Discarded PPE could be turned into renewable liquid fuels, study finds

Research comes amid rising concern over effects of coronavirus waste on environment

Plastic from used personal protective equipment (PPE) could be recycled into renewable liquid fuels, a new study has shown.

Amid concerns that large amounts of PPE are being thrown away on a daily basis during the pandemic, experts from the University of Petroleum and Energy Studies (UPES) have urged authorities to consider converting these plastics into biofuels using a chemical process called pyrolysis.

This breaks down plastic at high temperatures – between 300 and 400C degree for an hour – without oxygen and produces high quantities of bio-oil which is easily biodegradable.