Unlike the Basic Mask, our Pro Mask is completed with the inner filter which is made from a 100% pure activated carbon cloth, which was originally invented by the UK Ministry of Defence. It was then extensively developed and made into a product for use in chemical, biological and nuclear warfare protection, of the type used by armed forces around the world. We hold the exclusive global rights for this material for use in a consumer pollution mask. You won’t find it in any other mask outside of the military.
All activated carbons – traditionally powders and granules – generate “Van der Waal” forces due to their porous structure. These forces give activated carbons their unique potential to adsorb gaseous molecules, including anions and cations into their internal pores.
Our filter material is comprised of a series of activated carbon filaments, each about 2,000 nanometres in diameter. Each filament is many times smaller than the typical grain size in standard carbon materials, making the rate of adsorption of pollutant gas much faster and therefore more powerful. It also means that bacteria and viruses are drawn to the filament surface much more efficiently, because there is so much more available surface than in a granular carbon.
The high number of filaments – spun into a yarn and then woven into cloth – makes the speed of adsorption extremely fast in a material that is still easy to breathe through. Not only are molecules such as pollutant gases and endotoxins quickly adsorbed into the pores from a much wider area, but the Van der Waals forces also attract and immobilize on the filament surface much larger particles including bacteria, which often have a negatively charged membrane. Together with the anti-bacterial silver added to the filament surface, the activated carbon cloth traps the bacteria and draws out the gel-like cytoplasm inside – killing it and preventing infection.
Cambridge Masks are therefore powerful respirators that not only clear the air of pollution via the particulate filter, but also remove potentially harmful gases and pathogens with the additional carbon filter