The aim of this study was to explore the possibility to re-use disposable masks in order to prevent excessive waste generation during the pandemic period.

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused rapidly increasing waste production resulting from the necessity of common usage of disposable personal protective equipment. This research covers the evaluation of the structure of surgical masks subjected to a threefold steam, gas or plasma sterilization process in order to verify the possibility of their re-use.

The results of the study showed that gas sterilization even after three cycles did not cause significant changes in mask structure or air permeability. Hydrogen peroxide plasma sterilization caused significant changes in the structure of layer A after the third cycle of sterilization; nonetheless, it did not influence the air permeability of the mask. A significant reduction in the cover ratio of layers composing surgical masks causes an increase of air permeability in the case of steam sterilization, leading to a reduction of the mechanical ability to prevent the penetration of microorganisms. The reduction in cover ratio limits the filtration efficiency.

Surgical masks subjected to threefold gas sterilization can be recommended for re-use. This allows one to use the mask thrice, ensuring safety for users and limiting the mask-waste production to one-third of the volume compared with when the mask is used once.

The volume of mask-waste can be reduced with the application of the sterilization process for used masks during the pandemic period. Currently, it is not possible to sterilize all one-use masks, but implementation of this method in hospitals and medical centers is a step in the pro-environmental direction.

这项研究的目的是探索重复使用一次性口罩的可能性，以防止在大流行期间产生过多的废物。

由于普遍使用一次性个人防护设备的必要性，COVID-19 大流行导致废物产生迅速增加。这项研究涵盖了对经过三重蒸汽、气体或等离子消毒过程的外科口罩结构的评估，以验证其重复使用的可能性。

研究结果表明，即使经过三个循环，气体灭菌也不会导致口罩结构或透气性发生显着变化。过氧化氢等离子灭菌在第三次灭菌循环后引起A层结构发生显着变化；尽管如此，它并没有影响口罩的透气性。在蒸汽灭菌的情况下，构成外科口罩的层的覆盖率的显着降低导致透气性增加，导致防止微生物渗透的机械能力降低。覆盖率的降低限制了过滤效率。

经三重气体消毒的外科口罩可推荐重复使用。这允许一个人使用三次口罩，确保用户的安全，并且与使用一次口罩相比，将口罩废物的产生量限制在三分之一。

在大流行期间，可以通过对使用过的口罩进行消毒处理来减少口罩废物量。目前，不可能对所有一次性口罩进行消毒，但在医院和医疗中心实施这种方法是朝着环保方向迈出的一步。