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Mechanical Recycling of Disposable Protective Masks
Summary
Disposable face masks — a major source of pandemic-era plastic waste — were mechanically recycled through extrusion to assess whether their polypropylene layers retain useful material properties. The study found that mechanical recycling had only minor effects on thermal properties, suggesting masks could be diverted from landfill and reprocessed into raw material, reducing the chance that mask fibers fragment into environmental microplastics.
Disposable protective face masks, the most used personal protective tools during the Covid-19 pandemic, have become a serious environmental concern that needs urgent attention. In this study, disposable protective face masks were disassembled into their components and mechanically recycled through extrusion. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy were employed to investigate the effect of recycling on the structure and morphology of the mask material. Microscopy revealed morphological differences among the layers of the mask. Differential scanning calorimetry and thermogravimetric analysis were used to characterise the thermal properties of the samples before and after recycling. Although the mechanical recycling process had minor effect on the thermal properties and stability of the mask material, thermal methods verified differences between the layers of the mask.
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