Comparison of the performance properties of spunlaid non-woven fabrics used as face mask

Face masks have an effect of preventing the spread of infectious diseases such as coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). With these masks, it is primarily aimed to prevent the environment from being contaminated by the user. However, in the COVID-19 outbreak, many countries made it mandatory to use masks in areas with high human circulation such as marketplaces, shopping malls and hospitals, and then in all areas outside the home. Some tests such as filtration efficiency, microbial load, resistance to body fluids, flammability and breathability are performed to determine the protection potential and wearing comfort of face masks. In this study, we investigated the bacterial filtration efficiency (%), microbial load (cfu/g), breathability (Pa/cm(2)) and air permeability values of five different face masks obtained by combining polypropylene (PP) nonwoven layers in different weights (accordance with EN 14683:2019 + AC:2019, EN ISO 11737-1:2018 and TS 391 EN ISO 9237 Standards). The surface morphologies of the nonwoven fabrics were characterized by scanning electron microscope (SEM). It was observed that the weight change in spunbond masks (1-4) was directly proportional to bacterial filtration efficiency and differential pressure, and inversely proportional to air permeability. In addition, SEM analysis showed that the average fiber diameter of the meltblown layer was at least 5.80 times smaller than the spunbond layers, and as a result, dramatic differences were also observed in the air permeability and differential pressure values of the Spunbond-Meltblown-Spunbond (SMS) mask (5) compared to spunbond masks.