Development of UVC and UVA sterilized shredder for disposable facemask / Rojane Neil O. Delos Reyes, Jonas Cholo G. Estupin, Jeston Vince Mangubat, Jan Rengel Y. Oropeo, and Alexis Racoma .--

Bachelor's thesis

College of Industrial Technology .-- Bachelor of Engineering Technology major in Mechanical Technology: Technological University of the Philippines, 2023.

Includes bibliography

The disposal of facemasks has become a growing concern due to the increasing volume of
healthcare waste and its potential negative impact on the environment. This study aimed to
develop a shredder that can effectively dispose facemasks and into raw materials that can
be used for other purposes. The shredder was designed with an ultraviolet light (UV-Light)
sanitation device and a motor that rotates at a high speed. This allows the shredding of the
facemasks into small pieces the smaller pieces go straight to the storage system also called
a hopper where a UV-C and UV-A placed to sanitize the shredded facemask. The prototype
was tested using three parameters. The throughput was measured by the time it took for each
type of facemask to finish the shredding process. The KF94 averaged 2.21 seconds, the 3D
facemask averaged 1.44 seconds, and the surgical facemask averaged 2.54 seconds. The second
parameter is the size of the facemask, although the facemask has an unwanted smaller bit
around 2-mm the average size of the shredded facemask is 2.35 x 1.44-mm. Lastly, the
maximum capacity of the prototype is 0.78 kg of shredded facemasks.. The prototype was
evaluated by 36 respondents who are experts in the medical field and engineering and was
rated 4.66. The prototype was proven functional however, this is only limited to KF94, a
3D facemask, and a surgical facemask, and can process one facemask at a time.