Abstract
The importance of medical waste management has grown during the COVID-19 pandemic because of the increase in medical waste quantity and the significant dangers of these highly infected wastes for human health and the environment. This innovative review focuses on the possibility of materials, gas/liquid/solid fuels, thermal energy, and electric power production from medical waste fractions. Appropriate and promising treatment/disposal technologies, such as (i) acid hydrolysis, (ii) acid/enzymatic hydrolysis, (iii) anaerobic digestion, (vi) autoclaving, (v) enzymatic oxidation, (vi) hydrothermal carbonization/treatment, (vii) incineration/steam heat recovery system, (viii) pyrolysis/Rankine cycle, (ix) rotary kiln treatment, (x) microwave/steam sterilization, (xi) plasma gasification/melting, (xii) sulfonation, (xiii) batch reactor thermal cracking, and (xiv) torrefaction, were investigated. The medical waste generation data were collected according to numerous researchers from various countries, and divided into gross medical waste and hazardous medical waste. Moreover, the medical wastes were separated into categories and types according to the international literature and the medical waste fractions’ percentages were estimated. The capability of the examined medical waste treatment technologies to produce energy, fuels, and materials, and eliminate the medical waste management problem, was very promising with regard to the near future.
Highlights
Medical waste (MW) consists of healthcare units’ waste, medical laboratories’ waste, and biomedical research centers’ waste, and its inappropriate handling raises serious risks of disease transmission through exposure to infectious materials to the MW handlers, the health care personnel, the patients, and the public [1]
The large scale MW treatment technologies (MWTTs) are applicable to the MW as a whole or to most of the major MW segregation fractions
The rest of the large scale MWTTs can be considered as alternatives to incineration and can be applied primarily on specific fractions of MW, in a more environmentally friendly manner compared to the incineration process
Summary
Medical waste (MW) consists of healthcare units’ waste, medical laboratories’ waste, and biomedical research centers’ waste, and its inappropriate handling raises serious risks of disease transmission through exposure to infectious materials to the MW handlers, the health care personnel, the patients, and the public [1]. Chisholm et al [10] studied the sustainability aspects of MWM in Africa as regards flexible solutions for environment protection and human health safety They suggested policies and solutions associated with sustainability and MWM supporting decision-makers in developing sustainability strategies using environmentally friendly technologies for efficient. Tirkolaee and Aydın [12] developed a sustainable MWM system for collection and transportation of MW in pandemics, they designed numerous various scales practical examples, solved the problem using CPLEX solver, and they compared diverse conditions. They investigated the practical implications [13]. (vii) incineration/steam heat recovery system, (viii) pyrolysis/Rankine cycle, (ix) rotary kiln treatment, (x) microwave/steam sterilization, (xi) plasma gasification/melting, (xii) sulfonation, (xiii) batch reactor thermal cracking, and (xiv) torrefaction, as regards their capability to produce energy, fuels, and materials
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