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Mechanical Recycling and Valorisation of Disposable Face Masks: A Potential Solution to the COVID-19 Waste Issue
University of Borås, Faculty of Textiles, Engineering and Business.ORCID iD: 0000-0002-0498-3353
Department of Textile and Apparel Engineering, University of Moratuwa, Katubedda, Moratuwa, 10400, Sri Lanka.
School of Engineering and IT, University of New South Wales, Northcott Dr, Campbell, ACT, 2612, Australia.ORCID iD: 0000-0002-4445-443X
Institute of Technology, University of Moratuwa, Diyagama Road, Homagama, 10200, Sri Lanka.
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2023 (English)In: ICSBE 2022: Lecture Notes in Civil Engineering, vol 362, 2023, Vol. 362, p. 101-113Conference paper, Published paper (Refereed)
Abstract [en]

Rapid spread of COVID-19 disease worldwide resulted in a dramatic increase in face mask consumption. Single-used surgical face masks are manufactured using plastic fibres such as polypropylene (PP) or polyester, which cause severe environmental concerns when accumulated in landfills, primarily due to their non-degradability. Furthermore, plastic fibres are derived from petroleum, a depleting resource at an alarming rate, due to which preserving is highly recommended. Massive consumption and subsequent disposal of single-use surgical face masks urge seeking alternative solutions to conserve resources and manage the ever-growing waste issue. This study investigates the feasibility of recycling surgical facemasks. Single-use surgical face masks were subjected to mechanical recycling through melt extrusion. FTIR and TGA tests were conducted to establish the raw material’s chemical composition and thermolytic properties. Facemasks were initially shredded and melt-extruded to obtain filaments, which were subsequently pelletised. The pellets were hot-pressed using the compression moulding technique to make sheet-like panels. Tensile testing of the recycled sheet-like material exhibited failure stress of ~23 MPa and a failure strain of ~2.2%. While the failure stress was similar to the virgin PP material, the failure strain reduced significantly upon recycling. The material’s thermal conductivity was measured to be 0.404 W m−1 K−1 using Lee’s Disc Method. Thermal conductivity was increased significantly than the virgin PP material. The recycled material can be used in sheet form for applications such as thermal insulation and partition boards with further improved strength and thickness. Additionally, recycled pellets have the potential to be used as 3D printing feedstock, thereby enabling utilisation in bulk quantities.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
2023. Vol. 362, p. 101-113
Series
Lecture Notes in Civil Engineering ; 362
Keywords [en]
Face mask waste, COVID-19, Waste management, Recycling, Environmental pollution, Polypropylene
National Category
Other Industrial Biotechnology
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:hb:diva-31340DOI: 10.1007/978-981-99-3471-3_8Scopus ID: 2-s2.0-85171990664ISBN: 978-981-99-3470-6 (print)ISBN: 978-981-99-3471-3 (electronic)OAI: oai:DiVA.org:hb-31340DiVA, id: diva2:1828408
Conference
ICSBE 2022
Available from: 2024-01-16 Created: 2024-01-16 Last updated: 2024-02-01Bibliographically approved

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Dissanayake, Kanchana

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