Design of pyrolysis equipment for the decomposition of medical gloves waste into fuel oil

Abstract

The Corona Virus Disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic is rapidly expanding and spreading as new virus variants become more easily transmitted. It resulted in an increase in the number of infected patients. To overcome the problems, he government recommends that medical personnel to wear Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) to avoid direct contact between medical personnel and patients. As the number of Covid-19 transmissions increased, so did the number of medical wastes. One type of medical waste, disposable medical gloves are made of polymers and could not be broken down naturally by microorganisms in the environment. As a result, during this pandemic, disposable medical glove waste is significantly polluting the environment. Environmental issues can be overcome by properly handling of medical glove waste, such as by converting waste to energy (WTE) through the pyrolysis process. The design of pyrolysis equipment has become an important factor in converting waste into energy. The aim of this research is to determine a simple and easy-to-manufacture pyrolysis equipment design for converting medical gloves waste into an alternative fuel. According to the design, the pyrolysis vessel was made of stainless steel and had a maximum capacity of 3 kg/process. The tubing connector was made of stainless steel 304 (SS-304) and had a diameter of 2 cm. To maximize the condensation process, two condensers of stainless steel 201 (SS-201) were designed and built in series. The pyrolysis equipment has passed functional testing because the functional testing step revealed that medical gloves can be decomposed into fuel oil. © 2023 Author(s).