The herbal mask helps in purifying the air, soothing the mind and strengthening immunity of the user, is washable and can last up to 2 months
In a bid to develop a face mask that uses natural substances for air purification and preventing COVID 19, a team of student and professors from Lovely Professional University have come up with a first of its kind antibacterial herbal mask which uses Vetiver (Khus grass) to purify the air and strengthen the immunity of the user. The Herbal Mask is developed using a combination of two filters. The first one is a vetiver filter which serves as an antibacterial filter and purifies the air that one breathes through this mask. The filter also removes the toxic activated substances and adds moisture to the air. The second filter is the WHO recommended 10 PM filter that ensures no particulate matter enters our breath. The mask is washable and can last up to 2 months.
Those involved in the development of herbal mask include students Narenthira Prasath D, (7 semester, Btech ECE); Umeshwaran N (7th Semester Btech Mechanical), Uday Dubey (7th Semester Btech ECE) and professors – Himani Jerath, Assistant Professor, and Faculty Advisor, LPU; P.Raja, (Assistant Professor), and Dushyant Kumar Singh, HoD, (Embedded System, School of Electronics and Electrical Engineering) LPU. The research team has developed the product protype for testing and has filed for a provisional patent. The team now plans to commercialize the herbal mask in association with industry players who can manufacture it on a large scale. The manufacturing cost of the mask after commercialization is expected to be approx. INR 60 per mask.
Dushyant Kumar Singh, HoD, Embedded System, SEEE, LPU says, “It is tragic to see even educated people roaming around without wearing masks. When asked, many say that they are unable to breathe properly through them. Our herbal mask which uses Khus grass, should help them breather comfortably throughout the day.”
D. Narenthira Prasath, student, Lovely Professional University said, “We started with the aim of building a face mask with a filter made from a natural substance. The objective was to develop a device that could help keep at bay both Corona as well as the daily pollution in metro cities. We worked with various substances and analysed the lifetime and efficiency of each. After seven months of research, we zeroed in on Vetiver (Chrysopogonzizanioide), as it gave us the best results with highest efficiency.”
