Feasibility of thermal disposal masks in domestic waste incinerators: a study on the combustion characteristics, gaseous pollutant emissions characteristics and control of masks

ABSTRACT

Discarded disposable medical masks generated due to the COVID−19 epidemic are overwhelming the current medical waste disposal facilities. Thermal disposal masks in domestic waste incinerator can both utilize the heat energy released by their combustion and dispose of the headache-inducing masks in a harmless manner. The masks are divided into 6 parts: white inside (WI), filter (FI), blue outside (BO), bonding of 3 parts (BP), ear strap (ES) and nose wire (NW). The highest burnout temperature (T_b) of each part of the mask was only 481.2°C and had a high HHV of 40.47 MJ/kg, which has a high energy potential as an energy source. The NOx, SO₂, and HCl emission characteristics of each part of the masks were evaluated in a fixed-bed reactor. BP, BO, and ES contradict SO₂ and HCl emission limits in China. The SO₂ and HCl emission peaks of the masks with the addition of 10 wt% Ca(OH)₂ did not exceed 60 mg/m³, which made the combustion emissions of the masks comply with GB 18,485–2014. Considering subsidies for disposal of masks and power generation, blending masks with a 1%−5% ratio enhances the subsidy revenue of waste incineration power plants by 12.63%−63.13%.

KEYWORDS:

• Mask
• thermal disposal
• combustion characteristics
• gaseous pollutant emissions
• additive

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Authors’ contributions

Yin Chen: methodology, supervision, data analysis, writing – original draft, reviewing, and editing. Zhixuan Deng: experiment, formal analysis, and investigation, data analysis, language polish.

Supplementary data

Supplemental data for this article can be accessed online at https://doi.org/10.1080/15567036.2023.2222071.

Additional information

Funding

This work was financially supported by Guangdong Key Laboratory of Efficient and Clean Energy Utilization, South China University of technology [No. 2013A061401005].