Abstract

The use of PPE has drastically increased because of the SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) pandemic as disposable surgical face masks made from non-biodegradable polypropylene (PP) polymers have generated a significant amount of waste. In this work, a low-power plasma method has been used to degrade surgical masks. Several analytical techniques (gravimetric analysis, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), attenuated total reflection-infra-red spectroscopy (ATR-IR), x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), thermogravimetric analysis/differential scanning calorimetry (TGA/DSC) and wide-angle x-ray scattering (WAXS)) were used to evaluate the effects of plasma irradiation on mask samples. After 4 h of irradiation, an overall mass loss of 63 ± 8%, through oxidation followed by fragmentation, was observed on the non-woven 3-ply surgical mask, which is 20 times faster than degrading a bulk PP sample. Individual components of the mask also showed different degradation rates. Air plasma clearly represents an energy-efficient tool for treating contaminated PPE in an environmentally friendly approach.

Details

Title
Plasma degradation of contaminated PPE: an energy-efficient method to treat contaminated plastic waste
Author
Marco Tobías, Mariano 1 ; Åhlén, Michelle 2 ; Cheung, Ocean 2 ; Bucknall, David G. 3 ; McCoustra, Martin R. S. 3   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Yiu, Humphrey H. P. 1   VIAFID ORCID Logo 

1  Heriot-Watt University, Chemical Engineering, School of Engineering and Physical Sciences, Edinburgh, UK (GRID:grid.9531.e) (ISNI:0000000106567444) 
2  Ångströmlaboratoriet, Nanotechnology and Functional Materials, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden (GRID:grid.8993.b) (ISNI:0000 0004 1936 9457) 
3  Heriot-Watt University, Institute of Chemical Sciences, School of Engineering and Physical Sciences, Edinburgh, UK (GRID:grid.9531.e) (ISNI:0000000106567444) 
Pages
33
Publication year
2023
Publication date
2023
Publisher
Nature Publishing Group
e-ISSN
23972106
Source type
Scholarly Journal
Language of publication
English
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41529-023-00350-9
ProQuest document ID
2803110663
Copyright
© The Author(s) 2023. This work is published under http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ (the “License”). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.