Pyrolysis-Based Resource Recovery from Sanitary Napkins: a Sustainable Waste Management Approach

EasyChair Preprint 11667

Abstract

Sanitary napkins, an indispensable component of feminine hygiene, pose a serious environmental challenge due to their non-biodegradable nature. The market growth of sanitary napkins in India can be attributed to the rising demand for high-quality sanitary napkins made from eco-friendly raw materials, which aligns with societal and medical advancements in menstrual health awareness. The improper disposal of used sanitary napkins leads to the accumulation of waste in landfills, which depletes resources and pollutes the environment. To mitigate the detrimental effects of sanitary napkin waste, implementation of pyrolysis experiments at various temperatures and orientations of the napkins are focused along with Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) to examine both the composition of fresh napkins and the characteristics of the pyro-oil and pyro-char obtained as products from the pyrolysis process. The findings of this research contribute to the development of sustainable waste management strategies for sanitary napkins, enabling resource recovery and reducing the environmental footprint associated with their disposal. The recovered resources can find applications in agriculture, energy generation, and chemical industries, leading to a more circular and resource-efficient approach to sanitary napkin waste management.

Keyphrases: Pyrolysis, Resource recovery, Sanitary pads, circular economy, waste management

@booklet{EasyChair:11667,
  author    = {Muhammad Sajeed Abdul Hameed and Sreya Pacheeri Sreedharan and Dyuthi Thampan and Rayhan Hussain and K Sivagami},
  title     = {Pyrolysis-Based Resource Recovery from Sanitary Napkins: a Sustainable Waste Management Approach},
  howpublished = {EasyChair Preprint 11667},
  year      = {EasyChair, 2024}}