Byung Uk Lee, Mikhail Yermakov, Sergey A. Grinshpun

  • Center for Health-Related Aerosol Studies Department of Environmental Health, University of Cincinnati, 3223 Eden Avenue, PO Box 670056, Cincinnati, Ohio 45267-0056, U.S.A

Received: May 1, 2005
Revised: May 1, 2005
Accepted: May 1, 2005
Download Citation: ||https://doi.org/10.4209/aaqr.2005.06.0003  

  • Download: PDF


Cite this article:
Lee, B.U., Yermakov, M. and Grinshpun, S.A. (2005). Filtering Efficiency of N95- and R95-Type Facepiece Respirators, Dust-Mist Facepiece Respirators, and Surgical Masks Operating in Unipolarly Ionized Indoor Air Environments. Aerosol Air Qual. Res. 5: 25-38. https://doi.org/10.4209/aaqr.2005.06.0003


 

ABSTRACT


The emission of unipolar air ions in the vicinity of a filtering facepiece respirator has been recently shown to considerably enhance its respiratory protection efficiency. The effect is driven by the electric repelling forces that develop between the unipolarly charged mask and the aerosol particles, thus creating a shield for the incoming particles and consequently decreasing the penetration efficiency through the filter. The manikin-based preliminary evaluation of this concept has been performed with a very limited number of variables. In this study, four types of half-mask facepiece filtering devices (N95, R95, and dust-mist respirators, as well as surgical masks), operating at two different breathing flow rates, were tested with unipolar air ion emitters exhibiting different emission rates and polarities. The particle penetration efficiency through the facepiece filter was determined in a room-size indoor test chamber by a real-time particle size selective aerosol monitoring performed inside and outside of the mask, which was face-sealed onto a manikin. Three commercially available ionic air purifiers were utilized as air ion emitters. For the targeted particle size range of ~0.04 – 1.3 μm, a 12- minute air ionization in the vicinity of a manikin enhanced the respiratory mask performance by a factor ranging from 1.61 to 3,250, depending on the respirator type, breathing flow rate, and the ion emission rate. The effect was achieved primarily within the first 3 minutes.


Keywords: Respirator; Mask; ion emission; Fine and ultrafine aerosol


Share this article with your colleagues 

 

Subscribe to our Newsletter 

Aerosol and Air Quality Research has published over 2,000 peer-reviewed articles. Enter your email address to receive latest updates and research articles to your inbox every second week.

7.3
2022CiteScore
 
 
77st percentile
Powered by
Scopus
 
   SCImago Journal & Country Rank

2022 Impact Factor: 4.0
5-Year Impact Factor: 3.4

The Future Environment and Role of Multiple Air Pollutants

Aerosol and Air Quality Research partners with Publons

CLOCKSS system has permission to ingest, preserve, and serve this Archival Unit
CLOCKSS system has permission to ingest, preserve, and serve this Archival Unit

Aerosol and Air Quality Research (AAQR) is an independently-run non-profit journal that promotes submissions of high-quality research and strives to be one of the leading aerosol and air quality open-access journals in the world. We use cookies on this website to personalize content to improve your user experience and analyze our traffic. By using this site you agree to its use of cookies.