unit or ordered separately and installed above the ceiling. Integration with building automation systems is made easy through either BACnet/IP or BACnet MS/TP network protocols.

A modular hardware design enables FLEX to fit in various wall thickness found around the globe. For applications which require the monitor to fit in wall depths less than 50 mm, FLEX can be ordered with an external pressure sensor. When mounting in a three gang electrical box, FLEX can be ordered with an integrated on-board sensor. Sufficient on-board I/O provides connectivity for most common equipment and sensor applications. A high accuracy of 0.25% differential pressure transducer is used in all pressure sensing options. A projected capacitive touch screen provides swipe functionality and allows for use with medical gloves. The face plate is attached to the unit body, enabling both tamper resistant operation and easy opening for pressure calibration.

Particle Counting for Filtration Monitoring in Medical Facilities

For years, the most common method of monitoring filter banks in institutions such as hospitals and medical facilities has been the use of physical and digital manometers or pressure transducers. Mechanical (Magnehelic) and even fundamental (u-tube) manometers have been in use for many decades to monitor filter loading. This trend began to change when affordable electronic pressure transducers became available and were connected to building automation and facility monitoring systems.

This shift in monitoring methods took routine physical checks of the filter manometers and allowed them to become notifications on a system dashboard for facility engineers and operators.

While this has been an accepted method for filter testing, the pharmaceutical and compounding pharmacy industries employed much more stringent tests for their indoor air quality (IAQ), requiring microbiological testing to assess the sterile conditions in these critical environments. The organic or viable airborne particles intruding into these environments are a contributor to contamination. 

Part of the solution in maintaining good IAQ and reducing the spread of disease and infection in compounding pharmacies, operatories and isolation rooms is through effective high efficiency filtration. This is an important factor but again, only part of the total solution.

As another means of insuring that a high performance filter bank is operating properly, facilities can also employ fixed particle monitoring tied in to their FMS or BAS systems. The particle counters would be installed upstream and downstream from the filters in their system. This allows for the operator to note that the total load upstream of the filters, as well as the downstream particle counts are within required standards.

The Particles Plus Model 5301P has been utilized by many institutions for filter bank monitoring. It can even be configured to work in installations with high static vacuum or excessive pressures, providing reliable particle counts in the air stream. Using particle counting in this application provides a great way to detect gradual or sudden failure of the filters to meet their ratings.
 

Particle counting is an effective tool as an installed sensor for monitoring critical environment filtration in conjunction with a host of other sensors (Temperature, Humidity, differential pressure, etc.) that all help ensure that these environments are meeting their intended design performance.

Lydall Investing in Meltblown Line in France

Lydall  is investing in a new production line to create fine fiber meltblown filtration media for face masks and high-efficiency air filtration systems. This new line will be installed at Lydall’s facility in Saint-Rivalain, France in the second quarter of 2021, substantially increasing the company’s capacity to supply this critically needed material to the European market.

The investment solidifies Lydall’s position as one of the largest global suppliers of fine fiber meltblown filtration media, the crucial component of N95 respirators and the European equivalent, FFP2/FFP3, as well as surgical masks and MERV-, HEPA- and ULPA-grade air filters. Lydall will receive up to 30 percent of funding for the investment through the support of France’s Ministry of the Economy and Finance. Lydall is also adding two fine fiber meltblown lines at its site in Rochester, NH, creating the largest meltblown operation in the U.S.

COVID-19 has created unprecedented global demand for face masks, upgraded air filtration systems and other products that are essential to preventing the spread of the virus. In response, governments around the world are now focused on establishing secure, reliable and sustainable domestic supply chains so they can guarantee they have access to high-quality products that are pivotal to national security and public health,” says Sara A. Greenstein, president and CEO. “Our global footprint and 100-year heritage in creating specialty filtration solutions position Lydall to serve as a local manufacturing partner to governments around the world, now more than ever. We take our role in creating products that protect people and places from viruses such as COVID-19 incredibly seriously, and we are grateful for the support of the French government, which will allow us to ramp up production even further.”

For more than 30 years, Lydall’s Saint-Rivalain facility has manufactured medium- and high-efficiency filtration media for a variety of applications that are critical to environments such as operating rooms, gas turbines and nuclear containment buildings. The facility currently has one line dedicated to meltblown filtration media production to make high-efficiency indoor air quality filters and, in response to COVID-19, has maximized its output to support the production of personal protective equipment (PPE) in Europe. Once this additional line is operational, Lydall expects to produce enough fine fiber meltblown filtration media for 600 million FFP2/FFP3 respirators or 2.2 billion surgical masks per year. The company plans to hire additional staff to support the increase in production.

The installation of this new, state-of-the-art production line will allow Lydall to advance filtration science and develop filtration media for higher-end air and liquid filters,” says Ashish Diwanji, President of Lydall Performance Materials. “COVID-19 was an unprecedented event that exposed the wider need to examine the indoor air quality of a variety of public spaces. As a global market leader in specialty filtration solutions, Lydall is at the forefront of that innovation and is committed to protecting people and places today, and in the years and decades to come.”

Toray Expands Spunbond Capacity in China

Toray added a new facility, capable of making 20,000 tons of spunbond nonwovens per year in Foshan, China in April. This investment brought the company's total Chinese capacity to 93,000 tons at two facilities. One of the largest makers of nonwovens in Asia, Toray also makes 61,000 tons of the material in Korea and 37,000 tons per year in Indonesia and is planning to start production of an 18,000-ton-per-year line in India in 2020. This investment will bring the group's total production capacity to 209,000 tons per year.

"We have been working on expansion of our production capability in Asia and India to respond the robust demand of PP spunbond," says company spokesman Masahi Fujii. "We’ll maintain No. 1 supply network in these areas by continuous enhancement of the material development."

MELTBLOW will Make Meltblown Media in France

MELTBLO France is a newly created company located in the Burgundy Franche-Comté area of France in the city of Brognard. The commercial production launch of meltblown nonwovens has been scheduled for April 2021. Twenty-two jobs will be created, for a global investment of €4.5 million.

The high performance RAMINA meltblown line will be able to produce 500 tons of meltblown for about 500 million surgical masks per year. MELTBLO France will also produce meltblown for FFP2 and FFP3 masks. The company will manufacture products based on PP polymer and in a second step with other polymers. The key for highly effective masks is the layer of meltblown polypropylene. This critical media filter is essential, and the fiber size in about 1 and 2 microns.

The founder of MELTBLO France, Nicolas Burny, is a French engineer who has 30 years of experience in development and production of nonwovens.

The president of MELTBLO France who spent his entire career in the nonwovens industry got the idea to set up this company thanks to www.e-nispe.com, the marketplace he created two years ago. E-nispe is a B2B platform for the nonwovens industry that connects worldwide all the players of the nonwoven industry.

The global demand for meltblown has soared due to the coronavirus and Burny saw an unprecedented increase in demand on his platform e-nispe. The other reason is that the French Government, like other countries, wants to secure new local production to avoid supply shortfalls.

MELTBLO France received grants from the French Government and the local area Burgundy Franche-Comté and its president Marie Guite Dufay.

MELTBLO France has already started discussions with most of the main French mask producers and will deliver optimal filtration efficiency to provide French made products in very high quality.

The company won’t only produce surgical masks to fight against Covid-19. The company has a long-term strategy with several development steps for the next years. In a few months, new applications for gas and liquid filtration and other products for industrial applications will be developed. 

Oceancash Pacific will Make Nonwovens and Three Ply Masks in Malaysia

Oceancash Pacific will double its production capacity for nonwoven materials used in the production of personal protective equipment (PPE). The Malaysian company manufactures and sells air-through bonded nonwoven and thermal bonded nonwoven fabric, which is widely used in disposable hygiene products.

The estimated capital expenditure for the project will be about $10 million  (for land and machinery) and will be funded through internal funds, placements and bank borrowings. The investment will double Oceancash's production to 16,000 tons per year and will be complete within 18 months.

"We observed that  demand for nonwoven materials has accelerated during this Covid-19 pandemic as nonwoven is a key raw material used in the production of PPE. We believe that this pandemic is an opportune time for such an expansion," says Oceancash general manager Lor Seng Thee.

"We are confident that this plan will mark a new major milestone for the group with very strong potential to raise the growth trajectory of our earnings," he adds.

Lor says the new expansion involves a major upgrade in production technology, which will allow the company to make three-ply material for three-ply masks.

"In addition, the nonwoven material from the new plant can be supplied to the disposable hygienic products industry, in which Oceancash already has a steady customer base," says Lor, adding that the company believes the demand for hygiene products will continue to grow, given the improvement of the standard of living as well as the higher hygiene awareness arising from this pandemic.

FAU Research Shows Superiority of N95 Masks with Tight Fit

Elastic face shields, neck gaiters and masks with valves — three of the creative approaches to face coverings since covid-19 hit the United States — are not very effective in curbing the spread of coronavirus particles, according to two new studies from Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton.

FAU engineering researchers tested how well shields and several types of masks worked on mannequins whose simulated coughs and sneezes were mapped to determine their path through the air.

Although several studies have shown the effectiveness of different face coverings, the FAU researchers used distilled water and glycerin to simulate the blast of particles from a human mouth, and lasers that provided striking neon graphics to illuminate the droplets’ track. They published their research in the journal Physics of Fluids.

Here’s what they found:

Without a mask, droplets traveled more than 8 feet, further than the 6-foot distancing guideline recommended by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

With a bandanna, droplets migrated 3 feet, 7 inches; with a folded cotton handkerchief, 1 foot, 3 inches; with a two-layer mask of cotton quilting fabric consisting of 70 threads per inch, 2.5 inches; with a CVS surgical-grade mask, about 8 inches; and with an N95 mask properly fitted, no droplets escaped.

Plastic face shields stopped large droplets but allowed small particles to bolt from under the barrier and around its sides. Neck gaiters also were found not to be a good roadblock.

Vented masks, which have a disk that opens or closes when the wearer breathes in and out, also allowed particles to break free.

The best protection came from cotton masks with at least two layers of fabric, N95 masks and CVS surgical-grade face coverings.

Manhar Dhanak, a professor in FAU’s department of ocean and mechanical engineering, said the scientists sought to get answers to a problem we all face: how to defend ourselves from coronavirus and remain fairly comfortable.

“You always think about how effective your mask is,” Dhanak said. “That was one of our motivations.”

Dhanak said he was surprised to find particles escape from two-layer masks as well as ill-fitting N95 masks, which don’t fit snugly on some wearers.

“How well it fits on your face is so important,” he said. “They can leak from the sides or in gaps.”

To protect himself, Dhanak said he wears a nanofiber mask, similar to an N95, but “lighter and paper-thin.”

Soon FAU will have the results of another droplet barrier study. Dhanak is checking how well plexiglass separators — newly installed in schools, checkout counters and workplaces — are actually protecting the people behind the plastic. Publication is expected in the coming weeks.

Xian Ambient Air Filter Concept Should be Reviewed with COVID in Mind

We conducted interviews with AAF and Mann + Hummel relative to filters for ambient air at traffic intersections and other highly polluted areas. China has  been pursuing this since 2016.

An air purifier in the central Chinese city of Xi’an was built to pull deadly pollutants from the air rather than add more. And preliminary research shows the tower — which some are calling the world’s largest air purifier — has cut air pollution significantly across a broad swath of the surrounding area.

Given those findings, the researchers behind the project say they hope to build an even taller air-purifying tower in Xi’an, and possibly in other cities around China.

“I like to tell my students that we don’t need to be medical doctors to save lives,” said Dr. David Pui, a professor of mechanical engineering at the University of Minnesota and one of the researchers. “If we can just reduce the air pollution in major metropolitan areas by 20 percent, for example, we can save tens of thousands of lives each year.”

The prototype tower in Xi'an cost $2 million to build.

Built in 2016, the $2 million Xi’an tower, dubbed the solar-assisted large-scale cleaning system, stands atop an enormous glass-roofed greenhouse. Sunlight heats the air within the greenhouse, Pui said, causing it to rise through the tower, where a series of air filters trap soot and other noxious particles.

One type of pollutant the prototype tower is designed to catch is known as PM2.5 because it’s made up of particulate matter no bigger than 2.5 microns in diameter. It’s especially dangerous because these fine particles can be breathed deep into the lungs. A recent study led by Dr. Cao Junji, a chemist at the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the project’s leader, showed a 19-percent drop in PM2.5 over 3.86 square miles in the tower’s vicinity.

In addition to a proposed second tower in Xi’an, which would stand 984 feet tall, there are ongoing discussions about building massive air purifiers in the Chinese cities of Guanzhong, Hebei, and Henan, Cao told NBC News MACH in an email.

There’s certainly a need to find new ways to fight air pollution, which worldwide causes or contributes to 6.5 million premature deaths worldwide, according to 2015 statistics. Dangerous air pollution is especially acute in many Chinese cities, in part because of the nation’s heavy reliance on coal over greener sources of energy.

Pui called the towers an important advance in the fight against bad air, saying “I hope that people will realize that this is a really effective and cheap way to solve the PM2.5 problem — and later on, the [carbon dioxide] problem — for the benefit of mankind.”

But not everyone is convinced.

Dr. Ming Xu, an associate professor of environmental engineering at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, said building air-purifying towers was an interesting idea but cautioned that it may be tricky to determine just how effective the towers are at curbing air pollution.

 “Urban air quality can vary sharply over short distance due to non-uniform distribution of emission sources,” Xu told MACH in an email. “More data and more rigorous analysis are required to evaluate the true impacts.”

Xu, who wasn’t involved in the tower project, added that it’s important to take into account the energy costs involved with building and operating the towers. If the structure requires electricity from the grid that is fueled by coal, then operating the purifying system will itself generate harmful emissions. “That will be not so clever,” Xu said.

There may also be more practical ways of mitigating air pollution, rather than building giant filtration towers, according to Dr. Robert Harley, a professor of civil and environmental engineering at the University of California, Berkeley, who was also not involved with the Xi’an tower project.

“Real progress in solving outdoor air pollution problems will require reductions in emissions from the major air pollution sources,” Harley told MACH in an email, “such as heavy industry, coal-burning power plants, motor vehicles, and residential cooking and heating, especially if people are still using solid fuels such as wood or coal for those purposes.”

McIlvaine makes several points relative to COVID. The filter media would have to have relatively high pressure drop to capture virus. This could reduce the flow through the tower if only solar heat is the driving force. On the other hand the fact that the virus would travel a relatively long distance before again reaching humans would indicate a greater chance of inactivation. Also if the tower acts to dilute the virus that is an advantage. This would only be partially offset by the fact that the tower would assist in more wide reaching travel of virus.