scholarly journals Biomedical Instrument Application: Medical Waste Treatment Technologies

Author(s):  
Muhammed Gulyurt
2000 ◽  
Vol 122 (09) ◽  
pp. 52-56
Author(s):  
Michael Valenti

This article reviews many hospitals and medical centers have found it more economical to replace their on-site incinerators with alternative waste treatment technologies, primarily microwave systems or steam autoclaves, or send waste to treatment companies that are equipped with disinfection technologies. Sanitec International Holdings of West Caldwell, NJ, illustrates the in roads that alternatives are making to medical waste incineration. The entire Sanitec disinfection system is enclosed in all-weather steel housing, and is connected to the hospital’s electrical and water systems. Hospital workers bring collected waste in carts to the automated lift and load system, which raises the cart and empties it into the infeed hopper. The MediWaste system at Laredo is designed to treat up to 200 pounds of material per hour, which is more than sufficient to treat the 700 to 800 pounds of waste generated per day. Although incineration alternatives appear to be gaining popularity, combustion is still used to disinfect and reduce much clinical waste.


Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (23) ◽  
pp. 8065
Author(s):  
Georgios Giakoumakis ◽  
Dorothea Politi ◽  
Dimitrios Sidiras

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.


2021 ◽  
pp. 0734242X2110214
Author(s):  
Rahul Rajak ◽  
Ravi Kumar Mahto ◽  
Jitender Prasad ◽  
Aparajita Chattopadhyay

Considering the widespread transmission of Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) globally, India is also facing the same crisis. As India already has inadequate waste treatment facilities, and the sudden outbreak of the COVID-19 virus has led to significant growth of Bio-medical waste (BMW), consequently safe disposal of a large quantity of waste has become a more serious concern. This study provides a comprehensive assessment of BMW of India before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Additionally, this article highlights the gaps in the implementation of BMW rules in India. This study uses various government and non-government organizations, reports and data specifically from the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB). The finding of the study demonstrated that most of the States/Union Territories (UTs) of India are lacking in terms of COVID-19 waste management. India has generated over 32,996 mt of COVID-19 waste between June and December 2020. During this period, Maharashtra (789.99 mt/month) is highest average generator of COVID-19 waste, followed by Kerala (459.86 mt/month), Gujarat (434.87 mt/month), Tamil Nadu (427.23 mt/month), Uttar Pradesh (371.39 mt/month), Delhi (358.83 mt/month) and West Bengal (303.15 mt/month), and others respectively. We draw attention to the fact that many gaps were identified with compliance of BMW management rules. For example, out of all 35 States/UTs, health care facilitates (HCFs), only eight states received authorization as per BMW management rules. Moreover, the government strictly restricted the practice of deep burials; however, 23 States/UTs are still using the deep burial methods for BMW disposal. The present research suggests that those States/UTs generated on an average of 100 mt/month COVID-19 waste in the last 7 months (June–December 2020) should be considered as a high priority state. These states need special attention to implement BMW rules and should upgrade their BMW treatment capacity.


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