Innovation: New face masks from agro-industrial waste

The filtering material used also has specific antibacterial properties

ENEA has developed new types of masks made from silk nanofibers using sustainable methods (electrospinning ^[1]), capable of exerting a specific antibacterial effect as part of the ARIS ^[2] project of the PNRR Ecosister ^[3] program, in which the University of Ferrara, Kerline srl, and CNR (coordinator) also participate.

Compared to today's fossil-based plastic filter materials^[4], the membranes used for the masks offer environmental sustainability and higher filtration efficiencies for fine pollutants like PM2.5.

The Agri-Food Supply Chain Innovation Laboratory at the ENEA Research Center in Brindisi investigated the feasibility of applying the electrospinning technique to various polymeric materials. Furthermore, another objective was to add natural polyphenols extracted from olive oil wastewater-which exert a specific antibacterial action-to the electrospun matrices provided by the CNR. In this way, the filtering device could reduce the risk of transmission of airborne diseases, addressing a need that emerged during the pandemic.

"In collaboration with Kerline srl, we used silkworm cocoons discarded by the textile industry to extract a protein, silk fibroin, which was then electrospun to produce an FFP2-type mask. To give it a bactericidal function, it was enriched with polyphenols extracted from olive oil production wastewater" explained Valerio Miceli, the ENEA project lead for ARIS and a researcher at the Agri-Food Supply Chain Innovation Laboratory. "Finally, we verified the overall effectiveness of the solution from a microbiological standpoint, and it demonstrated interesting potential: the polyphenols used do not guarantee complete antimicrobial coverage, but we observed positive results against certain specific bacterial populations".

The ARIS project and the results obtained by ENEA thus confirm that combining the valorization of agro-industrial waste with the electrospinning technique can enable the development of biomaterials for functional packaging with high added value, in line with the principles of the circular economy and with potential applications not only in the food sector but also in other fields like the biomedical sector.