Effects of chemical and autoclave sterilization treatments on medical personal protective equipment made of nonwoven polypropylene fibers for recycling

Abstract

Medical personal protective equipment (PPE) made from nonwoven thermoplastic fibers has been intensively used, resulting in a large amount of biohazardous waste. Sterilization is indispensable before recycling medical waste. The aim of this work is to evaluate the effects of the decontamination treatments and help properly recycle the PPE materials. The study investigated the effects of three disinfection treatments (NaClO, H 2 O 2 , and autoclave) on chemical composition, molecular weight, thermal properties, crystallinity, crystallization kinetics, and mechanical tension of three types of PPE (Gown #1, Gown #2, and Wrap) made of isotactic polypropylene fibers. The chemical compositions of the materials were not evidently affected by any of the treatments. However, the M w of the polymers decreased about 2-7% after the treatments, although the changes were not statistically significant. The treatments barely affected the melting and crystallization temperatures and the maximum force at break, but they tended to elevate the thermal degradation temperatures. Although the treatments did not notably influence the crystallinities, crystallization rates and crystal growths were altered based on the Avrami model regression. Since the detected changes would not significantly affect polymer processing, the treated materials were suitable for recycling. Meanwhile, evident differences in the three types of raw materials were recorded. Their initial properties fluctuated notably, and they often behaved differently during the treatments, which could affect recycling operation. Recyclers should test and sort the raw materials to assure product quality. The results in this study provide fundamental data for recycling medical PPE to reduce its environmental footprint.

Monitoring CaCO3 Content in Recycled Polypropylene with Raman Spectrometry

“…Since the purpose of this study was to monitor CaCO 3 content in recycled plastics, two recycled PP samples with known CaCO 3 content from our previous work were employed to validate the two best PLS models (None and MSC-SG-FD) and the three best second-order regression curves. 19 The results are listed in Table 3 . The prediction results of the two PLS models were very poor.…”

“…The rPP #2 sample contains 18 wt % CaCO 3 , while the rPP #1 sample contains no CaCO 3 . 19 The two recycled samples were used for model validation.…”

“…Our previous study identified that they were made of nonwoven PP fibers. The rPP #2 sample contains 18 wt % CaCO 3 , while the rPP #1 sample contains no CaCO 3 . The two recycled samples were used for model validation.…”

Advance Analysis of the Obtained Recycled Materials from Used Disposable Surgical Masks

“…The results of all the aforementioned research have led to an intensive search for solutions in the field of DSM waste treatment. Researchers around the world are looking for possible solutions in this area, from different types of disinfection with the aim of reuse to different types of recycling-mechanical recycling, thermomechanical recycling and pyrolysis-to obtain usable secondary materials [15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24].…”