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Title:
A SYSTEM FOR SMART AND SUSTAINABLE DEVICES (SSD) FOR PPE WASTE TREATMENT AND METHOD THEREOF
Document Type and Number:
WIPO Patent Application WO/2022/003715
Kind Code:
A1
Abstract:
The present invention discloses a system and method for smart and sustainable device (SSD) with personal protective equipment (PPE) treatment unit essential for PPE waste treatment process. The system and method of waste disposal process is a completely intelligent and non-contact process. The PPE waste is fed into the SSD (1a) with the help of automatic hopper (100) and shredder (102) in the bin where the infectious waste is reduced by shredding it into small pieces. The small pieces of waste are then exposed in an ultraviolet radiation treatment unit (103), wherein ultraviolet rays destroys the infectious pathogens and convert the shredded pieces into disinfected PPE waste. The disinfected waste is packed in three layer plastic bags (106) using non-contact techniques. These waste filled bags are then moved to the PPE treatment unit (1b) and thermal pyrolysis reactor unit (109) where the waste is converted into final stage usable products.

Inventors:
K SRINIVAS REDDY (IN)
N PRADEEP (IN)
M VISWANATHAN (IN)
Application Number:
PCT/IN2021/050625
Publication Date:
January 06, 2022
Filing Date:
June 26, 2021
Export Citation:
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Assignee:
INDIAN INST TECH MADRAS (IN)
MEDISYS (IN)
International Classes:
A61L11/00; B09B3/00
Foreign References:
JP2009125739A2009-06-11
JP3011786U1995-06-06
CN106115104A2016-11-16
Attorney, Agent or Firm:
CS, Priyadharshini (IN)
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Claims:
Claims:

1. A system for smart and sustainable device (SSD) for personal protective equipment (PPE) waste treatment which works automatically in a non-contact, fully safe and hygienic manner facilitating collection, transmission, handling, and processing the waste, comprising of:

At least one smart and sustainable device (la) with at least one bin which works automatically with the adoption of intelligent devices using Internet of Things (IoT), wherein the PPE waste is fed into the bins further comprising of; a hopper unit (100) that collects the PPE waste and transfers it to a shredder (102); a feed control unit (101) that connects the hopper (100) and the shredder (102) wherein the feed control unit (101) controls the inlet feed rate of the PPE waste to the shredder (102); and an UV treatment unit (103), wherein the PPE waste from the shredder (102) is directly transferred to the UV treatment unit (103) for destruction of infectious pathogens and further packed in bags (106);

At least one PPE waste treatment unit (lb) comprising of: a process heating unit 1(107) connected to a process heating unit 2(108), wherein the process heating units 1 and 2 (107, 108) heat the PPE waste transferred from device 1 ( 1 a) through a conveyor; a thermal pyrolysis reactor (109), which is connected to the process heating units 1 and 2 (107, 108); an automatic stirrer (110), provided at the top of the pyrolysis reactor (109); a pump (113) connecting the pyrolysis reactor (109) to the process heating unit 1 (107); and a control valve (114) provided at the end of the process heating unit 1(107), wherein the smart and sustainable device (la) is integrated with the PPE waste treatment unit (lb) through an entry port, wherein a particular capacity of waste is fed into the hopper (100) and then transferred to the following units - feed control unit (101), shredder (102), and to the UV treatment unit (103) in device 1 (la), wherein the disinfected waste from device 1 (la) is fed into device 2 (lb), into the process heating unit 1 (107) through a conveyer and the pre -heated PPE waste is further heated in the process heating unit 2(108) which is then directly fed into the pyrolysis reactor (109) by a conveyer or blower, for complete thermal degradation of the PPE waste.

2. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the hopper unit (100) is a funnel- shaped unit consisting of two intelligent doors placed one over another with a distance of 30 mm, operating at two different opening and closing times, wherein the doors are actuated and controlled by sensors including but not limited to ultrasonic sensor, moisture sensor, and IR sensor.

3. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the inner surface of the hopper unit (100) is a layer of a copper sheet with 0.5 to 1 mm thickness.

4. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the feed control unit (101) controls the inlet feed rate of the PPE waste to the shredder (102).

5. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the shredder is of horizontal or vertical type inside the bin of device 1 (la), wherein an AC or DC motor is used to rotate the cutting blades in the shredder unit.

6. The system as claimed in claim 5, wherein the horizontal shredder is placed in an inclination of 5° to 13° which moves the waste automatically to the next unit.

7. The system as claimed in claim 5, wherein the vertical shredder is placed in an inclination of 0°.

8. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the system is operated by AC or DC power supply.

9. A method for collecting, transmitting, handling, processing and converting PPE waste into useful product that can be used in various applications, comprising of: a. Collecting the PPE waste into the hopper (100) wherein the sensor of the first door of the hopper (100) detects the PPE waste and sends the signal to a control unit (101) and the control unit (101) actuates the door system to open, and once the waste is inside the limit of the second door sensor, the second sensor detects the waste material wherein the second door opens and the first door closes; b. Feeding the PPE waste into the shredder (102) and shredding the PPE waste into 5 - 10 mm of small pieces, wherein the shredded waste is automatically moved to the UV treatment unit (103); c. Treatment of PPE waste in the UV treatment unit (103), wherein the UV rays falls onto the PPE waste to destroy the infectious pathogens; d. Automatically moving the waste to a closed portable conveyer from the UV treatment unit (103), wherein the treated waste is packed in three layer plastic bags (106); e. Transferring the disinfected waste from the Device 1 (la) to the location of Device 2 (lb), wherein the waste is fed into the process heating unit 1(107) through a conveyer, wherein the temperature of the PPE waste is increased by exchanging heat from the hot gas emitted from the thermal pyrolysis reactor (109) to the PPE waste in the process heating unit 1 (107); f. Heating the pre -heated PPE waste from process heating unit 1(107) in process heating unit 2 (108); g. Feeding the heated PPE from the process heating unit 2(108) into the thermal pyrolysis rector (109) in a certain flow rate with the help of the conveyer or blower, h. Converting PPE waste into useful product by the pyrolysis reactor (109) with the help of a thermal pyrolysis process wherein the input source of the pyrolysis reactor (109) is in the form of heat which is utilized for burning process; i. Obtaining fuel and char products from the thermally treated disinfected waste.

10. The method as claimed in claim 9, wherein the heat input (9) to the thermal pyrolysis reactor (109) is provided by the resources including but not limited to solar energy (109D), fossil fuel energy (109E), and electrical energy (109F).

11. The method as claimed in claim 9, wherein the pyrolysis reactor (109) is a solar pyrolysis reactor (109A), wherein the sunrays fall onto a solar concentrator (106A) which concentrates the sun rays on the PCM/Non-PCM based spherical cavity area in the solar pyrolysis reactor (109 A) from which the heat is transferred to the PPE waste, wherein during the processing time, the PPE waste is stirred in stipulated time by an automatic stirrer (110).

12. The method as claimed in claim 11, wherein the solar concentrator (106A) comprises of a Z adapter (106E), a pylon (106F), a base plate (106G) and slew drives.

13. The method as claimed in claim 9, wherein the pyrolysis reactor (109) is a fossil fuel pyrolysis reactor (109B), wherein a combustor is attached at the bottom of the fossil fuel pyrolysis reactor wherein LPG (106B) is fed to the combustor where the combustion takes place and the heat produced from the combustion process is transferred to the PPE waste material.

14. The method as claimed in claim 9, wherein the pyrolysis reactor (109) is an electrical pyrolysis reactor (109C), wherein an electrical heating element comprising of 80% nickel and 20% chromium is provided on the circumferential and bottom surface of the electrical pyrolysis reactor, wherein the provided electrical heating element functions in a closed loop system with the help of a temperature feedback circuit.

15. The method as claimed in claim 14, wherein the electrical heating element provides the heat to the electrical pyrolysis reactor based on the feedback temperature from the pyrolysis reactor, wherein the heat transfer takes place from the electrical element to the pyrolysis reactor through the circumferential (WL & WR) and bottom surface (Wb) of the electrical pyrolysis reactor (109C).

16. The method as claimed in claim 9, wherein the continuous heat transfer in the pyrolysis reactor causes the temperature of the PPE waste to increase and reach the burning point wherein the complete thermal degradation of the PPE waste takes place in an oxygen-free Nitrogen (112) environment.

17. The method as claimed in claim 9, wherein during the entire thermal pyrolysis process, the Nitrogen unit (112) transmits nitrogen to the pyrolysis reactor (109).

18. The method as claimed in claim 9, wherein the automatic mechanical stirrer (110) fixed at the top of the pyrolysis reactor is used to mix the PPE waste.

19. The method as claimed in claim 9, wherein the pump (113) is used to send the gas from the pyrolysis reactor (109) to the process heating unit 1(107) with the help of electric energy.

Description:
A system for smart and sustainable devices (SSD) for PPE waste treatment and method thereof

CROSS - REFERENCE TO RELATED PATENT APPLICATION The embodiments herein claim the priority of Indian patent application 202041027840 filed on June 30, 2020 and the contents of which are included entirely as reference herein.

Field of the invention

The present invention describes a smart and suitable device (SSD) that is designed to safely collect and dispose off the discarded face masks & other personal protective equipment (PPE) waste and hygienically treat them in a safe pyrolysis plant and get them converted into useful and environmentally safe products which can be used for several applications (e.g. fuel and landfill).

Background and Problems in the Prior Art

To promote public understanding and adoption of common minimum science for community care and health safety measures like personal sanitation and hygiene, physical distancing, and maintaining desired collective behaviors, etc., and in order to facilitate the "Health safety measures like personal sanitation and Hygiene" it is very important to establish the facilitation tools such as hand disinfection and wearing masks etc. which are already being established all over the public spaces in India and other parts of world.

But most importantly it is also very essential to teach the importance of SAFE DISPOSAL of masks and PPE especially since these are presently being used by the entire population of our country in all strata of social levels whether living in the cities or suburbs / urban or rural and people in all age groups and gender. The Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) & Face masks are quite necessary and has been made mandatory to prevent the COVID 19 viral infection spreading from COVID “infected” people to “non-infected” people.

Due to this, the usage of PPE is increasing enormously day by day, and this expanding usage further creates a lot of infectious waste in our environment. The PPEs such as masks are being casually discarded in “open dust bins” mixed with general garbage and one can imagine the high level of cross infectiousness issuing out of this culture and lack of awareness in dealing with COVID 19 protective gear disposal. This Tack of awareness’ seamlessly exists whether it is a roadside walker or /and an Airport visitor boarding a flight.

Thus the safe disposal of PPE & masks is very crucial because the presently adopted casual methods which are “Ineffective & Unsafe” will eventually increase the rate of cross infection which will ultimately lead to the increase in the rate of the Pandemic spread.

Also it is ideal that the “Final destruction” of the discarded face masks & PPE infectious waste should be carried out in the same vicinity and preferably under the same roof and this methodology will amply reduce the potential operational cost and avoid this infected waste from further handling & transportation and thus bring down potential cross infections. There are existing methods to dispose the waste which do not effectively address the concerns such as cross-infections arising due to transport and handling of the waste material during its disposal.

US5471937A discloses a method for the destruction of contaminated waste material comprising the steps of sufficiently heating the waste material in an oxygen deficient atmosphere to pyrolyze the material thereby producing a volatile fuel gas stream and a decontaminated solid residue, separately removing the fuel gas stream and the decontaminated solid residue, adjusting the stoichiometric ratio of the fuel gas stream reactant components for combustion downstream, oxidatively combusting the adjusted fuel gas stream to produce a low velocity, low oxygen gas stream, and a high velocity, low oxygen carrier gas stream, recycling at least a portion of the high velocity, low oxygen carrier gas stream for direct contact with the waste material to provide heat for pyrolysis of the same, contacting at least a portion of the low velocity, low oxygen carrier gas stream with water to produce an oxygen rich, substantially inert, heat exchange gas stream and indirectly heating the contaminated material with the heat exchange gas stream to provide supplemental heat.

Russian patent application RU2554970C2 discloses an invention for disposal of, particularly, municipal waste. Waste processing process for production of synthesis- gas comprises the step of pyrolysis. This step includes processing of wastes in pyrolysis unit to get the offgas and solid coal material not suspended in said offgas. This process comprises plasma processing step consisting in plasma processing of off gas and solid coal material at plasma processing unit in the presence of oxygen and, if required, steam. The said plasmas processing unit is separated from pyrolysis plant.

From the above prior art that disclose the methods for destruction of waste material comprising only of the heating of the waste material using plasma processing and heat processing methods. They do not address the main concerns of possible scenario of cross-infections and nor do they address the safe non-contact transport of the residual waste from one unit to another unit where it is to be further treated to produce recycled material using multi-stage treatment processes.

Under these circumstances, the development of a device/process which can treat COVID waste effectively in a sustainable manner with safe environment with affordable cost has become imperative. The present invention, unlike the prior art, address the need for safely isolating the waste in a non-contact manner and further automatically destroying the waste in a multistage process and thus converting the waste into reusable material in various applications.

The proposed Smart and Sustainable Device (SSD)will be eventually designed and developed to safely collect and dispose the masks and other PPE medical waste.

System Description: The SSD system will collect the wastes from various distributed BIN placement locations in public spaces and these units (intelligent Bins) will be later on moved into PPE waste treatment hub (pyrolysis treatment device unit) which is ideally located in the same vicinity / under the same roof - for converting the waste into inert /safe materials and useful products such as fuel and char to complete the sustainability cycle. The process will also adopt non-contact waste handling protocols to establish safe operational methodology.

The above effective treatment enabled through this SSD system proposed by the present invention is thus expected to cut down the cross infections, save tangible and intangible and also build a climate of better confidence between people and health care authorities, and succeed in establishing the advanced and sustainable “Bio medical infectious waste Segregation & Treatment” infrastructure in post Covid Era.

Objects of the invention:

The main object of the present invention is to provide a smart and sustainable system to safely collect and dispose the masks and other PPE medical waste.

The primary object of the present invention is to provide a smart and sustainable system including smart devices for converting the medical waste into inert /safe materials and useful products such as fuel and char to complete the sustainability cycle. It is another object of the present invention to provide a smart and sustainable system that adopts a non-contact automatic/ semi-automatic waste handling protocols to establish safe operational methodology. It is another object of the present invention to provide a smart and sustainable system comprising of waste collecting bins that works automatically in a fully safe and hygienic manner with the adoption of intelligent devices and IoT.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a smart and sustainable system to establish an advanced and sustainable bio medical infectious waste segregation & treatment infrastructure and thus cut down the cross infection between the users.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a smart and sustainable system to enable the compacted, treated and reduced residue of the waste to be used for effective sustainable landfill and fuel / other applications.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention discloses a system for smart and sustainable device (SSD) with personal protective equipment (PPE) treatment unit/ plant that is essential for crucial infectious PPE waste treatment process. In current covid-19 situation, people are constantly using PPE and masks to prevent them from being exposed infectious virus. After the utilization by individuals the soiled PPEs/masks are expected to be disposed off in to the clearly marked and designated intelligent SSD bins. The SSD bins work automatically in a fully safe and hygienic manner with the adoption of intelligent devices. The intelligent devices, which leverage the internet of things (IoT) will provide a more effective ways to manage these wastes. The system for SSD adaptation of waste disposal process, right from entry of the infectious waste to final exit is a completely intelligent and non-contact process which will avoid the cross infection between the user, system operator and the also device. The PPE waste material is fed into the SSD system with the help of automatic hopper(100) and in built shredder mechanism (101&102) where the infectious waste is reduced by shredding it into small sizes of around 5- 10mm of pieces. The small pieces of waste are then exposed in an ultraviolet radiation treatment unit (103). Here, the ultraviolet rays are activated, and it destroys the infectious pathogens and convert the shredded pieces into disinfected PPEs waste. The disinfected waste is filled and packed in three layer plastic bags (106) using non-contact techniques. These waste filled bags are then moved to the treatment HUB (thermal pyrolysis treatment unit/ plant) where the waste is converted into final stage products.

The waste is initially heated in two stages (107&108) to remove the moisture and reduce the energy consumption of the thermal process. After heating, the waste is fed into the pyrolysis reactor (109). The pyrolysis reactor will modify the waste in a completely nitrogen (112) atmosphere, and finally the gas and char are emitted out from the pyrolysis reactor. The gas is passed through a condenser where the gas is converted to liquid, and thus only the char and liquid are collected in separate tanks (115 &116) which is used for effective sustainable landfill and fuel applications.

Brief description of Drawings

Figure 1 illustrates PPE waste processing process chart using Smart and Sustainable devices (SSD) - Device 1 in accordance with the present invention.

Figure 2 illustrates a typical smart and sustainable device (SSD) - device 1 and its components.

Figure 3 illustrates a schematic of complete pyrolytic process in the PPE waste treatment (Device 2) of the system, wherein the treatment of PPE waste which comes out from the Device 1 as seen in figure 1 , is converted into useful products such as char and fuel. Figure 4 illustrates PPE waste treatment (Device 2) of the system in accordance with the present invention.

Figure 5 illustrates the working method of Device 1 and Device 2 of the system in accordance with the present invention.

Figure 6 illustrates the integration of Device 1 and Device 2 of the system in accordance with the present invention.

Figure 7 illustrates a solar pyrolysis reactor, the pyrolysis reactor (109) in accordance with the present invention.

Figure 8 illustrates an LPG pyrolysis reactor in accordance with the present invention. Figure 9 illustrates an electrical pyrolysis reactor (109C) in accordance with the present invention.

Figure 10 illustrates a process heating unit 1 of PPE waste treatment device 2 in accordance with the present invention.

Figure 11 illustrates a process heating unit 2 of PPE waste treatment device 2 in accordance with the present invention.

Figure 12 illustrates thermodynamic performance of the various components in the COVID 19 PPE waste treatment integration plant.

Figure 13 illustrates sustainability index of the various components in the COVID 19 PPE waste treatment integration plant.

Figure 14 illustrates the cost of the product (fuel and char) for lOOkg/hr SSD and PPE treatment separate system.

Figure 15 illustrates the cost of the product for lOOOOkg/hr Device 1 and Device 2 integration system.

Figure 16 illustrates the cost of the product for the wide capacity of COVID 19 PPE waste treatment integration unit.

Figure 17 illustrates the cost of the pyrolysis product at various locations in India for lOOOkg/hr. capacity of COVID 19 PPE waste treatment integration unit.

Figure 18 illustrates pictorial representation of the selling cost of the pyrolysis product produced 1000 kg/hr capacity of COVID 19 PPE waste treatment integration plant.

The sequence of the connectivity of the various components in the system for smart and sustainable devices (SSD) for personal protective equipment (PPE) waste treatment and steps of the method of waste treatment is illustrated in the drawings in accordance with the present invention. Below table illustrates the part names and reference numerals as seen in the drawings.

Description of the preferred embodiment/s and its working with respect to the drawings:

The present invention as embodied by "A system for smart and sustainable devices (SSD) for PPE waste treatment and method thereof" succinctly fulfils the above- mentioned need(s) in the art. The present invention has objective(s) arising as a result of the above-mentioned need(s), said objective(s) being enumerated below. In as much as the objective(s) of the present invention are enumerated, it will be obvious to a person skilled in the art that, the enumerated objective(s) are not exhaustive of the present invention in its entirety and are enclosed solely for the purpose of illustration. Further, the present invention encloses within its scope and purview, any structural alternative(s) and/or any functional equivalent(s) even though, such structural alternative(s) and/or any functional equivalent(s) are not mentioned explicitly herein or elsewhere, in the present disclosure. The present invention therefore encompasses also, any improvisation(s)/ modification(s) applied to the structural alternative(s)/functional alternative(s) within its scope and purview. The present invention may be embodied in other specific form(s) without departing from the spirit or essential attributes thereof.

Throughout this specification, the use of the word "comprise" and variations such as "comprises" and "comprising" may imply the inclusion of an element or elements not specifically recited.

The present invention discloses a system and method for smart and sustainable device (SSD) system comprising of the intelligent “COVID 19” waste collection bins and advanced sustainable thermal plant for safe disposal of discarded masks and personal protective equipment (PPE) treatment plant which is essential for crucial infectious PPE waste treatment process.

In the current scenario, everyday people are using PPE to protect their self from the attack of the infectious virus. In this process, the general public are averagely using couple of masks per day and institutional health and safety workers including airport staff and hospital staff users are also using both the whole body coverage PPEs along with disposable masks to protect themselves. After their utilization the soiled PPEs and masks are proposed to be disposed off safely (non-contact methods) in to the designated and clearly marked SSD Bins.

As seen in figure 1, the SSD (la) of the system works automatically in a fully safe and hygienic manner with the adoption of intelligent devices. The intelligent devices, which leverage the internet of things (IoT) will also provide a more effective ways to manage this hazardous waste.

Therefore, in SSD system ‘right from entry of the infectious waste to exit’, it is a completely intelligent and non-touchable process which is designed to avoid the cross infection between the user, system operator and also the device. The PPE waste materials is fed into the SSD (la) with the help of automatic hopper (100) and treated by a shredder mechanism (102) where the infectious waste is reduced into small 5- 10mm of pieces. The small pieces of waste are exposed in an ultraviolet radiation treatment step (103). Here, the ultraviolet rays are activated, and it renders the material into disinfected waste. The disinfected waste is filled into three-layer plastic bags (106) using automation. These bags are moved to the thermal energy efficient pyrolysis treatment unit (lb) where the waste is finally converted into safe/inert useful products. The waste is heated in two stages (107 & 108) to remove the moisture and reduce the energy consumption of the burning process. After heating, the waste is fed into the pyrolysis reactor (109). The pyrolysis reactor will treat the waste in a nitrogenous atmosphere (112), and the gas and char will emerge from the pyrolysis reactor. The gas will be passed on through a condenser where the gas is changed to liquid, and finally the char and liquid outputs are collected in separate containers (115 & 116) in safely transportable manner and this “compacted , treated and reduced” residue can be used for effective sustainable landfill and fuel / other applications.

Detailed description of the system and the method Smart and Sustainable devices (SSD) - Device 1

As seen in figures 1 & 2, the smart and sustainable device ( 1 a) of the system comprises of hopper (100), feed controller unit (101), shredder (102), UV treatment unit (103) and packing unit. The system operates based on the AC/DC power supply. The power supply is used to actuate a control unit which reliably controls the process in the SSD. The infectious PPE waste enters the hopper (100) unit in the SSD bin and is converted into dis-infectious PPE waste in a safe and hygienic manner.

Hopper

The hopper (100) is a funnel-shaped unit that is used to collect and move the PPE infectious waste material to the shredder unit (102). The inner surface of the hopper unit is a layer with 0.5 to 1 mm of the copper sheet which provides less lifetime for the pathogens in the inner surface. The hopper (100) consists of two intelligent doors which are placed one over the other with a distance of 30 mm. The doors operate at two different opening and closing times, and is actuated as well as controlled with the sensors such as ultrasonic sensor, moisture sensor, and IR sensor. The sensor for the first door detects the infectious Mask/PPE and sends the signal to the control unit (101), and the control unit in turn actuates the door system and makes it open, once the waste reaches inside the limit of the second door sensor. The second door sensor detects the waste material and it does the same operation which opens the second door as well as closes the first door. This intelligent door opening and closing method, avoids the direct virus spreading from the hopper surface and PPE in air.

Feed control unit

The feed control unit (101) is fixed between the exit of the hopper and entry of the shredder. The feed control unit controls the inlet feed rate of the PPE to the shredder unit.

Shredder

The shredder (102) shears off the PPE/Masks waste into 5-10mm of small pieces. The horizontal/vertical type of shredder is used inside the SSD bin. The AC/DC motor is used to rotate the cutting blades in the shredder unit. The horizontal shredder may be placed in an inclination of 5°-13° which moves the waste automatically to the next unit. In the case of vertical shredder, the inclination is taken as 0°. UV treatment unit

The PPE/Masks waste from the shredder is directly transferred to the UV treatment unit (103) without any external device. In UV treatment unit, the UV surface is activated by an intelligent unit. The UV rays falls onto the PPE waste and destroys the infectious pathogens. The PPE waste are converted into disinfected condition with the help of UV disinfection technology.

Packing

The disinfected PPE waste are again handled in a safe and hygienic manner. Hence, the waste is automatically moved to the closed portable conveyer and it is packed in a 50 liter-100 liter three layer plastic bags (106) with vacuum/medium conditions.

PPE waste treatment -Device 2

As illustrated in figures 3 & 4, in PPE waste treatment (Device 2) of the system, the packed waste from the Device l(la) is collected in a safe and hygienic vehicle and it moved to the location of Device 2 (lb). The disinfected waste is thermally treated, and it produces products such as fuel and char. The fuel and char will be directly sold to the market which may be used for fuel and landfill/ other applications.

Process heating 1

As seen in figure 10, the disinfected waste from the Device l(la) is moved to the location of Device 2 (lb). Here, the waste is fed into the process heating unit 1(107) through a conveyer (120). The temperature of the PPE waste is increased by exchanging heat from the hot gas (122) (which is emitted from the thermal pyrolysis reactor) to the PPE waste. This type of heat pre-treatment is used to enhance the performance of the thermal pyrolysis process/ pyrolytic reactor. Process heating 2

As seen in figure 11 , the pre -heated PPE waste is further heated (124) in process heating unit 2(108) which reduces the energy consumption and increase efficiency of the pyrolysis process. The heated PPE waste from the process heating 2(108) is directly fed into the pyrolysis reactor (109) in a certain flow rate with the help of a conveyer/blower in an automatic/semi-automatic technology (125).

Pyrolysis reactor

The pyrolysis reactor (109) converts PPE waste into an useful product with the help of thermal pyrolysis process. A pyrolysis reactor with cylindrical shape is used in this process (Diameter=250mm, Length =1000mm). The input source of the pyrolysis reactor is in the form of heat and that heat is utilized for burning process. An automatic mechanical stirrer (110) is fixed at the top of the pyrolysis reactor and is used to mix the waste in a timely manner which increases the efficiency of the heat transfer. The heat input (9) to the pyrolysis reactor may be provide by many resources such as solar energy (109D), Fossil fuel energy (109E), and electrical energy (109F). The geometry and orientation of the heating process may vary depending on the variety of input source. The solar operated pyrolysis reactor is called solar pyrolysis reactor, fossil fuel functioned pyrolysis reactor is called fossil fuel pyrolysis reactor, electrical performed pyrolysis reactor is called electrical pyrolysis reactor.

Solar pyrolysis reactor

As seen in figure 7, in a solar pyrolysis reactor (109 A), the sunrays fall onto the solar concentrator (106A). The solar concentrator (106A) comprises of a Z adapter (106E), a pylon (106F), a base plate (106G) and slew drives. The concentrator 106 A) concentrates the sun rays on the PCM/Non-PCM (phase change material / non phase change material) based spherical cavity area in the thermal pyrolysis reactor. From that, the heat is transferred to the PPE waste in numerous heterogenous ways. During the processing time, the PPE waste is stirred in stipulated time by the automatic stirrer (110) that increases the effective heat transfer as well as the efficiency of the thermal pyrolysis process. Due to the continuous heat transfer, the temperature of the waste increases. At a certain point, the waste attains thermal degradation in a nitrogenous (112) environment which reduces the emission as well as increases the yield of the pyrolysis products.

Fossil fuel pyrolysis reactor

As seen in figure 8, in a fossil fuel pyrolysis reactor(109B), the combustor is attached at the bottom of the pyrolysis reactor. The Liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) (106B) is fed to the combustor where the combustion take place. The heat produced from the combustion process is transfer to the PPE waste material. Due to this continuous heat transfer, the temperature of the PPE waste material increases and reaches the burning point. At this step, the complete thermal degradation takes place successfully in a nitrogen (112) environment. The automatic stirrer (110) mixes the waste thoroughly which increases the rate of heat transfer as well as improves the performance of the pyrolysis reactor.

Electrical pyrolysis reactor

As seen in figure 9, in an electrical pyrolysis reactor (109C), an electrical heating element comprised of a 80% nickel and 20% chromium, are provided on the circumferential and bottom surface of the pyrolysis reactor. The provided electrical heating element functions in a closed loop system with the help of a temperature feedback circuit. The electrical heating element provides the heat to the pyrolysis reactor. The heating element provides heat to the pyrolysis reactor based on the feedback temperature from the pyrolysis reactor. The heat transfer takes place from the electrical element to the pyrolysis reactor through the circumferential (WL & WR) and bottom surface (Wb) of the pyrolysis reactor. The heat increases the temperature of the PPE waste and it attains thermal degradation in a nitrogen atmosphere. During this process, the provided automatic stirrer (110) mixes the waste at a particular velocity in a stipulated time interval which improves the performance of the thermal degradation process as well as the efficiency of the thermal pyrolysis reactor.

Pump

A pump (113) is a mechanical device used to send the gas from the pyrolysis reactor to the process heating unit 1(107). The pump transfers the fluid by the help of electrical energy.

Control Valve

A control value (114) is connected at the end of the process heating unit 1(107). The control valve regulates the mass flow rate of the hot gas which controls the heat transfer between hot gas and PPE waste.

N2 Unit

The N2 (Nitrogen) unit (112) is connected to the pyrolysis reactor. During the entire thermal pyrolysis process, the N2 unit sends the Nitrogen to the pyrolysis reactor. The thermal degradation process is carried out in an oxygen-free environment which increases the yield of the product such as char.

System Integration

As shown in figures 5 and 6, the PPE waste treatment integration (Device 1+ Device 2) of the system, is also suitable for large scale industries where the PPE waste is produced more than 10000 kg/hr. The SSD (Device 1) is connected with PPE waste treatment (Hub) (Device 2) through an entry port of Device 2. A particular capacity of waste is fed into the hopper (100) of the SSD bin and then transferred to the following units feed control unit (101), shredder (102), UV treatment unit (103), process heating unit 1(107), and process heating unit 2(108). Finally, it reaches the pyrolysis reactor (109) and attains complete thermal degradation. Finally, PPE wastes are effectively converted into products such as fuel and char. Further, the fuel and char characteristics are enriched by adding external agencies or catalysts. The enriched products can used for several applications such as fuel and landfill/others.

Probable results

The cost of the producing products (Char and fuel) from the SSD (la) and PPE waste treatment (lb) is more important for commercialization in numerous places. However, thermodynamic performance of the COVID PPE waste treatment plant affects the cost of the pyrolysis product. The cost of the pyrolysis product increases the revenue of the industry and nation. The performance evaluation of the present invention’s designed and developed system is carried out based on the fundamental thermodynamic analysis. The energy efficiency of the pre-treater of the waste in the COVID 19 waste treatment plant is identified as 78.49%. For that, the PPE/Masks waste is heated in two distinct stages (process heating 1 and process heating 2) by hot gas and char/residue comes out from the pyrolysis reactor. The accomplished energy efficiency of the process heating 1 and process heating 2 units are 87.48% and 90.35% for corresponding sustainability index of 3.37, and 2.65. The stage-wise heated disinfected waste is completely burned/thermal degradation in the pyrolysis reactor in a nitrogen atmosphere. The energy, exergy efficiencies, and SI for the pyrolysis process for the designed waste treatment plant has identified as 65.47%, 57.60%, and 2.36. The energy efficiency and SI of the COVID 19 PPE waste treatment plant has been identified as 40.61 % and 1.28. So, the expected cost of the products (char and fuel) is determined for 100 kg/hr separately for SSD (Device 1) and PPE waste treatment (Device 2) plant, and 10000 kg/hr of the integrated plant (Device 1+Device2) as shown in figure 14 and figure 15. For a lOOkg/hr separate plant, the solar pyrolysis reactor is resulting in a minimum average cost of Rs.15.90 per kg. Likewise, for a lOOOOkg/hr plant, the minimum average cost is Rs.3.02 per kg.

The selling cost of the pyrolysis products has been found for Solar, LPG, and Electrical energy based COVID 19 PPE waste treatment integration plant for 41 distinct locations in India which provide the possibility of implementation/commercialization of COVID 19 PPE waste treatment pyrolysis plant all over India. The selling cost of the pyrolysis product highly varies with location for solar based plant. Therefore it has been found that the selling cost of the pyrolysis end product is Rs.15.78 per kg for Chennai at 5.08kWh/m2/day. The maximum and minimum selling cost of the pyrolysis product is Rs. 24.83 per kg for Gangtok and Rs.13.64 per kg for Gandhinagar. The next minimum selling cost is Rs.13.78 per kg in Ahmedabad and next maximum selling cost is Rs.22.85 per kg in Kohima. The average selling cost of the pyrolysis product for 41 locations has been found as Rs.16.73 per kg which is suitable for the following locations Dehradun, Visakhapatnam, Aizawal, Srinagar, and Bhubaneswar. The average selling cost of Rs.14.63 per kg is found for Shimla, Bhopal, Jaipur, Panjani, Rajpur, Nagpur, Pune, and Madurai. The average selling cost of the product is Rs.15.33 per kg for Banglore, Cochin, Mangalore, Hyderabad, Silvassa, Daman, Thiruvandram, Ranchi, and Chennai. Although the proposed concept has been described as a way of example with reference to various models, it is not limited to the disclosed embodiment and that alternative designs could be constructed without deviating from the scope of invention as defined above.

It will be apparent to a person skilled in the art that the above description is for illustrative purposes only and should not be considered as limiting. Various modifications, additions, alterations, and improvements without deviating from the scope of the invention may be made by a person skilled in the art.