Development of a Two-Way Breathing Respirator with Polymeric Absorption

Details

• Personal Author:
  Brown CE ; Chahine GL ; Kalumuck KM ; Prabhukumar S
• Description:
  Efforts were made to predict the toxic gas removal capabilities of a respirator system which used alternating flow through a bed of absorbent polymeric materials. The polymer bed was composed of fine parallel channels. To identify parameters having significant impact on the absorptive capacity of the system, mass and heat transfer computations were performed. Partition coefficients and diffusivities of the toxic gas polymer pair for mass transfer were found to be of primary importance as were the diameter, length and spacing of the channels. Significant affects on performance were also noted for air flow velocity in the channels. Simulated breathing experiments with measured concentrations of gases were performed at typical breathing frequencies and showed that the oscillating flow system reached an equilibrium state for which no further increases in exiting concentration occurred. Partition coefficients varied from one polymer to another by orders of magnitude, and the polymers tested showed significant sensitivity to temperature. The temperature distribution in the oscillating flow respirator channel rapidly approached near linear variation from the entrance to exit with the exiting temperature being essentially body temperature and out breath temperature at the entrance being that of the ambient atmosphere. Oscillatory flow polymer respirators were shown to be competitive for gases at high percentages of saturation when compared to activated charcoal respirators. When used along with supplemental air, the respirators could greatly extend the life of the air supply. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Hazardous Substances Occupational Health Personal Protective Equipment Respiratory Protective Devices Respiratory System Respiratory Tract Diseases Safety
• Keywords:
  Breathing NIOSH-Grant Personal-protective-equipment Respirators Respiratory-system-disorders Safety-equipment Toxic-gases
• Series:
  Grant Final Reports
• Publisher:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant
• Genre:
  Final Grant Report
• Place as Subject:
  Maryland ; OSHA Region 3
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  OEP - Office of Extramural Programs
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  1-59
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:00235023
• NTIS Accession Number:
  PB97-147136
• Citation:
  Atlanta, GA: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, R44-OH-03011, 1996 Mar; :1-59
• Contact Point Address:
  Dynaflow Inc 7210 Pindell School RD Fulton, MD 20759
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  1996
• Performing Organization:
  Dynaflow, Inc., Fulton, Maryland
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Start Date:
  19930930
• Source Full Name:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• End Date:
  19960331
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:7f20cb623d1751c85516742e791e88d24422d02063829be43de48f33797eb52b70c4fe0a0914e21248d17b486c30cf93859596be451c2686b6cda2476741acab
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/217885/cdc_217885_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 2.45 MB ]