Abstract
TPS 624: Exposures to pops, voc and other chemicals, Johan Friso Foyer, Floor 1, August 26, 2019, 3:00 PM - 4:30 PM Background: Inappropriate hazardous healthcare waste management practices have direct and indirect effects on the environment and human health causing air, water and land pollution. Treatment of healthcare waste by incineration and sanitary land fill release pollutants in the environment. This study was aimed at developing and optimizing the production of bio-char from combustible healthcare waste and compare pyrolysis efficiency and calorific value of locally made pyrolysis equipment with commercial one. Methods: Healthcare wastes were collected from different wards of the Jimma University Hospital for seven consecutive days in 2017. The wastes were segregated to separate the organic biomass, mixed, weighed, sterilized, dried, shredded, and samples taken for pyrolysis. Pyrolysis experiments were carried out on a fixed bed of reactor under atmospheric pressure at different temperatures of 300° and 400°C using both locally made and commercial pyrolysis equipment. Results: About 65% of the general healthcare waste was found to be combustible. Higher temperature gave less char in all types of pyrolysis reaction. Volatile matters were observed to be nearly the same figures in all observations. The yield of the bio-char at 300°C for commercial pyrolysis and Local pyrolysis was 40.56 and 33.13 w.t% and was estimated to produce bio-char of heating value of 24.85 and 25.83 MJ/Kg respectively. There was less bio-char yield and calorific value in the bio-char produced by commercial pyrolysis at 400°C. Generally the calorific value of bio-char produced by both local and commercial pyrolysis fulfills FAO standards. Conclusions: Combustible healthcare wastes have the potential to be a very effective feedstock for bio-char production. For energy efficiency, both local and commercial pyrolysis at 300° were recommended. Pyrolysis of healthcare waste in different proportion by mixing with municipal solid waste may need another investigation. Life cycle analysis shows that bio-char reduces greenhouse gas emission.
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