Influence of metal oxide catalyst on co-pyrolysis of biomass and COVID-19 waste

ABSTRACT

The disposal of waste generated by the COVID-19 pandemic is still a challenge to the government in most countries. The present study shines its light on the catalytic effect of metal oxide on converting COVID-19 waste i.e. used face masks into valuable products through co-pyrolysis. The co-pyrolysis trial was carried out for a mixture of waste face mask (WFM) and Moringa oleifera (MO) biomass at a constant temperature of 450°C for 15 min of resident time. This investigation focuses on studying the catalytic effect of calcium oxide (CaO) on the by-products of the pyrolysis process. From the FT-IR studies, it is observed that the CaO catalyst assisted to reduce oxygen as well as sulphur and carboxylic acids in the bio-oil due to its strong basic nature. The FE-SEM images suggest the increase in porous structure with catalytic pyrolysis (CP) char compared to non-catalytic pyrolysis (NCP) char. The catalytic activity of CaO increased the alcoholic content with a reduction in aldehydes and ketones in the bio-oil. The addition of WFM to the biomass with CaO catalyst pyrolysis (CP) delivered a higher oil yield of 52% compared to non-catalytic pyrolysis (NCP).

GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT

KEYWORDS:

• Moringa oleifera
• face mask
• co-pyrolysis
• synergistic effect
• calcium oxide catalyst

Acknowledgements

We would like to express our immense gratitude to the Center of Excellence in Advanced Materials and Green Technologies, Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, Coimbatore for characterizing co-pyrolysis products. We gratefully acknowledge Dr. Udaya Bhaskar Reddy Ragula (Professor) and Dr. R. Senthilkumar (Technical Manager -COE AMGT) for their valuable suggestions during the experiments. We are also thankful to Ms. Bhalamphiga Arasi T (Research Scholar) for her valuable support during the experiments.

Disclosure statement

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

Data availability statement

The authors confirm that the data supporting the findings of this study are available within the article [and/or] its supplementary materials.

Additional information

Funding

This research work is not supported by any other funding agencies.