CSIRO working with Victorian companies to help make filtration material for face masks
The CSIRO is developing lifesaving filtration materials for face masks, and relying on two Victorian companies, one in Geelong, to help boost supplies of vital medical equipment made in Australia.
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The CSIRO is developing lifesaving filtration materials for face-masks, helping boost supplies of vital medical equipment made in Australia.
The agency is working with Victorian manufacturer Textor Technologies, which is developing filtration materials for another Victorian company, Med-Con to use in face-masks.
In a second project at its facility at Geelong, it’s testing to see if a wool-polypropylene material would be suitable for filtration.
The projects aim to help local manufacturers boost production of face-masks without having to rely on overseas suppliers for materials, following the global shortage of medical supplies exposed by the coronavirus pandemic.
Shaun Smith, who heads the CSIRO’s fibres research group, said a collaboration had been formed between the Government, CSIRO and Australian manufacturers to develop and test the materials and processes needed to produce surgical face masks.
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“In the fight against COVID-19, it’s been vital to mobilise local manufacturers and repurpose production facilities to produce surgical face masks at very large scale here in Australia,’’ Dr Smith said.
“Surgical face masks, and the materials to make them, are mostly imported from overseas.’’
Dr Smith said ordinary fabric could not be used in surgical masks, as it needed to filter biological particles such as bacteria.
He said the second project, involving a wool blend, aimed to create a new material for use in mask production.
“Using wool would bring us back to one of Australia’s largest heritage industries where CSIRO has great history after creating self-twisting yarn and many other enduring wool technologies which transformed the textile industry,’’ he said.
Originally published as CSIRO working with Victorian companies to help make filtration material for face masks
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