Sterilisation technology for disposable diapers waste using double jacket and centrifugal speed principles

Abstract

Globally, disposable baby diapers demand continues to grow alongside with an increase in the birth rate and child (aged 0-3) population. On average, diapers consumption is around 6-8 pieces per baby, giving approximately 6,300 diapers for the next 2.5 years. Furthermore, each diaper contains 35% of organic and 65% of inorganic materials. The presences of inorganic materials pose a detrimental effect on environment as it needs around 500-800 year to breakdown or degrade. This study was aimed to enhance the valorisation of disposable baby diapers waste by implementing sterilisation technology. The technology was based on a double jacket and centrifugal speed principles, enabling to effectively and safely sterilise the diapers waste. The comparison with the conventional technology was carried out based on the following parameters: total number of E. coli, Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD), Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD), turbidity, pH, temperature, and operational cost analysis. The results indicated that the proposed sterilisation technology has superior performance than conventional sterilisation technology. The findings also confirmed that the sterilised diapers waste can be further reused for making other valuable products, such as eco-friendly handy craft or souvenirs. Economically, the implementation of the proposed technology can support the creation of green creative industries, particularly in Indonesia.