Analysis of emissions from combusting pyrolysis products

Schwartz, Nicholas R.; Paulsen, Alex D.; Blaise, Michael J.; Wagner, A. James; Yelvington, Paul E.

doi:10.1016/j.fuel.2020.117863

Cited by 35 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 21 publications

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“…Because of the high carbon content, face masks can be considered a viable source of carbon precursors. The negligible sulphur and nitrogen presence indicated that SOx and NOx would be almost absent during the pyrolysis process [37] . The higher heating value of the sample was found to be 34.64 MJ/kg.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Thermal degradation of hazardous 3-layered COVID-19 face mask through pyrolysis: Kinetic, thermodynamic, prediction modelling using ANN and volatile product characterization

Nawaz¹,

Kumar²

2022

Journal of the Taiwan Institute of Chemical Engineers

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Thermal degradation of hazardous 3-layered COVID-19 face mask through pyrolysis: Kinetic, thermodynamic, prediction modelling using ANN and volatile product characterization

Nawaz¹,

Kumar²

2022

Journal of the Taiwan Institute of Chemical Engineers

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“…Also, it was noted that sulphur (S) and nitrogen (N) were almost completely absent; their concentration was estimated at < 0.01 wt.%. This ensures that no toxic emissions (e.g., SO 2 and NOx) are produced during pyrolysis treatment at large scale [ 49 ]. With regard to the proximate measurements, the analysis showed that the face mask contains a huge amount of volatile matter up to ∼97 wt.% with little ash content with average value of 3.28 wt.%.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Pyrolysis kinetic behaviour and TG-FTIR-GC–MS analysis of Coronavirus Face Masks

Yousef

Eimontas

Striūgas

et al. 2021

Journal of Analytical and Applied Pyrolysis

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In the times of Covid-19, face masks are considered to be the main source of protection against the virus that reduces its spread. These masks are classified as single-use medical products with a very short service life, estimated at few days, hence millions of contaminated masks are generated daily in the form of hazardous materials, what requires to develop a safe method to dispose of them, especially since some of them are loaded with viruses. 3-ply face masks (3PFM) represent the major fraction of this waste and are composed mainly from polypropylene and melt blown filter with high content of volatile substances (96.6 wt.%), what makes pyrolysis treatment an emerging technology that could be used to dispose of face masks and convert them into energy products. In this context, this work aims to study pyrolysis kinetic behaviour and TG-FTIR-GC–MS analysis of 3PFM. The research started with analysis of 3PFM using elemental analysis, proximate analysis, and compositional analyses. Afterwards, TG-FTIR system was used to study the thermal and chemical decomposition of 3PFM analyzed at different heating rates: 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, and 30 °C/min. The GC/MS system was used to observe the synthesized volatile products at the maximum decomposition temperatures. After that, isoconversional methods, the advanced nonlinear integral isoconversional method, and the iterative linear integral isoconversional method were used to determine the activation energies of mask pyrolysis, while the distributed activation energy model and the independent parallel reactions kinetic model were used to fit TGA and DTG curves with deviations below <1. The TGA-DTG results showed that 3PFM can decompose in three different periods with a total weight loss of 95 % and maximum decomposition in the range 405−510 °C, while the FTIR spectra and GC–MS analysis exhibited that – C—H (aromatic and aliphatic) and 2,4-Dimethyl-1-heptene (28–43 % based on heating rate) represented the major compounds in the released volatile components. Finally, Vyazovkin and the iterative linear integral isoconversional methods gave activation energies almost similar to that obtained by the KAS isoconversional method.

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“…The pyrolysis gas is mainly composed of small molecules, including methane and hydrogen, which have the potential to become syngas. Meanwhile, no harmful gases will be released during pyrolysis because of the low content of N and S in masks (Schwartz et al 2020 ). Liquid oil is mainly composed of hydrocarbon from C 6 to C 35 , and the calorific value is similar to gasoline (44 MJ/kg).…”

Section: Thermochemical Technologymentioning

confidence: 99%

Disposal and resource utilization of waste masks: a review

Cui

Zhang

et al. 2023

Environ Sci Pollut Res

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Waste masks pose a serious threat to the environment, including marine plastic pollution and soil pollution risks caused by landfills since the outbreak of COVID-19. Currently, numerous effective methods regarding disposal and resource utilization of waste masks have been reported, containing physical, thermochemical, and solvent-based technologies. As for physical technologies, the mechanical properties of the mask-based materials could be enhanced and the conductivity or antibacterial activity was endowed by adding natural fibers or inorganic nanoparticles. Regarding thermochemical technologies, catalytic pyrolysis could yield considerable hydrogen, which is an eco-friendly resource, and would mitigate the energy crisis. Noticeably, the solvent-based technology, as a more convenient and efficient method, was also considered in this paper. In this way, soaking the mask directly in a specific chemical reagent changes the original structure of polypropylene and obtains multi-functional materials. The solvent-based technology is promising in the future with the researches of sustainable and universally applicable reagents. This review could provide guidance for utilizing resources of waste masks and address the issues of plastic pollution.

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Analysis of emissions from combusting pyrolysis products

Cited by 35 publications

References 21 publications

Thermal degradation of hazardous 3-layered COVID-19 face mask through pyrolysis: Kinetic, thermodynamic, prediction modelling using ANN and volatile product characterization

Thermal degradation of hazardous 3-layered COVID-19 face mask through pyrolysis: Kinetic, thermodynamic, prediction modelling using ANN and volatile product characterization

Pyrolysis kinetic behaviour and TG-FTIR-GC–MS analysis of Coronavirus Face Masks

Disposal and resource utilization of waste masks: a review

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