A performance investigation of the portable face mask sterilization device based on the heat pipe and thermoelectric

The emergence of coronaviruses has surged the demand for face masks, preventing the virus transmission that spreads and causes damage to the human respiratory system. This situation leads to increased face mask waste in the environment. To overcome this issue, the sterilization of face masks can be a solution to reduce face mask waste and enhance the usage time of the face mask by improving its quality. In this study, the portable face mask sterilization using the heat pipe and thermoelectric was designed and investigated through an experimental method. This study aimed to assess this sterilization device’s ability to sterilize the face mask. The face mask was sterilized for 30 minutes at three different temperature settings to obtain the proper temperature setting. Thereby, the temperature settings can be set at 70 °C, 80 °C, and 90 °C. In addition, another investigation of the bacterial colony count method using Escherichia Coli was also conducted to ascertain the capability of the proposed device to deprive the microorganisms on the masks. The results showed that the sterilization device could effectively sterilize the face mask when the chamber surface temperature was set at 90°C, whereby the face mask temperature was 82.71°C. This condition can effectively destroy the bacteria on the face mask surface from 10 to 30 minutes.