If wearing a mask has become widespread since the appearance of the Covid-19 pandemic, this accessory has been criticized on different levels. A company attached to a Swiss university is behind a new protective mask. The latter is transparent, flexible, resistant and recyclable.
In our Western societies, wearing a mask is far from being a habit. For many, this accessory usually reserved for hospitals hampers breathing, stifles the voice and also impacts social relationships. Indeed, talking with people who conceal half of their face is somewhat confusing. Not to mention that recently, an NGO communicated on the pollution generated by protective masks. Fines have also appeared, particularly in France, to prevent the abandonment of used masks in the street.
The HMCARE company is a spin-off of the EssentialTech Center of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (Switzerland). However, this company is at the origin of a protective mask of a new kind , intended to solve the problems mentioned above. Called HelloMask, this mask should be available in 2021. In the meantime, the start-up has raised nearly 950,000 euros to launch the industrialization phase and is working to finalize certain points concerning its creation. Moreover, a press release published in May 2018 shows that this research is well before the Covid-19 pandemic.
Regarding the transparency of the mask and the obstruction to breathing, the researchers mentioned a big difference with what we can see, especially on the Internet. Some mask prototypes have a transparent part . However, it is only a non-porous polymer that does not solve the problem of breathing, in addition to generating fog. HMCARE has therefore developed a polymer combining transparency, porosity and resistance. The researchers evoke the presence of tiny interstices of 100 nanometers. However, this is a size found in traditional masks that allow air to pass through but not viruses and other bacteria.
Regarding the ecological impact, HMCARE has seriously worked on the issue. Remember that the usual masks are not made of paper but of polypropylene. It is a non-biodegradable petroleum derivative and very complicated to recycle. The Swiss start-up has indicated that its membrane is made from 99% biomass! However, work continues to achieve full eco-compatibility.
You should know that this type of mask is woven using a particular technique:electrospinning . It involves stretching the polymer fibers by exposing them to an electric field. However, according to HMCARE, this technique allows large-scale manufacturing and cost containment. However, the sale price should be 15 to 20% higher than that of a conventional surgical mask, which is still far from indecent.
