Ahmedabad (Gujarat): The filtration capacity of N95 is known to be 95 per cent and that of N99 mask is nearly 100 per cent. The Ahmedabad Textiles Industrial Research Association (ATIRA) and the Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO) together have manufactured the N99 mask.
ATIRA has supplied fabric for making 3,85,000 masks to the DRDO which is the only organization authorised to make N99 masks in the country. The filter of N99 mask is made with the aid of coated fibre. The N99 mask has five layers of which two filters are between three layers. N99 mask has the highest quality among all masks available in India.
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According to ATIRA deputy director Dipali Plavat, the DRDO has supplied N99 masks to AIIMS, Health ministry and defence establishments. ATIRA being a research and development organization, it was difficult to convert it into a production unit. The task of developing the special fabric was accomplished by the technical team of the nano division. Initially, fabric for 10,000 was being made but the capacity has been raised to fabric for 15,000 masks.
Dipali said GNFC and GSFC have made efforts to provide the raw material for the special fabric of the mask. Polyamide-6 nylon is used for making the filter for which granules were needed to be imported from Germany. With the cooperation of the civil aviation and external affairs ministry, four tons of granules was brought to India by a passenger plane. It is worth noting that a private company of Germany gave this raw material to ATIRA free of cost on humanitarian ground.
The demand for N95 mask had increased due to the spread of coronavirus. However, its 95 per cent filtration capacity allows filtration of particles larger than 0.3 microns. The N99 mask has the filtration capacity of nearly 100 per cent (99.99 per cent).
