International Journal of Application or Innovation in Engineering & Management (IJAIEM)

Web Site: www.ijaiem.org Email: editor@ijaiem.org

Volume 9, Issue 7, July 2020 ISSN 2319 - 4847

Analysis of Effectiveness of Face Masks

Mansi Pathak1, Geeta Singh2, Anubha Mandal3
1
M.Tech ,Department of Environmental Engineering, Delhi Technological University, Delhi
2
Assistant Professor , Department of Environmental Engineering, Delhi Technological University, Delhi
3
Professor , Department of Environmental Engineering, Delhi Technological University, Delhi

Abstract. One of the major and demanding research works of environmental studies is air pollution, which plays an
important role in management of our environment at present. Polluted and populated urban area gets most concern.
The largest sources of pollution include vehicular emission, power plant emissions, crop residue burning,
meteorological conditions, garbage burning, construction and demolition projects etc. especially in cities of developing
countries, inhaling polluted air causes detrimental effects on health of living beings. This article presents the study
done on face masks used for reduction of exposure from polluted air, this polluted air contains SOX, COX, NOX, S.P.M
(PM2.5, PM10 and PM1) and several other criteria pollutants which deposit inside the respiratory tract and lungs of
living beings and cause several health issues such as asthma, shortness of breath, headache, fatigue etc., and in some
cases may also lead to permanent damage to lungs.
Several masks available in the market provide different filtration efficiencies so they provide protection to a limited
extent against air pollutants. Some of these masks were studied and analyzed gravimetrically for their effectiveness so
that the better ones can be figured out. By being aware of the efficiencies of face masks it becomes easy to select the one
according to the purpose and preference of the user.
The results show the effectiveness of several masks depicting their real environment behavior and protection against air
pollutants.
Keywords: Mask, Efficiency, air pollution, real environment, polluted
1. Introduction
With development of economy the utilization of resources (i.e. energy, water, food) has also increased to fulfill the
demands of society. Due to this several kinds of pollution have been produced, one of which is air pollution. Air
pollution means lowering of air quality at local, regional and global levels by either natural or human activities. It has
become a source of major concern due to its widespread nature, damage to environment and human health. A major
sector of population either works or resides in areas having highly polluted air due to which there is a potential health
risk to them.
The use of face masks as a preventive measure against air pollution has increased with time. The masks used are
designed to restrict 95% to 99% of pollutants but this efficiency is tested in the laboratory hence it differs with the real
environment efficiencies of face masks which is a real concern. For this study 7 commonly preferred masks available in
market were used for several days by a group of people after which gravimetric analysis was done on the used masks to
check their real environment effectiveness. In this paper health impacts of air pollution the real environment
efficiencies of face masks and outcomes of the study will be discussed.
1.1. Reasons of air pollution
The major reasons of air pollution include-
 Vehicular traffic.
 Crop residue burning.
 Power plant emissions.
 Meteorological conditions.
 Garbage burning.
 Construction and demolition works.
 Aviation.
 Crematorial activities.
 Railways.
 Metallurgical industry emission etc.

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International Journal of Application or Innovation in Engineering & Management (IJAIEM)
Web Site: www.ijaiem.org Email: editor@ijaiem.org
Volume 9, Issue 7, July 2020 ISSN 2319 - 4847

1.2. Health impacts of air pollution

People generally notice one or more of the following symptoms :
 Dryness and irritation of eyes, nose and throat.
 Headache.
 Fatigue.
 Shortness of breath.
 Hypersensitivity and allergies.
 Sinus congestion.
 Coughing and sneezing.
 Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
 Chest pain.
 Asthma.
 Lung cancer.
 Skin irritation.
 Cardiovascular and heart diseases.
People notice these symptoms generally after spending several hours outdoor and feel better when they come indoors.
Many of these symptoms may also be caused due to other health conditions such as common colds or flu, and are not
necessarily due to poor air quality. This fact makes identifying and resolving air quality problems more difficult.

1.3. Literature Survey

As indicated by John W Cherrie et al. (2018) the real life performance of the masks is not same as that in the lab. This
study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of range of facemasks commercially available in China. S. Steve Zhou et al.
(2018) studied about the effectiveness of disposable facemasks for excluding pathogens, pollutants and also evaluated
relative contributions of a mask, micro ventilator and valve on aerosol filtration efficiency of new N95 respiratory
facemask. Marzieh Abbasinia et al. (2018) performed a study which indicated the use of nanomaterials in structuring of
new mask filters when compared with conventional masks in enhancing the performance and efficiency of breathing air
filtration, improved permeability, increased antimicrobial properties, and reasonable comfort to the workers. Anupama
Balotra et al. (2019) analyzed three commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) N- Series masks on an emulated human face and
in ideal conditions both to found the level of protection these masks provide. Kabindra M. Shakya et al. (2016) studied
the efficiencies of cloth masks and surgical masks using the diesel engine exhaust to compare their performance with
the standard N95 masks. This study gave results that disposable surgical masks are much effective when compared with
cloth masks for reducing particulate exposure. Taufik Anwar et al. (2019) focused on protective efforts in the study
done on designed respiratory masks which are capable of adsorbing toxic gases in ambient air by using mask material
available in the market along with activated carbon. This study was carried out with the help of experiments. Testing
differentiates the ability of cotton, spun bound and melt blown is more effective as compared to respiratory masks made
of spun bound and melt blown in adsorbing toxic gases. Abhiteja Konda et al. (2020) studied about the use of
facemasks during the pandemic COVID-19 affecting respiratory system. The study was done on several common
fabrics such as cotton, chiffon, silk, flannel and several other such combinations that enhance the performance of
hybrid masks due to the electrostatic and mechanical based filtration. The results of this study found that combinations
of commonly available fabrics can provide a significant protection against transmission of aerosol particles.

2. Material and Methods

Seven masks were taken from the local market near DTU Campus & Rohini sector-17 and were given to people
residing inside the Campus to wear for pre-decided six days and the data was collected from these masks. The masks
used were:
2.1. Mask A: This is N95 air pollution face masks with 4 PM2.5 activated carbon filters.

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International Journal of Application or Innovation in Engineering & Management (IJAIEM)
Web Site: www.ijaiem.org Email: editor@ijaiem.org
Volume 9, Issue 7, July 2020 ISSN 2319 - 4847

Figure 1.N95 mask with 4 activated carbon filters

2.2. Mask B: This is single layer PM2.5 filter mask.

Figure 2.PM2.5 Mask

2.3. Mask C: This is surgical mask and it provides protection from inhaling airborne particles.

Figure 3.Surgical Mask

2.4. Mask D: This is N95 mask with one layer of PM2.5 filter.

Figure 4.Single layer PM2.5mask

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International Journal of Application or Innovation in Engineering & Management (IJAIEM)
Web Site: www.ijaiem.org Email: editor@ijaiem.org
Volume 9, Issue 7, July 2020 ISSN 2319 - 4847

2.5. Mask E: This mask has five layers of PM2.5 filters.

Figure 5.Five layer PM2.5 mask

2.6. Mask F: This mask has only one PM2.5 filter layer.

Figure 6.One layer PM2.5 mask

2.7. Mask G: This is a dust mask and is not able to prevent from PM 10 and PM2.5 sized particles.

Fig 7.Dust mask

The method preferred in this study is the gravimetric analysis of the used masks to calculate the effectiveness of
facemasks in the real environment. The used masks were weighed after each use by an electronic weighing machine to
record the increase in weight due to the particles entrapped in the filter and mask material.

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International Journal of Application or Innovation in Engineering & Management (IJAIEM)
Web Site: www.ijaiem.org Email: editor@ijaiem.org
Volume 9, Issue 7, July 2020 ISSN 2319 - 4847

Figure 8.Weighing machine

The pollutant concentration was calculated from the AQI of selected six days which was combined with the data
recorded for the masks gravimetrically as follows:

2.8. Pollutant Concentration

AQI was considered for the location DTU, New Delhi. The concentration of pollutants was calculated through the AQI
convertor. Six days were selected accordingly to perform the experiments which include heavily polluted days and less
polluted so that an average of the readings can be taken to calculate the effectiveness. AQI of these days was taken from
the records of CPCB and that was converted into concentration of pollutant (this concentration includes three pollutants
PM2.5, PM10, SO2) for that particular day.

AQI and concentration for these days is depicted in the table:

Table1: AQI and Concentrations
DAY AQI CONCENTRATION(µg/m3)

28 Oct, 2019 397 (VERY POOR) 797848.3

29 Oct, 2019 427 (SEVERE) 857920.8

4 Nov, 2019 386 (VERY POOR) 775828.2

5 Nov, 2019 330 (VERY POOR) 663727.7

29 Nov, 2019 93 (SATISFACTORY) 171.0000

30 Nov, 2019 248 (POOR) 446584.9

2.9. Calculation of Effectiveness

Table 2: Time and Date of Data Taken
DATE TIME DURATION

28/10/2019 9AM -7PM 10 HOURS

29/10/2019 9AM-7PM 10 HOURS

4/11/2019 9AM-7PM 10 HOURS

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International Journal of Application or Innovation in Engineering & Management (IJAIEM)
Web Site: www.ijaiem.org Email: editor@ijaiem.org
Volume 9, Issue 7, July 2020 ISSN 2319 - 4847

5/11/2019 9AM-7PM 10 HOURS

29/11/2019 9AM-7PM 10 HOURS

30/11/2019 9AM-7PM 10 HOURS

Table 3: Data Taken

MASKS Initial Wt.(gm) First Day Wt. Sixth Day Wt.

A 16.703 16.830 17.310

B 8.024 8.045 8.297
C 2.751 2.755 2.810

D 10.643 10.682 10.939

E 11.336 11.554 12.320
F 10.306 10.335 10.420
G 4.989 4.993 5.083

 EFFECTIVENESS
Example: For MASK A
Volume of air inhaled by an average person in one day= 10.9869184 m3
Volume of air inhaled by an average person in 10 hours for 6 days= 4.57788267*6= 27.467296 m3
Total pollutant concentration in air calculated from AQI of six days = 3542080.9 µg/m3
Weight of pollutant present of inhaled air = X = 3542080.9* 27.467296= 97291384.5 µg (includes PM10, PM2.5, SO2)
Weight of pollutant restricted by mask = (17.310-16.703) = 0.607 gm
Hence pollutant restricted by mask = Y = 607*103 µg

Effectiveness of mask = * 100 = 0.623= 0.6 (rounded off)

Similarly we have calculated the effectiveness of other masks also by using the gravimetric data which is recorded.

3. RESULTS
The table depicts the effectiveness of all the masks used in the experiment found by the same formula as mentioned
above:

S.N. MASK EFFECTIVENESS

1 A 0.6
2 B 0.3
3 C 0.1
4 D 0.3
5 E 1.0
6 F 0.1
7 G 0.1

4. CONCLUSION
Good air quality is critically important component because without air life is impossible. Several pollutants present in
air are able to harm the health of human beings so keeping proper precautions is necessary, one of such precautions is

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International Journal of Application or Innovation in Engineering & Management (IJAIEM)
Web Site: www.ijaiem.org Email: editor@ijaiem.org
Volume 9, Issue 7, July 2020 ISSN 2319 - 4847

the use of facemask. Good quality masks having a perfect face fit is a necessary for selecting a particular facemask.
This study highlights the fact that mask which has a combination of more layers of filter material and activated carbon
has better performance as compared to those having single layer of filter. Purpose for which a mask is to be used
decides the type of mask to be preferred. Before selecting a mask its real environment effectiveness should be taken into
account so that the harmful effects of pollutants can be reduced.

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