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Syngas Production from Protective Face Masks through Pyrolysis/Steam Gasification
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This study explores converting discarded COVID-era face masks into syngas through steam gasification, offering a chemical recycling route for a massive new plastic waste stream. At 800 °C, both 3-ply surgical masks and KN95 respirators produced high yields of hydrogen and carbon monoxide. The approach could help prevent mask plastics from entering the environment while recovering usable fuel gas.
The COVID-19 pandemic has caused a heavy expansion of plastic pollution due to the extensive use of personal protective equipment (PPE) worldwide. To avoid problems related to the entrance of these wastes into the environment, proper management of the disposal is required. Here, the steam gasification/pyrolysis technique offers a reliable solution for the utilization of such wastes via chemical recycling into value-added products. The aim was to estimate the effect of thermo-chemical conversion temperature and steam-to-carbon ratio on the distribution of gaseous products obtained during non-catalytic steam gasification of 3-ply face masks and KN95 respirators in a fluidized bed reactor. Experimental results have revealed that the process temperature has a major influence on the composition of gases evolved. The production of syngas was significantly induced by temperature elevation from 700 °C to 800 °C. The highest molar concentration of H2 gases synthesized from both types of face masks was estimated at 800 °C with the steam-to-carbon ratio varying from 0 to 2. A similar trend of production was also determined for CO gases. Therefore, investigated thermochemical conversion process is a feasible route for the conversion of used face masks to valuable a product such as syngas.
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