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Particle and Aerosol Research
Vol. 19, No. 1, March 2023, Pages 1-11
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ISSN : 1738-8716 (Print)
ISSN : 2287-8130 (Online)
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Filtration Performance Evaluation of Various Respiratory Face
Masks Against Sub-Micron Particles
Zainul Alim Ali Murtadlo1),2), Cho Hee-Joo1), Park Hyun-Seol1),2) *
1)Climate Change Research Division, Korea Institute of Energy Research
2)Energy Engineering Major, KIER Campus, University of Science and Technology
*Corresponding author.
Tel.: +82-42-860-3052, E-mail: phs@kier.re.kr
Received 14 March 2023, Revised 25 March 2023, Accepted 26 March 2023, Available online 31 March 2023
http://dx.doi.org/10.11629/jpaar.2023.19.1.001
Abstracts
Respiratory face masks are protective facepieces that are designed to filter inhaled air. They are easy-to-use devices
that can protect the wearer against various hazardous particles in the air. Respiratory face masks also prevent the
spread of viruses and bacteria-containing droplets that are released from the coughing or sneezing of the infected
people. During the COVID-19 pandemic, various types of face masks have circulated on the market. Their ability to
filter sub-micron particles, which are the sizes of harmful particulate matter and airborne viruses, needs to be
investigated. Their breathability, the easiness of breath through the mask, also needs to be considered. In this study,
wwe evaluated the performance of filters used for different types of face masks certified by different standards
including Korean (KF94, KF80, KF-AD), USA (N95), and Chinese (KN95) standards. We also tested the filters of
nanofiber masks and surgical masks for which there are no standards for filtration test. The N95 mask filters showed
the highest quality factor for capturing virus-sized particles. The other types of mask filters have acceptable
performance except for nanofiber mask filters whose performance is very low.
Keywords
mask, filter, performance, quality factor, airborne virus