Client & Alumni News

Applied Separations Cleaning/Recycling Disposable Clean Room Attire to Fight COVID-19

Applied Separations, Inc., Allentown, has discovered a method to sanitize used gowns from its ultra-clean manufacturing environment to provide  to medical staff and first responders free-of-charge, protecting both themselves and those they serve.

Applied Separations manufacturers DNA-clinical kits, which are produced in ultra-clean facilities where the workers must wear attire more stringently clean than surgical gowns. These products are disposed of after every shift. The company is now taking the used gowns, heating them in the company furnaces to 230 degrees Fahrenheit for an hour, and then inserting them into labeled clean plastic bags to be recycled. The company does not certify them as sterile.

“Considering the critical need for PPE (personal protection equipment), we experimented to see if these disposable gowns, booties, hair nets, masks could be reused,” said Applied Separations CEO Rolf Schlake. “These products are made from woven plastic (polypropylene) and can withstand temperatures high enough to destroy the coronavirus without degrading.”

There are numerous other companies in the Lehigh Valley and around Pennsylvania that use disposable cleanroom attire. Applied Separations is eager to share its experience and knowledge with others so they may also find a solution to reuse their previously disposed-of clean-room attire. View here.