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<p>Longevity, improved medical care, and pandemics have led to an abundance of medical waste. Waste can be non-hazardous or general, hazardous or infectious, chemical, or pharmaceutical. Various types of feedstock (such as biomass and plastic) have been evaluated for energy recovery using pyrolysis. This study aims to provide fundamental data on pyrolysis for the treatment of hazardous medical waste. Cellulose-based (cotton, gauze) and plastic (syringes, intravenous (IV) tubing waste) were thermochemically degraded without oxygen. The pyrolysis products varied according to the chemical composition of the medical waste. The cotton and gauze were similar in carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen (42%, 6%, and 52%, respectively), whereas syringes and IV tubing had higher carbon and lower oxygen contents. The syringes consisted of carbon (85%) and hydrogen (14%). Activation energy estimates using thermogravimetric analysis indicated thermal decomposition of syringes &gt; IV tubing &gt; gauze &gt; cotton. Cotton and gauze produced 11% and 9% char, 1% and 12% oil, and 87% and 78% gas, respectively. Pyrolysis product yields were 0.1% and 8% char, 3% and 14% oil, and 97% and 78% gas for syringes and IV tubing, respectively. The syngas composition was found to contain 46–62% H<sub>2</sub> and 0.6–32% CO, indicating the potential for generating high-quality syngas. Pyrolysis can be an effective method of treatment/disposal and resource recovery for sustainable medical waste management. </p> Graphical Abstract <p></p>

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Environmental and circular‑economy evaluation of medical waste pyrolysis for sustainable resource management

  • 期刊论文

  • 发表日期：

    2026年5月16日

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  • Doo Young Oh,
  • Sunyoung Woo,
  • Eun Suk Jang,
  • Do-Yong Kim,
  • Daegi Kim

摘要

Longevity, improved medical care, and pandemics have led to an abundance of medical waste. Waste can be non-hazardous or general, hazardous or infectious, chemical, or pharmaceutical. Various types of feedstock (such as biomass and plastic) have been evaluated for energy recovery using pyrolysis. This study aims to provide fundamental data on pyrolysis for the treatment of hazardous medical waste. Cellulose-based (cotton, gauze) and plastic (syringes, intravenous (IV) tubing waste) were thermochemically degraded without oxygen. The pyrolysis products varied according to the chemical composition of the medical waste. The cotton and gauze were similar in carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen (42%, 6%, and 52%, respectively), whereas syringes and IV tubing had higher carbon and lower oxygen contents. The syringes consisted of carbon (85%) and hydrogen (14%). Activation energy estimates using thermogravimetric analysis indicated thermal decomposition of syringes > IV tubing > gauze > cotton. Cotton and gauze produced 11% and 9% char, 1% and 12% oil, and 87% and 78% gas, respectively. Pyrolysis product yields were 0.1% and 8% char, 3% and 14% oil, and 97% and 78% gas for syringes and IV tubing, respectively. The syngas composition was found to contain 46–62% H2 and 0.6–32% CO, indicating the potential for generating high-quality syngas. Pyrolysis can be an effective method of treatment/disposal and resource recovery for sustainable medical waste management.

Graphical Abstract