Design and Analysis of a Face Mask Alternative

• Main Authors: Chan, Dane Marcus A., Roque, Ken Sean D., Sia, Chloe S., Tiu, Francine Joie N.
• Format: text
• Published: Animo Repository 2021
• Subjects: face mask; alternative; resistance; absorbency; substitute
• Online Access: https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/conf_shsrescon/2021/poster_men/2; https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/context/conf_shsrescon/article/1714/viewcontent/Chan_et_al.pdf
• Institution: De La Salle University

Due to the recent pandemic that plagued the country, face mask disposal has gained considerable attention. If something similar were to happen again, the creation of an alternative to the medically approved surgical masks is crucial to minimize disease spread induced by improper face mask disposal. This study aims to analyze and determine the proposed output’s effectiveness compared to conventional face masks. The materials for the trilayer output were nylon, paper towel, and cotton. The produced output and the control sample, the standard cloth mask, were sent to a lab for water resistance and absorbency tests. The test results revealed that neither the produced output nor the cloth mask could meet the recommended standards of a good face mask. As such, this research concluded that the production of an alternative face mask using the materials stated above in a manner identical to that of this study is ill-advisable. Additionally, the study affirmed that the standard cloth masks are not suitable as an efficient alternative to surgical masks. Overall, the paper intends to contribute to solving two of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), which are (3) Good and Health Well-being and (12) Responsible Consumption and Production.