Reduction of Carbon Dioxide in Filtering Facepiece Respirators with an Active-Venting System: A Computational Study.

During expiration, the carbon dioxide (CO2) levels inside the dead space of a filtering facepiece respirator (FFR) increase significantly above the ambient concentration. To reduce the CO2 concentration inside the dead space, we attach an active lightweight venting system (AVS) comprising a one-way valve, a blower and a battery in a housing to a FFR. The achieved reduction is quantified with a computational-fluid-dynamics model that considers conservation of mass, momentum and the dilute species, CO2, inside the FFR with and without the AVS.