FACE SAVING SOLUTION
One professor is trying to save PPE materials like masks and gloves from landfills by turning them into liquid.
Dr Saeid Baroutian is an Associate Professor in the Department of Chemical & Materials Engineering at Auckland University, where he also leads the Waste & Resource Recovery Research Group. His research focuses on resource recovery and waste minimisation with the use of separation and reaction engineering concepts. “Resource limitation and waste are global problems and sustainable resource recovery and circular economy addresses these problems,” says Dr Baroutian. “More than 90 per cent of materials extracted for the global economy are used only once, then thrown away. This so-called ‘linear economy’ disposes of economically valuable materials, while causing pressing environmental challenges. These factors are drivers for the need to transition towards a circular economy.”
Currently his attention is placed firmly on turning non-recyclable personal protective equipment (PPE) into water and vinegar, rather than dumping it into landfill and oceans. “This technology development was built on my previous research over the past 10 years on deconstructing and valorising problematic waste such as plastics with hot and pressurised water,” says Dr Baroutian.
Shredded masks, gowns, gloves and plastic safety glasses go into a machine; then hot, pressurised water and compressed air are applied; and water and acetic acid are the endproducts. The PPE-to-liquid process is carried out at a temperature of 300°C and takes about an hour in a small prototype machine in a laboratory in the faculty. Gaseous by-products from the process are oxygen and low concentrations of carbon dioxide, which can be safely discharged. “This is a clean, chemical-free solution which will be a game-changer internationally. “The tech used is a hydrothermal deconstruction process and it destroys the waste completely. The liquid produced in the process is safe, inert and can be reused – the vinegar or acetic acid can be used for disinfecting and the water can be reused for the processing cycle – therefore minimising water consumption and helping with sustainability.”
The process has been developed at the university in collaboration with the Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences and the Universities of Otago and Waterloo in Canada. It is one of two innovative solutions that link up to tackle the COVID-19 healthcare waste problem, which has been described as “threatening human and environmental health” by the World Health Organisation.
Dr Baroutian’s team are now taking steps to develop the solutions into a larger-scale pilot system and, learning from that, will develop a full-scale proof of concept.
“RESOURCE LIMITATION AND WASTE ARE GLOBAL PROBLEMS.”
DR SAEID BAROUTAIN
It's estimated 75 per cent of face masks end up in landfills or waterways.