Including concrete and batteries.. These are the most important ways to benefit from the remnants of masks

The Corona pandemic may be over, but it has left tens of thousands of tons of single-use mask waste, which has become a global environmental problem.

To reduce the risks of this waste, researchers have devised different ways to recycle the materials from which the masks are made.

The surge in plastic waste resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic has raised alarms worldwide.

The quantities of masks used daily at the height of the pandemic were estimated at about 7,200 tons.

About 75% of it ends up, along with other waste associated with the epidemic, in landfills, or floating in seawater.

The waste resulting from the masks has become an environmental problem (Rubixel)

Masks are turning into an environmental problem

Contrary to what many think, these medical masks are not made of paper, but of polypropylene plastic, which is part of the family of thermoplastics that are harmful to the environment, so it is difficult to dispose of them easily.

Plastic masks can take up to 450 years to decompose and disappear completely from the environment.

According to some estimates provided by the "Greenmatters" website, at the height of the pandemic, humans used an estimated 129 billion face masks and 65 billion plastic gloves every month.

An international study published in June 2020 estimated that the world is getting rid of 3 million masks every minute.

These street masks make their way into soil or marine waters via streams and rivers, adding to the millions of tons of debris floating on the ocean's surface.

It was estimated that 1.5 billion masks reached the planet's oceans in the first year of the pandemic.

In order to reduce these risks, researchers have developed innovative methods that are sometimes not without novelty, despite their seriousness.

Microfibers from muzzles to reinforce concrete to strengthen it and prevent it from cracking (Washington State University)

Produce more durable cement

The first of these innovative solutions is the idea of ​​incorporating old masks into the cement mixture to create a more robust and durable concrete, an idea recently put forward by researchers from Washington State University and published in the journal Materials Letters.

According to a university press release, the research team showed that the mixture containing the mask material was 47 percent stronger than the commonly used cement.

The cement production process is known to be among the most polluting industries, responsible for up to 8% of worldwide carbon emissions.

And producers sometimes resort to adding microfibers to cement concrete to strengthen it.

Microfiber reinforced concrete can reduce the amount of cement used in it, which contributes to lower carbon emissions in addition to lowering the cost.

In the new study, the researchers developed a method for manufacturing small fibers of medical masks, ranging from 5 to 30 millimeters in length, and then added them to ordinary Portland cement after mixing them in a solution of graphene oxide in order to strengthen them and prevent their cracking.

The graphene oxide provides thin layers that adhere firmly to the surfaces of the fibers, which prevents microcracks in the concrete and extends its life.

Masks can be used to manufacture low-cost batteries with the efficiency of ordinary batteries (Rubixel).

Turning masks into batteries

A team of researchers from Mexico and the United States has come up with a way to turn medical mask waste into batteries that can store the same amount of energy as lithium-ion batteries, and can also be low-cost, and their study was published in the Journal of Energy Storage. .

The researchers in the study, according to the “anthropocenemagazine” website, disinfected the masks using ultrasound waves, and dipped them in an ink made of graphene carbon, which is known for its excellent conductivity.

Then they compressed and heated the graphene-coated masks to make tiny beads that were used to make the battery electrodes.

To improve the ability of the electrodes to retain the charge, they were covered with a special material of calcium and cobalt oxide.

The researchers also used masks to make the insulating layer separating the two electrodes after soaking them in electrolyte, and then wrapped the device in a protective case made of plastic drug containers.

The result was impressive. These batteries showed an energy-storage capacity similar to current commercial lithium-ion batteries, but they had the advantage of being thin, flexible and much less expensive.

Some medical equipment can be made from waste masks (pixels)

Masks for the manufacture of medical equipment

In Britain, a group of health institutions is working to recycle millions of personal protective equipment that is disposed of in hospitals, especially face masks, according to the British Daily Mail website.

And plastic waste has increased significantly in Britain’s hospitals during the Covid-19 pandemic, as the equivalent of 28,000 tons of personal protective equipment, including about one billion masks, is distributed in the British Health Service for use by doctors, nursing staff and the rest of the hospital staff. In the UK, most of it is not recycled.

So the Imperial College Healthcare Trust has partnered with the NHS and a major manufacturer of protective equipment to turn waste into new products like operating room clogs and plastic bed pans.