UTILIZATION OR DISCARDED SURGICAL FACEMASKS INLO POLYMER CLOTH

• James Acuna

• Kyla Marie Asis

• Kierste Ibita

• Allan Victor David

• Crystal Lee Villania

• Kimmiel Quibral

• Kyros Rubio

• Mikus Olila

• Rheinvel Bertillo

SIGNIFICANCE

The surgical face mask is often used due to Covid 19 Pandemic. Since the surgical facemask is not
reusable and also non bio degradable, the researchers can consider that surgical facemask has no
purpose after disposal because it may be dangerous due to the of virus or any diseases that it possibly
contains making it one of the factors that would cause pollution. In this study, young researchers will
determine if disposable facemasks can be transformed into polymer cloth.

OBJECTIVES THIS PROJECT AIMS TO:

1. Create polymeric cloths from used surgical face mask.

2.Determine the durability and comfortability of a polymeric cloth made from used surgical face mask

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE (RRL):

The polymers used in clothing can be made from synthetic proteins like silk and wool, or even from
plant-based materials. The majority of the polymers found in clothing all share one thing in common:
they are fibers. Any member of the group of ral or artificial substances known as polymers is made up of
very big molecules, or macromolecules, which are repetitions of simpler chemical building blocks known
as monomers. Numerous components of living things, such as proteins, cellulose, and nucleic acids, are
polymers. Additionally, they serve as the foundation for products like concrete, glass, paper, plastics,
and rubber as well as minerals like diamond, quartz, and feldspar. The term “polymer '' is referred to as
high polymer. Monomers of the same molecular weight, shape, or chemical makeup are not required for
polymers to form. one type of monomer makes up some natural polymer. However, the majority of
polymers, both natural and manmade, are composed of two or more different kinds of monomers;
these polymers are referred to as copolymers. A monomer is a molecule from a group of primarily
organic chemicals that can combine with other molecules to generate much bigger molecules, polymers.
A monomer must in order to function. Higher functionality monomers produce cross-linked, network
polymeric products, whereas bi-functional monomers can only create linear, chainlike polymers.
According to plastic, (2020) plastic recycles clothes into plastic-like plastic. Masks were recycled after
COVID-19. Four days are spent “quarantining” masks. They’re crushed up and UVcleaned before
recycling . “ we crush garments or masks mix them with a binder, and plastic,” said civil. It’s industrial
and can be molded like plastic. Plastic says it may repurpose the masks, but for now its producing plastic
visors to fight covid. The study of Konda at al,. (2020) fabric with tight weaves and low porosity such as
those found in cotton sheets with high thread count, are preferable. Four layers of silk provided good
protection across the 10nm to 6nm range of particulates. A quilt consisting of two layers of cotton
sandwiching a cotton-polyester batting also worked well. Moreover, cotton with a high thread count and
tighter weaves performed better in terms of filtering. Silk and chiffon, for example, are very excellent at
excluding particles at the nanoscale. Leakages around the mask region can reduce effiency by 50% or
more, emphasizing the significance of “fit”.

REVIEW OF RELATED STUDY (RRS):

The global COVI-19 pandemic, resulting into an intensive use of face masks, due to his face mask
pollution has lately been increasing. Face masks are made from polymeric material (polypropylene,
polyester) which results in microplastic pollution. Mentioned by ( Anarw, 2020) these face masks within
the littering surface are wasted to water bodies, which damages the aquatic environment. Not only does
face masks affect water bodies, it also clogs sewer networks, medical masks are required for the COVID
19 response each month. This amount of face mask pandemic has increase plastic waste due to
mandatory use of surgery masks, which are commonly made of non-biodegradable polypropylene. As a
result of the need to change the way we produce and consume, the linear economy of taking, making
and wasting gave way to the circular economy of reducing, reusing, and recycling. By altering one’s
lifestyle, it will be possible to drastically reduce the increasing plastic waste that is invading lands and
c=ocean and entering the food chain, having negative effects on fauna flora and human health. To recall,
global plastic production increase form 1.5 million metric tons in 1950 to nearly 350 million metric tons
of 2017 and was disposed of in landfills as waste; they emit 2.8 billion tons of greenhouse gasses into
the atmosphere each year. With the technology in place, it is proposed to produce natural polymers
such as chitin ang lignin, which can be obtained from waste materials and used to make biodegradable
goods as well as surgical and beauty masks. This way, natural materials can be preserved for future
generations, preserving human well-being and the world’s biodiversity. METHODOLOGY: Each of our
member will use surgical face masks per day up to approximately thirty days/ one month. Each time we
use the face masks, we will put it in an isolated container to avoid infection. After one month we will
remove it from the container and disinfect it for one hour using (wala pa) after disinfection we will
remove the steel and strings of the face masks, after removal we will shred the facemasks to the
preparation of the spinning process, where the raw polymers are spun In a machine to form a cloth

DATA GATHERING:

To determine how are the durability of cloth recycled from used surgical face mask

METHODOLOGY:

Materials:
Gloves, garbage tongs, aprons and will be needed in collecting discarded surgical
facemasks. Ten sterile containers will be needed for storing the collected surgical face
mask
 Before collecting the discarded surgical masks, the members will be wearing gloves
and aprons to protect themselves from the virus. After wearing the needed equipment
before collecting the surgical facemasks, The members will collect 200 discarded surgical
face masks either littered or in the garbage using garbage tongs. The collected discarded
surgical face masks will be placed in a plastic bags .After collecting it, the surgical face
masks will be removed in the plastic bags and placed in a sterile container. Each container
will have an (amount of h2o) and (amount of chlorine) will be added to disinfect all the
bacterias, viruses, etc. Leave the container for about one hour. (article ng chlorination
process). After the disinfection, dry the face masks using (tool) and remove the steel and
strings of the face masks. Put the (....) to shred the face masks using a cloth
shredder. After the discarded face mask is shredded, the raw polymers will be turned into
yarn via “ring spinning” ,In ring spinning, the roving is initially attenuated by drawing rollers,
spun, and wound around a rotating spindle that is housed within an independently rotating
ring flyer. , the yarn will then be turned into a piece of fabric/textile through …………… to
measure the durability of the polymeric fabric/cloths made from discarded surgical face
mask we will use a test called *martindale test”, The test involves repeatedly rubbing the
fabric in a circular motion with tiny discs of worsted wool . The test is over when two yarns
break or there is a discernible change in the appearance of the cloth, which is continuously
examined for wear and tear.

Spinning process:
The sanitize

Objective: In order to stop the transmission of the virus, this study attempted to compile

information on various disinfection processes for facilities that treat suspected or verified

COVID-19 patients. It also proposed various techniques to prepare bleach solutions for a

variety of uses within a health unit.

Methods: Bibliographic study was conducted on COVID-19 containment procedures and

disinfectants used to render the virus inactive.

protocols that are unsuitable because they advocate performing less cleaning per day than

is actually necessary and using ineffective agents or concentrations. We advise using

solutions with chlorine in them, such as commercial bleach, and emphasize their

purposes, proper use, and application in settings that care for patients with the disease

COVID-19 or those who may have it. Chlorine solutions have been described as the most

effective and applicable among the most commonly used disinfectant agents.

Conclusion: Due to its effectiveness against the coronavirus, low cost, accessibility, and greater

applicability when detected by other widely used disinfectant agents, the use of solutions

containing chlorine in their composition, such as commercial bleach, is a viable

alternative for disinfecting hospitals and health basic units.

REFERENCES:

Andrade, F. P. de. (2020, May 25). Use of chlorine solutions as disinfectant agents in health

units to contain the spread of COVID-19 | Andrade | Journal of Health & Biological

Sciences. Retrieved October 21, 2022, from

https://periodicos.unichristus.edu.br/jhbs/article/view/3256