Study of Converting Covid-19 Plastic Waste into Fuel with Automated Temperature Monitoring of Pyrolysis Process

Abstract

Ever since the COVID-19 pandemic began, medical initial responders and health care workers have relied on plastic-based, single-use personal protective equipment (PPE) like masks and gowns to protect themselves from the coronavirus. The result has been quickly growing into a mountain of
plastic waste. Due to the difficulty of their natural disintegration at room temperature, once these plastic materials are released into the environment, they end up in landfills or the ocean .They have some decades to induce decomposed by the microbial organism. If this plastic isn't recycled properly,
it will affect human life as well as the environment adversely . PPE kits typically include polypropylene, which, when pyrolyzed, can be turned into gasoline .This can be a chemical action that breaks down the plastic at a hot temperature i.e., between 300°C and 400°C for an hour without oxygen. By doing this the plastic waste will be effectively recycled, and also it will be a great solution
for increasing demand for fuel. But the process of Pyrolysis involves the decomposition of waste under anaerobic conditions at temperatures ranging between 300°C and 800°C which is relatively high so it has to be monitored, because if it is not monitored properly, it can cause serious damage to
the environment.