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"Resource recovery from discarded COVID-19 PPE kit through Catalytic Fast Pyrolysis"

"Resource recovery from discarded COVID-19 PPE kit through Catalytic Fast Pyrolysis"

Date19th May 2022

Time12:00 PM

Venue Virtual Mode

PAST EVENT

Details

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the world saw an exponential surge in the manufacture of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) kits, resulting in an equal amount of PPE waste. The PPE kit encompasses a surgical mask, N-95 mask, Coverall (includes head and shoe cover), nitrile gloves, face shield, and safety goggles. Fourteen different samples from the PPE kit were collected and characterized using FT-IR, TGA, and Py-GC/MS. The characterization showed that this PPE kit consisted of more than 94 wt.% of components are made from only these three polymers, viz. Polypropylene (PP, 75.6 wt.%), Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET, 12.5 wt.%), and Polycarbonate (PC, 6 wt.%). The fast pyrolysis of PPE coverall yielded long-chain hydrocarbons of about 80% alkenes with a small presence of alkynes and cycloalkanes. The face shield and goggles, which were made from PET and PC respectively resulted in aromatics, Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and aromatic oxygenates. HZSM-5 and HY Zeolite catalysts were used for catalytic up-gradation of pyrolysis products. For finding optimum temperature and catalyst feed ratio, experiments were performed at 500°C, 600°C, and 700°C with different feed to catalyst ratios. For, deoxygenation cracking HY catalyst showed higher selectivity than HZSM-5 because of large pores structure and the higher acid site strength. This observation could offer a solution for converting PPE waste into valuable resources by finding an optimum pyrolysis temperature for different polymers as well as catalyst feed ratio condition with a selectivity of HY zeolites over HZSM-5.

Speakers

Mr. Panchal Nikhilkumar (CH20S008)

Department of Chemical Engineering