Suominen has developed a nonwoven material for manufacturing face mask applications, called Fibrella Shield, which it reports has passed European Standard EN 14683:2019 Type II requirements in terms of filtration efficiency and pressure drop.

“Our Fibrella Shield nonwoven has excellent filtration efficiency and pressure drop values meaning that the material provides protection while being comfortable and easy to breathe through. Measured with an applied method by VTT* results indicate that Fibrella Shield nonwoven’s filtration efficiency is higher than 99% reaching type II requirements but of course the material can also be used for lighter model Type I masks or uncertified masks,” says Category Manager Johanna Sirén.

“Fibrella Shield has received positive feedback from several user panel tests about its textile-like softness and being odourless. The panel results show also that Fibrella Shield is comfortable to use even for several hours and it doesn’t build up moisture during use,” Johanna Sirén continues.

The standard EN14683:2019 for medical masks is for end products and the converter has to repeat the tests to confirm the standard compliancy for the end product, Suominen explains. The end product needs to comply also with the regional regulations, if any, it adds.

Developed in cooperation with VTT, the new material is the latest addition to the Fibrella family. Fibrella Shield is already in production at Suominen’s Nakkila plant. Currently the plant is capable of producing material for approximately 15 million masks per month.

*VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland report VTT-CR-00403-20 (in Finnish)

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