Plasma Gasification of Medical Plastic Waste to Syngas in a Greenhouse Gas (CO 2 ) Environment

Andrius Tamošiūnas (), Mindaugas Milieška, Dovilė Gimžauskaitė, Mindaugas Aikas, Rolandas Uscila, Kęstutis Zakarauskas, Sebastian Fendt, Sebastian Bastek and Hartmut Spliethoff
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Andrius Tamošiūnas: Plasma Processing Laboratory, Lithuanian Energy Institute, 44403 Kaunas, Lithuania
Mindaugas Milieška: Plasma Processing Laboratory, Lithuanian Energy Institute, 44403 Kaunas, Lithuania
Dovilė Gimžauskaitė: Plasma Processing Laboratory, Lithuanian Energy Institute, 44403 Kaunas, Lithuania
Mindaugas Aikas: Plasma Processing Laboratory, Lithuanian Energy Institute, 44403 Kaunas, Lithuania
Rolandas Uscila: Plasma Processing Laboratory, Lithuanian Energy Institute, 44403 Kaunas, Lithuania
Kęstutis Zakarauskas: Laboratory of Combustion Processes, Lithuanian Energy Institute, 44403 Kaunas, Lithuania
Sebastian Fendt: Chair of Energy Systems, Technical University of Munich, 85748 Garching, Germany
Sebastian Bastek: Chair of Energy Systems, Technical University of Munich, 85748 Garching, Germany
Hartmut Spliethoff: Chair of Energy Systems, Technical University of Munich, 85748 Garching, Germany

Sustainability, 2025, vol. 17, issue 5, 1-15

Abstract: The global coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic in early 2020 caused the amount of medical waste, especially plastic waste, to increase. The pandemic exacerbated the plastic waste management problem, including the need to find more sustainable treatment methods. This study investigated the sustainable conversion of plastic waste (FFP2-type face masks) to syngas via pure CO 2 plasma gasification to recover energy and reduce environmental pollution. A direct current (DC) thermal arc plasma torch of 40.6–68.4 kW power generated the plasma stream. Carbon dioxide (CO 2 ), as a greenhouse gas (GHG), was used as the main plasma-forming gas and gasifying agent. The 140 thermal feedstock input plasma gasification system was used in the study. The effect of the CO 2 -to-C ratio on the gasification performance efficiency was investigated. The best CO 2 plasma gasification process performance was obtained at a CO 2 -to-C ratio of 2.34. In these conditions, the main syngas components (H 2 + CO) comprised 80.46 vol.% (H 2 : 24.62 vol.% and CO: 55.84 vol.%) and the following values were seen for the heating value of the syngas (LHV syngas : 13.88 MJ/Nm 3 ), the syngas yield (3.13 Nm 3 /kg FFP2 ), the tar content in the syngas (23.0 g/Nm 3 ), the carbon conversion efficiency (CCE: 70.6%), and the cold gas efficiency (CGE: 47.8%). Additionally, the plasma gasification process mass and energy balance were evaluated. It was demonstrated that CO 2 plasma gasification could be a promising thermochemical treatment technology for sustainable plastic waste disposal and the simultaneous utilization of greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide.

Keywords: sustainable waste management; FFP2 medical face mask; thermal arc plasma; greenhouse gas (CO 2 ); syngas; mass and energy balance (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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