| Title: | Energy and environmental sustainability of waste personal protective equipment (PPE) treatment under COVID-19 |
| Author(s): | Zhao X; Klemes JJ; Fengqi Y; |
| Address: | "Systems Engineering, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, 14853, USA. Sustainable Process Integration Laboratory - SPIL, NETME Centre, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Brno University of Technology - VUT Brno, Technicka 2896/2, 616 69, Brno, Czech Republic. Robert Frederick Smith School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, 14853, USA" |
| DOI: | 10.1016/j.rser.2021.111786 |
| ISSN/ISBN: | 1879-0690 (Electronic) 1364-0321 (Print) 1364-0321 (Linking) |
| Abstract: | "Combating the COVID-19 pandemic has raised the demand for and disposal of personal protective equipment in the United States. This work proposes a novel waste personal protective equipment processing system that enables energy recovery through producing renewable fuels and other basic chemicals. Exergy analysis and environmental assessment through a detailed life cycle assessment approach are performed to evaluate the energy and environmental sustainability of the processing system. Given the environmental advantages in reducing 35.42% of total greenhouse gas emissions from the conventional incineration and 43.50% of total fossil fuel use from landfilling processes, the optimal number, sizes, and locations of establishing facilities within the proposed personal protective equipment processing system in New York State are then determined by an optimization-based site selection methodology, proposing to build two pre-processing facilities in New York County and Suffolk County and one integrated fast pyrolysis plant in Rockland County. Their optimal annual treatment capacities are 1,708 t/y, 8,000 t/y, and 9,028 t/y. The proposed optimal personal protective equipment processing system reduces 31.5% of total fossil fuel use and 35.04% of total greenhouse gas emissions compared to the personal protective equipment incineration process. It also avoids 41.52% and 47.64% of total natural land occupation from the personal protective equipment landfilling and incineration processes" |
| Keywords: | "CAPEX, Capital expenditure Fossil fuel reduction GAO US, Government Accountability Office GHG emissions GHG, Greenhouse gas GWP, Global warming potential HEPA, High-Efficiency Particulate Arrestance HEX, Heat exchangers HP, High-pressure steam LCA, Life c;" |
| Notes: | "PubMed-not-MEDLINEZhao, Xiang Klemes, Jiri Jaromir Fengqi You eng Netherlands 2021/10/26 Renew Sustain Energy Rev. 2022 Jan; 153:111786. doi: 10.1016/j.rser.2021.111786. Epub 2021 Oct 18" |
