Department of Fashion Technology, PSG College of Technology, Coimbatore 641004, India.
Department of Fashion Technology, PSG College of Technology, Coimbatore 641004, India.
Sci Total Environ. 2022 Apr 10;816:151562. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.151562. Epub 2021 Nov 9.
The use of masks as a personal protective material is the new normal in the post-pandemic. The higher use of masks triggers immediate disposal of synthetic textile fibers leading to environmental pollution. This research is aimed to analyse the level of mask-related pollution and its impact on microfiber release. Microfiber emission characteristics of the tri-layer nonwoven mask (Polypropylene-based disposable mask) are analysed in the dry and wet stages. The individual layers of the mask and the entire mask are evaluated by subjecting them to static immersion and mechanical agitation against freshwater and seawater in the wet stage. The results of the study showed a higher microfiber shedding at dry state (14,031.97-177,601.58 fibers/mask) than the wet state (2557.65-22,525.89 fibers/mask). The increased fuzz formation in the dry state than the wet state is noted as the main reason. In the case of wet state, when the freshwater and seawater are compared, both in a static and agitated state, seawater degraded the mask highly (3358.03-27,348.9 fibers/mask) than the freshwater (1757.26-17,702.86 fibers/mask). Higher salinity and density of the seawater were noted as influencing parameters over the freshwater. When the results of naturally weathered masks are compared with the new mask, weathered masks released significantly (p < 0.05) higher amount of fibers at the evaluation stages. Similar to the new masks, the weathered masks also showed a higher amount of shedding in the dry state and presence of seawater. When the individual layers of the disposable masks were evaluated, at dry and wet states, all the layers showed a similar shedding (no significant difference between individual layers) in the case of a new mask. Whereas, after weathering, a significant amount of higher shedding (p < 0.05) is noted in the middle layer of the mask followed by the outer and inner layer. The difference in fiber composition is noted as the main reason for the strength difference of the nonwoven structure. Statistical analysis confirmed the significant impact of the natural weathering process and seawater on the microfiber shedding.
口罩作为个人防护材料在疫情后已成为新常态。口罩的大量使用导致合成纤维的一次性处置量增加，从而引发了环境污染。本研究旨在分析口罩相关污染的程度及其对微纤维释放的影响。分析了三层无纺布口罩（基于聚丙烯的一次性口罩）在干燥和湿润阶段的微纤维排放特性。在湿润阶段，通过将口罩的各个层和整个口罩分别置于淡水和海水中进行静态浸泡和机械搅拌，对其进行评估。研究结果表明，干燥状态下的微纤维脱落量（14031.97-177601.58 根/口罩）高于湿润状态下（2557.65-22525.89 根/口罩）。干燥状态下的毛绒形成量比湿润状态下多，这是主要原因。在湿润状态下，与淡水相比，无论是在静态还是搅拌状态下，海水对口罩的降解作用都更高（3358.03-27348.9 根/口罩），而淡水的降解作用较低（1757.26-17702.86 根/口罩）。较高的盐度和海水密度被认为是影响因素，超过了淡水。与新口罩相比，当评估自然风化口罩的结果时，风化口罩在各个评估阶段释放的纤维数量明显（p<0.05）更高。与新口罩类似，风化口罩在干燥状态和存在海水的情况下，脱落的纤维数量也更多。当评估一次性口罩的各个层时，在干燥和湿润状态下，新口罩的各个层的脱落量相似（各层之间无显著差异）。然而，在风化后，口罩中间层的脱落量明显（p<0.05）更高，其次是外层和内层。纤维成分的差异是无纺布结构强度差异的主要原因。统计分析证实了自然风化过程和海水对微纤维脱落的显著影响。
