Indian Institute of Technology Tirupati (IIT-T) has entered into a pact with Amara Raja Group to develop reusable face masks equivalent to N-95.
IIT-T Director K.N. Satyanarayana formally exchanged copies of the MoU with Amara Raja Batteries Limited (ARBL) Chief Executive Officer S. Vijayanand, in the presence of the group’s founder chairman Ramachandra N. Galla.
The prototype brought out by IIT-T consists of a flexible reusable body designed using 3D printing technology and the filter developed using electrospinning technology. After every use, the N95 filter is replaced with a new one. The Amara Raja team will carry out large-scale manufacturing of the masks using technology transfer from IIT-T.
IIT-T has also developed a sterilisation unit prototype using hybrid technology to provide efficient and large-scale sterilisation of PPEs. The unit fuses the UV-C photon-based technology with an advanced oxidation process to achieve rapid sterilisation against a wide range of bacteria and viruses. An industrial-scale sterilisation unit will be developed at Amara Raja group to ensure pre-packaging sterilisation of the masks.
It was also agreed upon in the MoU that the masks should be distributed to frontline healthcare workers fighting the COVID-19 pandemic, which includes doctors, hospital staff, police personnel, security personnel and other government departments.
