Structure characteristics and development sustainability of municipal solid waste treatment in China

This study aims to analyze the development trend of municipal solid waste (MSW) treatment in China from 2011 to 2020, and provide insights into the challenges and opportunities of sustainable MSW management. Our analysis shows that MSW generation declined in 2020, which could be attributed to a combination of factors, including the low urban population growth rate, the implementation of the garbage classification policy, and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. We also found that the shift from landfill to incineration is expected to increase significantly in the coming years, although there are still several structural problems, such as an imbalance in treatment capacity among regions and cities, and uncertainty about whether the increase in incineration treatment capacity can meet overall demand due to the high volume of MSW generation. Our analysis highlights the heavy dependence on government investment for MSW treatment mode change, which is difficult due to the expanding deficit between fiscal revenue and expenditure of local governments. Correlation coefficient analysis shows a significant positive correlation between the proportion of incineration and sanitation investment, and a significant negative correlation between the proportion of landfill treatment and sanitation investment. To address these challenges, we propose technological advancement and management optimization to reduce the cost of MSW treatment, as well as expansion of investment channels through green funds, taxation relief, and other means to promote high-quality and sustainable development of the MSW treatment industry. These changes could accelerate the transformation of China's MSW treatment industry from policy promotion-dependent to market-oriented sustainable operation.

Conversion of medical waste into value-added products using a novel integrated system with tail gas treatment: Process design, optimization, and thermodynamic analysis.

The COVID-19 pandemic has generated substantial medical waste (MW), posing risks to society. Based on widespread MW incineration, this study proposes an integrated system with tail gas treatment to convert MW into value-added products with nearly zero emissions. Herein, steam generators and supercritical CO2 cycles were used to recover energy from MW to produce high-temperature/pressure steam and electricity. A simple power generation cycle achieved a net electricity efficiency of 22.4% through optimization. Thermodynamic analysis revealed that the most energy and exergy loss occurred in incineration. Furthermore, a pressurized reactive distillation column purified the resultant tail gas. The effects of inlet temperature, pressure, liquid/gas ratio, and recycle ratio on the removal and conversion efficiencies of NO2 and SO2 were evaluated. Nearly 100% of the SO2 and 75% of the NO2 generated by the incineration of MW have been converted into their acid forms. Based on the proposed tail gas treatment unit, high-purity CO2 (∼98% purity) was finally obtained.

Co-Combustion Investigation of Wood Pellets Blended with FFP2 Masks: Analysis of the Ash Melting Temperature

The COVID-19 pandemic brought a period of high consumption of protective masks and an increase in their waste. Therefore, it was necessary to look at possibilities for their disposal. This article is focused on the disposal of FFP2 masks in the form of pellets blended with sawdust. Further, their ash melting behavior was observed. The method of ash preparation can impact the resulting values of melting temperatures. Therefore, this article investigates the resulting values of ash melting temperatures determined during different ash preparations, such as temperatures (550 °C and 815 °C) and ash size (non-sifted, smaller than 50 µm and 100 µm). All measured deformation temperatures were higher than 1100 °C and even higher than 1200 °C for some samples. Moreover, the presence of FFP2 masks in pellets only insignificantly affected the values of melting temperatures compared to pure wood pellets. The measured values also showed that increasing the temperature of ash preparation from 550 to 815 °C can increase the resulting values of melting temperature. The most significant proportion of the fraction size on the resulting melting temperatures was observed for beech with 5% and 10% of masks at an ash temperature of 550 °C and for spruce with 10% of masks at an ash temperature of 815 °C. © 2023 by the authors.

The energy assessment of COVID-19 medical waste as a potential fuel

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused huge health and economic damages. Various protective face masks, such as single-use, cotton, and the most widespread FFP2 or KN95 masks, are used to prevent the spread of this virus. However, these face masks are usually packaged in plastic packaging, which increases the amount of plastic waste. Plastic gloves are also often used in the connection of the pandemic. All this leads to a large production of protective equipment, but their use contributes to the increase of this type of waste, which presents a new challenge in waste management. This article investigates a complete element analysis of these mentioned materials and observes potential harmful substances. Further, pellets, as a potential fuel for combustion or pyrolysis purposes, were produced with the content of 5% and 10% of face masks. FFP2 were firstly separated from ear straps and wires, then disintegrated, added to spruce sawdust, and compressed into pellets. A series of experiments were realized and aimed at elemental, thermogravimetric, and calorific value analyses of produced pellets. Based on the results, it can be concluded that the presence of face masks FFP2 in pellets increases the content of carbon, hydrogen, and nitrogen, volatile matter, and calorific values, but decreases the content of fixed carbon. According to elemental analysis of produced pellets, no significant amounts of harmful elements were found. © 2023 The Author(s)

Reuse of Sludge as Organic Soil Amendment: Insights into the Current Situation and Potential Challenges

Sludge generation as an organic by-product of wastewater treatment has seen a consistent increase worldwide due to population growth and industrial activities. This poses a chronic challenge regarding management options and environmental concerns. The agricultural valorization of unconventional organic materials has become inevitable, especially in semi-arid and arid countries that suffer from depleted soils and shortages in farm manure supply. High-income countries have also been interested in this recycling practice to mitigate landfilling or incineration issues. Sewage and some industrial sludges contain a complex mixture of beneficial and harmful substances, which varies with the origin of effluents. Therefore, sludge land application should be well managed in order to achieve sustainable agro-environmental goals. This review paper focuses on different aspects related to sludge reuse in agriculture, starting by investigating the diversity of sludge types and composition. In addition to the preponderant urban sewage sludge, the less-studied industrial sludges, such as those generated from pulp and paper mills or gas-to-liquid industries, are hereby addressed as well. Then, post-land application effects are discussed in relation to sludge quality, dose, and reuse conditions. The present paper also examines the disparities between guidelines that determine sludge conformity for land application in various countries or regions. Accordingly, special attention is given to increasing risks related to emerging pollutants in sludge such as pharmaceuticals, which have been overused since the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic. This exhaustive investigation will assist the establishment of sustainable strategies for the safe agricultural reuse of biosolids.

A review of plastic pollution and their treatment technology: A circular economy platform by thermochemical pathway

The rapid expansion of plastic manufacturing industries in last several decades has brought serious concerns over the environmental impacts of plastic wastes. Recent outbreak of Covid-19 drastically increased production, use, and disposal of plastic products. Current management strategies for wasted plastics still rely on landfill and incineration that continue to exacerbate plastic pollution and carbon emissions. Many countries have put forward multifaceted administrative efforts to reduce plastic wastes, but the annual global generation of plastic wastes is still increasing. In techno-society, researchers have been exploring more effective plastic wastes treatment technologies to alleviate environmental impacts of plastic wastes. Such efforts entailed several technical options that can potentially contribute to establishing a circular economy for plastics. Thermochemical process is a prominent example of such techniques. This review presents an overview of the issue of plastic pollution, covering topics including global plastic production, environmental impacts, and toxicity. In addition, the global administrative efforts aimed at reducing plastic pollution are discussed, as well as detection and treatment strategies to establish a circular economy in plastic management. © 2023 Elsevier B.V.

IMPORTANCE OF COMPREHENSIVE HEALTH RISK ASSESSMENT PROCEDURES FOR MODERN WASTE-TO-ENERGY FACILITIES IN COMPLEX GEOGRAPHICAL CONTEXTS ORIENTED TO CIRCULAR ECONOMY

Although circular economy (CE) principles set material circularity, resource efficiency and waste recycling as priority targets to guarantee the sustainable development of future generations, the thermochemical valorisation of municipal solid waste (MSW) still plays a fundamental role in the transition towards the final CE targets. As a matter of fact, the waste-to-energy (WtE) sector allows recovering energy from waste, reducing the pressure on MSW landfills and their related potential environmental impacts;however, recovering material for further uses is not excluded in WtE options. Significant improvements have been achieved in the air pollution control of exhaust gases from direct and indirect MSW combustion during the last decades. The efforts focussed on reducing dioxin emissions especially, and this has let other substances emerge as priority pollutants (e.g., heavy metals). In addition, the location of WtE facilities in certain geographical contexts is still potentially critical from the point of view of human exposure and the related health risk;moreover, the public acceptance of WtE plants is still limited, in spite of their recent role in fighting SARS-CoV-2 risks from waste management. The purpose of the present paper is to underline the importance of implementing correct and complete health risk assessment procedures tailored to the exposed population living in the area of influence of a WtE plant. The paper will present two case studies regarding the projects of two WtE plants in a mountainous region, highlighting the critical issues that arose during the environmental impact assessment procedures. The paper will finally suggest possible options to improve the health risk assessment procedure and alternative measures to reduce the expected impacts of the WtE sector on the environment and human exposure. © 2022 WIT Press.

Environmental pollution from COVID-19 generated wastes result in widespread recycling of SARS-CoV-2 infection

Wastes generated in the face of COVID-19 pose enormous risks to the environment and heath. Environmental pollution from deficiencies in disposal patterns of hospital wastes may result in widespread recycling of SARS-CoV-2 infection. This paper aimed at creating awareness of the impact of inaptly disposed medical wastes on the environment;produced from managing COVID-19 leading to SARS-CoV-2 widespread recycling. Assemblage of recent and suitable literatures relating to keywords like waste disposal, medical wastes, coronavirus, COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2 and environmental pollution were revised/reviewed. Data suggest that factors like reduced awareness, negligence, ignorance, lack of polices among others are the chief influences contributing to improper medical wastes collection, disposal and management leading to environmental hazards. Therefore, improper disposal of medical wastes can lead to toxic environmental pollution thereby recycling SARS-CoV-2 in the face of COVID-19 management. Hence, incineration after prior disinfection remains the best management option in the prevailing coronavirus era. Copyright © 2022 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd.

Novel Dose of Natrium Chloride and Soil Concentration in Reducing Medical Waste Bacteria before Incineration

If it is not adequately managed, the waste from healthcare facilities containing infectious material poses a risk to the general public and the natural environment. As a result, hospitals must ensure that their waste management policies do not add to the dangers posed to both human health and the environment. In this study, we aimed to determine the effect that varying doses of disinfectant in conjunction with andosol soil had on the total number of bacteria present in the medical waste generated by three hospitals in Semarang City, Indonesia. According to the findings of the study, the most efficient method for decreasing the overall number of microbial colonies by 93% was a combination involving soil (at a percentage of 30) and chlorine (at a concentration of 0.75 ppm). As a consequence of this, and due to the limited technology available, this straightforward method can become an alternative for the healthcare industry in managing medical waste before dumping or incinerating it. Hospitals have been advised to discontinue the practice of directly burning, disinfecting, or transporting waste to disposal locations before it receives treatment. This can help reduce the risk of pandemics, as the correct disposal of medical waste can control infection sources.

Emerging trends in the pharmaceutical waste generation and disposal after COVID-19

Every year, a million tonnes of pharmaceutical waste is generated around the globe. The major pharmaceutical products include syringes, masks, PPE kits, unused vaccines, antibiotics, etc. Its production was at a steady rate before the pandemic, but during the pandemic, the demand increased many-fold and so did the production. The widespread use of these pharmaceutical products during the COVID-19 pandemic has created an alarming situation around the world. All our landfills, oceans, and rivers are flooded with pharmaceutical waste. The unused antibiotics after unsafe disposal led to the presence of antibiotics in soil and water, which led to the antibiotic-resistant issue. In the current chapter, the authors suggest a drastic change in pharmacy waste before and after the pandemic and ways to minimize the environmental and health risks. © 2023 Nova Science Publishers, Inc. All rights reserved.

Solid waste management during the COVID-19 pandemic

The outbreak of COVID-19 is affecting the waste management, which is gaining increasing concerns all over the world. The waste generated during the pandemic is completely different from that of the normal in composition and property (i.e., plastic waste), and it possibly contains various virus, which suggests that it should be handled and disposed carefully. This chapter introduces the current status of waste management during the pandemic. The points for collection, transportation, treatment/disposal during the pandemic were summarized in order to provide reference for other countries in the post-epidemic era of solid waste management. © 2023 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Current State, Development and Future Directions of Medical Waste Valorization

Elevated medical waste has urged the improvement of sustainable medical waste treatments. A bibliometric analysis is initially conducted to investigate scientific development of medical waste management to pinpoint the publication trends, influential articles, journals and countries and study hotspots. Publications on medical waste and its management sharply increased since 2020. The most influential article was written by Klemeš et al., and "Waste Management and Research” is the most productive journal. India, China, the United Kingdom, Iran and Italy have published the most works. The research spotlights have switched from "human” and "sustainable development” in 2019 to "COVID-19” and "circular economy” in 2021. Since government acts essentially in handling medical waste and controlling disease transmission, rule implementations among the abovementioned countries are summarized to seek gaps between scientific advancement and regulatory frameworks. For accomplishing a circular economy, waste-to-energy technologies (incineration, gasification, pyrolysis, plasma-based treatments, carbonization, hydrogenation, liquefaction, biomethanation, fermentation and esterification) are comprehensively reviewed. Incineration, gasification, pyrolysis and carbonization are relatively feasible methods, their characteristics and limitations are further compared. By holistically reviewing current status of medical waste research, the focal points involved in management at the policy and technical level have been highlighted to find proper routes for medical waste valorization. © 2023 by the authors.

Challenges in handling COVID-19 waste and its management mechanism: A Review.

COVID-19, the novel corona virus has become a household name. The global COVID-19 outbreak, become a pandemic in early 2020, and spurred millions of life across the world. The pandemic is spreading extremely and its impacts upon human health and environment intensifying day-by-day. Biomedical waste generated daily due to COVID-19 are about the major environmental health concern and its critical management becomes a global challenge. Tones of COVID-19 contaminated wastes are generated every day worldwide and its sound management is very essential to break the disease transmission. The safe and sustainable management of COVID-19 contaminated biomedical waste (BMW) is a social and legal responsibility of all people during this critical period of disease transmission. Unsound management of this waste could cause unforeseen "knock-on" effects on human health and the environment. Health workers, municipal workers, rag-pickers and other persons who are involved directly or indirectly in the COVID -19 war are at high risk and needs to be careful while discharging their responsibility with an efficient and effective waste disposal mechanism.

Review on distribution, fate, and management of potentially toxic elements in incinerated medical wastes.

Medical wastes include all solid and liquid wastes that are produced during the treatment, diagnosis, and immunisation of animals and humans. A significant proportion of medical waste is infectious, hazardous, radioactive, and contains potentially toxic elements (PTEs) (i.e., heavy metal (loids)). PTEs, including arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd), lead (Pb) and mercury (Hg), are mostly present in plastic, syringes, rubber, adhesive plaster, battery wastes of medical facilities in elemental form, as well as oxides, chlorides, and sulfates. Incineration and sterilisation are the most common technologies adopted for the safe management and disposal of medical wastes, which are primarily aimed at eliminating deadly pathogens. The ash materials derived from the incineration of hazardous medical wastes are generally disposed of in landfills after the solidification/stabilisation (S/S) process. In contrast, the ash materials derived from nonhazardous wastes are applied to the soil as a source of nutrients and soil amendment. The release of PTEs from medical waste ash material from landfill sites and soil application can result in ecotoxicity. The present study is a review paper that aims to critically review the dynamisms of PTEs in various environmental media after medical waste disposal, the environmental and health implications of their poor management, and the common misconceptions regarding medical waste.

Advancing Environmental Health and Justice: A Call for Assessment and Oversight of Health Care Waste. (APHA Policy Statement Number 20224, Adopted November 2022).

Health care waste adversely affects society in ways that have been overlooked for decades, an issue that the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has accelerated significantly. This policy statement addresses the human impacts that occur as health care waste is processed, transported, landfilled, or incinerated. With limited federal tracking and lack of regulation, patterns of environmental racism persist. Communities of color and low-income communities most often experience the greatest environmental health burdens through the disposal of waste in their communities. Many communities have called for action for decades, as our massive health care industry contributes greatly to these harms. Centering these communities, public health professionals must advocate for (1) evidence-based federal policies with transparent, accessible data about health care waste generation, type, and fate; (2) leadership within the health care industry (e.g., from hospitals, accrediting bodies, and professional organizations) to address environmental health and justice issues related to waste; (3) health impact assessments, cost-benefit analyses, and circular economy research with health care systems and communities to identify cost-effective, feasible, and just solutions; and (4) federal initiatives to prioritize funding toward mitigation of cumulative exposures and impacts, reparation for harms, and investment in well-being for communities exposed to waste, health care or otherwise. Some public health experts anticipate that we may be entering a "pandemic age," which suggests that, without intervention, intersecting issues of infectious disease, climate change, waste, and environmental health and justice will remain and reoccur.

Effective multipurpose sewage sludge and food waste reduction strategies: A focus on recent advances and future perspectives

Energy crisis and increasing rigorous management standards pose significant challenges for solid waste management worldwide. Several emerging diseases such as COVID-19 aggravated the already complex solid waste management crisis, especially sewage sludge and food waste streams, because of the increasingly large production year by year. As mature waste disposal technologies, landfills, incineration, composting, and some other methods are widespread for solid wastes management. This paper reviews recent advances in key sewage sludge disposal technologies. These include incineration, anaerobic digestion, and valuable products oriented-conversion. Food waste disposal technologies comprised of thermal treatment, fermentation, value-added product conversion, and composting have also been described. The hot topic and dominant research foci of each area are summarized, simultaneously compared with conventional technologies in terms of organic matter degradation or conversion performance, energy generation, and renewable resources production. Future perspectives of each technology that include issues not well understood and predicted challenges are discussed with a positive effect on the full-scale implementation of the discussed disposal methods. © 2022 Elsevier Ltd

DESIGN OF A MOBILE INCINERATOR TO ELIMINATE THE COVID-19 MEDICAL WASTE

One of the most important events in recent years is the Covid-19 epidemic, which began in 2019 and continues to this day. The virus is transmitted in several ways, including medical waste (face masks, hand gloves, gowns, covers, etc.) Medical waste has increased, and the only successful way of treatment is incineration. The paper presents a design model of a mobile medical incinerator for Health Care Centres of Covid-19 in Baghdad. The clinical capacity of one centre is 50 beds and the amount of waste produced is 100 kg per day. The mobile incinerator presented has a capacity of 25 kg/h, has high efficiency, and eliminates the transmission of the virus from one area to another, by waste. The incineration process leads to the reduction of waste weight by 75% and waste volume by 95%. The paper presents a model to calculate the volume of the primary and secondary combustion chambers. The mass of gas fuel added to the burners, the volume of flue gases resulted from the medical waste combustion and the residence time of the resulting gases in the secondary combustion chamber are determined. © 2022, Politechnica University of Bucharest. All rights reserved.

Microbial strategies for degradation of microplastics generated from COVID-19 healthcare waste.

COVID-19 pandemic has led to the generation of massive plastic wastes, comprising of onetime useable gloves, masks, tissues, and other personal protective equipment (PPE). Recommendations for the employ of single-use disposable masks made up of various polymeric materials like polyethylene, polyurethane, polyacrylonitrile, and polypropylene, polystyrene, can have significant aftermath on environmental, human as well as animal health. Improper disposal and handling of healthcare wastes and lack of proper management practices are creating serious health hazards and an extra challenge for the local authorities designated for management of solid waste. Most of the COVID-19 medical wastes generated are now being treated by incineration which generates microplastic particles (MPs), dioxin, furans, and various toxic metals, such as cadmium and lead. Moreover, natural degradation and mechanical abrasion of these wastes can lead to the generation of MPs which cause a serious health risk to living beings. It is a major threat to aquatic lives and gets into foods subsequently jeopardizing global food safety. Moreover, the presence of plastic is also considered a threat owing to the increased carbon emission and poses a profound danger to the global food chain. Degradation of MPs by axenic and mixed culture microorganisms, such as bacteria, fungi, microalgae etc. can be considered an eco-sustainable technique for the mitigation of the microplastic menace. This review primarily deals with the increase in microplastic pollution due to increased use of PPE along with different disinfection methods using chemicals, steam, microwave, autoclave, and incineration which are presently being employed for the treatment of COVID-19 pandemic-related wastes. The biological treatment of the MPs by diverse groups of fungi and bacteria can be an alternative option for the mitigation of microplastic wastes generated from COVID-19 healthcare waste.