Resource Resurgence from COVID-19 Waste via Pyrolysis: a Circular Economy Approach

Since the end of 2019, COVID-19 pandemic has affected 220 countries and currently majority of the world is facing the wrath of the second wave. One of the outcomes of the ongoing pandemic is the generation of huge amount of solid polymeric “COVID-waste” comprising medical waste, personal protective...

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Published inCircular economy and sustainability (Online) Vol. 2; no. 1; pp. 211 - 220
Main Authors Debnath, Biswajit, Ghosh, Shiladitya, Dutta, Neelanjan
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Cham Springer International Publishing 2022
Subjects
Applied Science
Earth and Environmental Science
Engineering Economics
Environment
Environmental Economics
Logistics
Marketing
multidisciplinary
Opinion Paper
Organization
Science
Sustainable Development
Waste Management/Waste Technology
COVID-19
Pyrolysis
Resource recovery
Circular economy
COVID-waste
Sustainability
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Summary:Since the end of 2019, COVID-19 pandemic has affected 220 countries and currently majority of the world is facing the wrath of the second wave. One of the outcomes of the ongoing pandemic is the generation of huge amount of solid polymeric “COVID-waste” comprising medical waste, personal protective equipment (PPE) waste, packaging waste, and other household waste with potential infectious components residing on it. Thermochemical route is the preferred treatment and effective way of disposal of such infectious polymeric waste. Typically, incineration is employed to ensure complete destruction of the pathogens which is not a resource-efficient method. Pyrolysis is a sustainable alternative which can handle the present COVID-waste stream in short-term and long-term yielding valuable fuel and material products. Recently published literature in this avenue have clearly shown the versatility of this technology in efficiently handling both mono and mixed stream of polymers. Based on facts, we propose a resource resurgence framework that utilizes pyrolysis as the core conversion route for effectively handling COVID-waste streams. Our framework suggests how these plants can be operational and helpful in generation of revenue in post-pandemic times as well. We expect that the conscientious adoption of pyrolysis will certainly lead us towards a circular economy paradigm.
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ISSN:2730-597X
2730-5988
DOI:10.1007/s43615-021-00104-2