Providing the greater public with the current coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) vaccines is time-consuming and research-intensive; intermediately, some essential ways to reduce the transmission include social distancing, personal hygiene, testing, contact tracing, and universal masking. The data suggests that universal masking, especially using multilayer surgical face masks, offers a powerful efficacy for indoor places. These layers have different functions including antiviral/antibacterial, fluid barrier, particulate and bacterial filtration, and fit and comfort. However, universal masking poses a serious environmental threat since billions of them are disposed on a daily basis; the current coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has put such demands and consequences in perspective. This review focuses on surgical face mask structures and classifications, their impact on our environment, some of their desirable functionalities, and the recent developments around their biodegradability. The authors believe that this review provides an insight into the fabrication and deployment of effective surgical face masks, and it discusses the utilization of multifunctional structures along with biodegradable materials to deal with future demands in a more eco-friendly fashion.

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There is a growing need for adsorbents with high capacities for adsorption of toxic gas molecules. Methods and conditions to test these materials introduce large discrepancies and overestimates (~90%) in the reported literature. This study describes a simple apparatus utilizing hand-held inexpensive gas sensors for testing adsorbents and hybrid adsorbent materials, explains possible sources for the observed discrepancies based on how the measurements are made, and provides guidelines for accurate measurements of adsorption capacity. Ammonia was the model gas and Ammonasorb™ activated carbon was the model commercial adsorbent. Inlet ammonia concentration, residence time, adsorbent pre-treatment (baking) and humidity, affected the measured adsorption capacities. Results suggest that the time lag in gas detection sensors leads to overestimated capacities. Monitoring both inlet and outlet concentrations using two calibrated sensors solved this issue. There was a direct relationship between adsorption capacity and residence time and capacities were higher at higher inlet concentrations. The size of the adsorbent particles did not show a significant effect on adsorption breakthrough, and the apparatus was able to quantify how humidity reduced the adsorption capacity.

The main traditional technique for commercial manufacturing of composite pipes is filament winding in which the winding angle and the discontinuity of the structure (caused by starting and ending points of the winding process) are two important matters of concern. In the present study, circular woven fabric with its orthogonal net-shaped continuous structure was produced from polyester yarns. Fabric was wet with epoxy and hand lay-up was used to manufacture the composite pipes. Composite pipes were subjected to internal hydrostatic pressure and their burst strength was recorded. In addition, tensile strength of flat laminas was assessed in the warp and weft directions. We estimated and analysed the failure strength of composite pipes using Tresca’s failure criterion and Finite Element (FE) modeling. The experimental burst strength was almost 23% more than the FE model and 77% more than the theoretical estimate.