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The Nonwovens Institute at North Carolina State University started manufacturing face mask materials that will be used to protect individuals on the front lines of the coronavirus pandemic.
According to a WECT News report on April 2, Nonwovens Institute’s machines can manufacture 20,000 meters of nonwoven material, which can be used to create up to 500,000 surgical masks per day.
“Because of the COVID-19 crisis, we took the spunbond technology and created a new generation of unique filters that have excellent filtering capability and can be potentially be reused after cleaning with peroxide, or potentially alcohol solution,” NWI Executive Director Behnam Pourdeyhimi said. ”Because these materials are strong, unlike classical meltblown filters, they can also be cut and sewn by traditional techniques.”
By next month, the University expects to have equipment available that will enable NWI Centennial Campus facilities to make surgical masks from their own spunbond nonwoven material.
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