scholarly journals The SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) pandemic in hospital: An insight into environmental surfaces contamination, disinfectants’ efficiency, and estimation of plastic waste production

2021 ◽  
pp. 111809
Author(s):  
Faezeh seif ◽  
Zahra Noorimotlagh ◽  
Seyyed Abbas Mirzaee ◽  
Mojtaba Kalantar ◽  
Barat Barati ◽  
...  
Processes ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (6) ◽  
pp. 1007
Author(s):  
Chun-Hung Moy ◽  
Lian-See Tan ◽  
Noor Fazliani Shoparwe ◽  
Azmi Mohd Shariff ◽  
Jully Tan

Plastics are used for various applications, including in the food and beverage industry, for the manufacturing of plastic utensils and straws. The higher utilization of plastic straws has indirectly resulted in the significant disposal of plastic waste, which has become a serious environmental issue. Alternatively, bio-plastic and paper straws have been introduced to reduce plastic waste. However, limited studies are available on the environmental assessment of drinking straws. Life cycle assessment (LCA) studies for bio-plastic and paper straws have not been comprehensively performed previously. Therefore, the impact of both bio-plastic and paper straws on the environment are quantified and compared in this study. Parameters, such as the global warming potential (GWP), acidification potential (AP) and eutrophication potential (EP), were evaluated. The input–output data of the bio-plastic and paper straws processes from a gate-to-grave analysis were obtained from the literature and generated using the SuperPro Designer V9 process simulator. The results show that bio-plastic straws, which are also known as polylactic acid (PLA) straws, had reduced environmental impacts compared to paper straws. The outcomes of this work provide an insight into the application of bio-plastic and paper straws in effectively reducing the impact on the environment and in promoting sustainability, especially from the perspective of Malaysia.


Author(s):  
Fadli Kasim ◽  
Mohammad Kholid Ridwan ◽  
M. Yayan Adi Putra

Jumlah santri yang mencapai 4.986 orang di ketiga Pondok Pesantren Al-Anwar menyebabkan produksi sampah di lingkungan pondok lebih dari satu ton per harinya. Sejumlah 239,93 kg sampah merupakan sampah plastik yang tidak mudah terurai di lingkungan karena sifatnya yang nonbiodegradable. Hal ini menimbulkan pencemaran lingkungan, terlebih ketika sampah dibakar di udara terbuka dan dibuang ke laut seperti metode penanganan sampah yang dilakukan oleh pengurus pondok saat ini. Dalam penelitian ini diharapkan menjadi langkah awal pembelajaran pelestarian lingkungan dengan teknologi pirolisis. Penelitian dilakukan dengan membuat model mesin pirolisis Plastic to Oil Machine (PeTOM), berkapasitas 30 liter. Dengan mesin ini, minyak mulai dihasilkan pada menit ke-45 yang mana setiap 1 kg sampah plastik menghasilkan 0,4-0,49 kg minyak bakar. Potensi minyak bakar yang dihasilkan di Pondok Pesantren Al Anwar adalah 239,33 liter per hari dengan potensi ekonomi setara dengan Rp. 35.899.200,00 per bulan.[The number of students who reached 4,986 people in the three Pondok Pesantren Al Anwar cause waste production in the cottage neighborhood more than one ton per day. A total of 239.93 kg of waste is a plastic waste that is not easy to decompose in the environment because it is nonbiodegradable. This causes environmental pollution, especially when garbage is burned in the open air and discharged into the sea such as methods of handling waste made by the current cottage board. In this study is expected to be the first step of environmental conservation learning with pyrolysis technology. The research was done by making the model of pyrolysis machine of Plastic to Oil Machine (PeTOM), with 30 liters capacity. With this engine, oil began to be produced in the 45th minute of which every 1 kg of plastic waste produced 0.4-0.49 kg of fuel oil. The potential of fuel produced at Pondok Pesantren Al Anwar is 239.33 liters per day with economic potential equivalent to Rp. 35.899.200,- per month.]


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Caitlin Bruce

<p>New Zealand is ranked among the top nations in waste production, including a million tonnes of plastic waste. Currently, there are methods for recycling plastic within New Zealand but these methods can be expensive and time-consuming, resulting in most of the plastic being thrown into the landfill. Because plastic does not fully degrade, it ends up in the ocean and other waterways, poisoning the water with toxins. The purpose of this research is to provide a solution to reducing plastic waste by creating an alternative method of recycling that utilises new technologies such as additive manufacturing, to create a building material that fits into the concept of the circular economy. The findings of this research explored the recycling of plastic by collecting plastic waste such as PLA (Polylactic Acid) from old 3D printed models. The plastic was recycled into filament for additive manufacturing (AM) and used to print building tile, establishing an initial proof of concept for the use of recycled plastic as a potential building material.</p>


2019 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 90
Author(s):  
Berliana Anggun Septiani ◽  
Dian Mita Arianie ◽  
Via Fide Aditya Andi Risman ◽  
Widhi Handayani ◽  
Istiarsi Saptuti Sri Kawuryan

The increase of solid waste production is a general problem in municipality, particularly of plastic waste. The durability, light-weight, anticorrosiveness, and inexpensiveness properties of plastic make it favorable to be used in daily life, including in Salatiga. However, plastic is one of some non-biodegradable materials that could lead to soil and water pollution as it contains toxic compounds such as aromatic hydrocarbons, phthalates, and organochlorine. Various studies in municipal solid waste management have been conducted. While those studies often applied various approaches separately, researches in regard to the role of stakeholders in municipal solid waste management are very limited. This study aims to explain the plastic waste management in Salatiga based on the role of the corresponding stakeholders. This qualitative study shows that there are four stakeholders who were involved in municipal plastic waste management in Salatiga. They were the households who generate wastes, the scavengers who sorts the wastes, Bank Sampah and collectors who have the same role in order to collect the wastes and treat the plastic wastes through reusing or recycling processes, and the government. Currently, efforts in waste treatment in Salatiga are focused on the system of collecting-tranferring-disposal mode, waste treatment by reuse and recycle processing, and landfilling. Reducing plastic consumption must take into account the sociocultural aspect and environmental awareness, as the people still interested to use plastic instead of using other materials in substitution. Finally, the role of government is central to educate the community in term of sorting activities and reducing waste production, build the capacity of Bank Sampah, and manage the role of scavengers and collectors. Other alternatives include creating synergy between the collectors and Bank Sampah, as well as ensuring final treatment of the unprocessed wastes disposed by collectors and Bank Sampah. 


2019 ◽  
Vol 125 ◽  
pp. 13005
Author(s):  
Renanto Pandu Wirawan ◽  
Farizal

Indonesia is one of the biggest plastic waste production in the world. The government targets to reach 20% for recycling plastic waste in 2019. One alternative to manage plastic waste is using pyrolysis to produce fuel. Pyrolysis is used to degrade the plastic long chain of polymer molecules into smaller molecules. All type of plastic except polyvinyl chloride (PVC) were used in this study to produce fuel. For the purpose, experiment factorial design was used for the optimisation plastic type, residence time, and temperature to maximise the yield of liquid products of the pyrolysis process. In this study 2k factorial design was used for each factor. The result shows that the pyrolysis process used is able to produce diesel like fuel in low temperature.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charlotte Laufkoetter ◽  
Kevin Lang ◽  
Fabio Benedetti ◽  
Victor Onink ◽  
Meike Vogt

&lt;p&gt;Marine plastic pollution has been recognized as a serious issue of global concern with substantial risks for marine ecosystems, fisheries, and food supply to people. Yet, the amount of plastic entering the ocean from land and rivers is barely understood. Currently, estimates exist for the coastal plastic input in the year 2010 on country-level resolution and for riverine plastic input for the year 2017. Key limitations are the restricted data availability on plastic waste production, waste collection and waste management. In addition, the transport of mismanaged plastic via wind and rivers is currently not well understood.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;We present a model to estimate the global plastic input to the ocean for the years 1990-2015 on a 0.1x0.1&amp;#176; raster. To this end, we first train a machine learning model (random forests) and a linear mixed model to predict plastic waste production on country level, using data of municipal waste collection and several socio-economic predictor variables. We then estimate the amount of plastic waste that enters the environment, using high resolution population data and waste management data of each country. This is combined with distance-based probabilities of land and river transport to obtain the annual amount of plastic entering the ocean on a 0.1x0.1&amp;#176; spatial resolution. Our results indicate that global plastic waste production increased roughly linearly between 1990 to 2015. However, estimating the amount of mismanaged waste and the subsequent transport towards the ocean is afflicted with high uncertainties.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;We then use the estimated plastic input into the ocean to force several Lagrangian model runs. These Lagrangian simulations include different parameterizations of plastic beaching, in particular they vary in terms of the beaching probabilities and the assumed residence time of plastic on beaches. We present the global distribution of beached plastic and the size of the reservoir of beached plastic in these model scenarios.&lt;/p&gt;


Author(s):  
Marián Bujna ◽  
Petr Dostál

The aim of my research was to qualitatively and quantitatively evaluate the potential risks on Extruder, detect the probability of occurrence and therefore take reformation measures for their elimination or minimization. Throughout the research, we focused on the process compounding and recycling of plastic waste, production stage of secondary processing with plastic waste. We have reviewed the extruder machine. First, we qualitative consider the device by constructing fault tree. First, we consider qualitative data of the device with constructing fault tree, Subsequently, we use quantitative analysis and we specify the probability of a negative phenomenon. The result is more accurate and objective determination of probability and risk itself. The result is more accurate and more objective determination of probability and the actual risk.


Author(s):  
Senem Onen Cinar ◽  
Zhi Kai Chong ◽  
Mehmet Ali Kucuker ◽  
Nils Wieczorek ◽  
Ugur Cengiz ◽  
...  

Plastic waste production around the world is increasing, which leads to global plastic waste pollution. The need for an innovative solution to reduce this pollution is inevitable. Increased recycling of plastic waste alone is not a comprehensive solution. Furthermore, decreasing fossil-based plastic usage is an important aspect of sustainability. As an alternative to fossil-based plastics in the market, bio-based plastics are gaining in popularity. According to the studies conducted, products with similar performance characteristics can be obtained using biological feedstocks instead of fossil-based sources. In particular, bioplastic production from microalgae is a new opportunity to be explored and further improved. The aim of this study is to determine the current state of bioplastic production technologies from microalgae species and reveal possible optimization opportunities in the process and application areas. Therefore, the species used as resources for bioplastic production, the microalgae cultivation methods and bioplastic material production methods from microalgae were summarized.


2013 ◽  
Vol 295-298 ◽  
pp. 560-563
Author(s):  
Tao Yu ◽  
Hao Ying ◽  
Zhen Bin Wu

This study aimed to provide insight into antimicrobial susceptibility and homology of Elizabethkingia meningoseptica in a hospital environment. Samples from environmental surfaces and the hands of medical staff were screened for E. meningoseptica and antimicrobial susceptibility testing was performed; Pulsed-Field Gel Electrophoresis (PFGE) was employed to subtype E. meningoseptica strains; The resistant genes were detected by PCR. In total, six isolates of E. meningoseptica were collected from 280 samples. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing revealed that all of the six strains displayed multiresistance, showing resistance to more than three different classes of antibiotics. The strains were separated into five different PFGE patterns. The sulII gene was detected in four of the strains. Our data show that multiresistant E. meningoseptica strains exist in the hospital environment and susceptibility testing revealed that vancomycin was the most effective antibiotic. These results have practical significance for treatment of E. meningoseptica infection.


Author(s):  
Junnan Yang ◽  
Lingchang Zhang ◽  
Weitao Wang ◽  
Zheyong Qiu

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