Masks, Raw Materials, Melt Blown Fabrics, Rising Prices, Substitute Materials, Stable Prices

The supply of masks has attracted much attention since the outbreak of the new crown pneumonia outbreak. As the key material of mask filtration, melt blown fabric can be called the "heart" of medical surgical masks and N95 masks.

Recently, due to the huge increase in the demand for masks, the supply of melt blown fabrics is also very tight, and the price is even more than ten fold. The contradiction between supply and demand of melt blown fabric is also directly reflected in the market price. Besides the government's designated allocation, the price of melt blown cloth on the market has risen from 20 thousand yuan per ton before the epidemic to 30 yuan and 400 thousand yuan per ton.

The head of the melt blown fabric manufacturer told reporters that even though the price of melt spray cloth per ton is 400 thousand yuan, the cost of each mask is 0.4 yuan.

Huang Wensheng, the head of a melting cloth manufacturer in Shandong: if normal, the melt blown material will account for 60% of the cost of a mask. Now the mask will cost about 3 yuan each, and the cost of melt spraying cloth will account for more than ten percent.

The reporter has learned that the mask production capacity has been greatly improved at this stage. From January 1st to February 7th alone, more than 3000 enterprises in the country have added masks business, and a number of new production enterprises do not have stable supply channels. Market demand and high profit run have helped to increase the tension of melt spraying cloth supply.

Melt spray cloth is short of substitute material and stable price is put into operation.

Expanded polytetrafluoroethylene

Reporters learned from China chemical industry group that, in order to alleviate the tight supply situation of the melt blown fabric market, they recently developed a new alternative material, which has been put into the production of mask.

Niu Jing, director of Technology Department of China chemical industry group: it can be equivalent to N95 or KN95 standard isolation capacity, and its permeability is good, it can be used many times.

This new material called expanded polytetrafluoroethylene has been used in high-end fields such as aviation and aerospace, and the price is relatively high. In the near future, the price of melted cloth continues to rise, which has the market promotion conditions.

Yang Maoliang, general manager of Hao Hua technology, China chemical industry group: at present, the price of raw materials is equivalent to that of melt blown fabric. If we can reuse it, if we put it all on the market, it will play a positive role in stabilizing the market price of the mask material.

Polytetrafluoroethylene PTFE nanomaterials filtration material

Recently, an enterprise in Tongxiang, Zhejiang announced the successful development of a new material to replace fusing cloth. The company that claimed to successfully develop new materials for replacing fusing cloth is Tongxiang Zhaohui filtration technology Limited by Share Ltd (hereinafter referred to as Zhaohui filter), located in Chong Fu town of Tongxiang.

"This kind of nano coating material, which can replace the mask material, is only 2-3 microns in thickness and thinner than the cicada." Sun Chenglei, director of Zhejiang Zhaohui filtration technology Limited by Share Ltd, said. This new material is a kind of PTFE nano membrane filtration material. It intercepts particulates by physical action. Its interception to 0.3 micron particles can reach more than 99%. After simple high temperature water treatment and alcohol disinfection, it can be reused for more than 10 times.

Sun Chenglei said, for masks, whether the qualified depends on the interception efficiency and respiratory resistance. Among them, the respirator resistance of disposable respirators is between 70-100 PA, and the mask samples made of this membrane material can intercept efficiency of 99%, and the minimum expiratory resistance is only 10-20 PPA, far higher than the standard requirements.