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dc.contributor.authorStewart, D.J.C.
dc.contributor.authorFisher, L.V.
dc.contributor.authorWarwick, M.E.A.
dc.contributor.authorThomson, D.
dc.contributor.authorBarron, A.R.
dc.date.accessioned2022-03-18T00:04:05Z
dc.date.available2022-03-18T00:04:05Z
dc.date.issued2022
dc.identifier.citationStewart, D. J. C., Fisher, L. V., Warwick, M. E. A., Thomson, D., & Barron, A. R. (2022). Facemasks and ferrous metallurgy: Improving gasification reactivity of low-volatile coals using waste COVID-19 facemasks for ironmaking application. Scientific Reports.
dc.identifier.issn2045-2322
dc.identifier.pmid35177739
dc.identifier.doi10.1038/s41598-022-06691-w
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10150/663673
dc.description.abstractThe global pandemic response to COVID-19 has led to the generation of huge volumes of unrecyclable plastic waste from single use disposable face coverings. Rotary hearth furnaces can be used to recover Zn and Fe from non-recyclable steelmaking by-product dusts, and waste plastic material such as facemasks could be utilized as a supplementary reductant for the rotary hearth furnace (RHF), but their fibrous form makes milling and processing to appropriate sizing for RHF application extremely challenging. A scalable method of grinding facemasks to powder by melting and mixing with Welsh coal dust reported herein provides a solution to both environmental challenges. The melt-blended PPE/coal dust shows a dramatically improved CO2 gasification reactivity (Ea = 133-159 kJmol-1) when compared to the untreated coal (Ea = 183-246 kJmol-1), because of improved pore development in the coal during the pyrolysis stage of heating and the catalytic activity of the CaO based ash present in the facemask plastic. The results are promising for the application of waste facemasks in recycling steelmaking by-product dusts in rotary hearth furnaces and may also be suitable for direct injection to the blast furnace subject to further study. © 2022. The Author(s).
dc.language.isoen
dc.publisherNature
dc.rightsCopyright © The Author(s) 2022. This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
dc.rights.urihttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
dc.titleFacemasks and ferrous metallurgy: improving gasification reactivity of low-volatile coals using waste COVID-19 facemasks for ironmaking application
dc.typeArticle
dc.typetext
dc.contributor.departmentUniversity of Arizona
dc.identifier.journalScientific reports
dc.description.noteOpen access journal
dc.description.collectioninformationThis item from the UA Faculty Publications collection is made available by the University of Arizona with support from the University of Arizona Libraries. If you have questions, please contact us at repository@u.library.arizona.edu.
dc.eprint.versionFinal published version
dc.source.journaltitleScientific reports
refterms.dateFOA2022-03-18T00:04:05Z


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Copyright © The Author(s) 2022. This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Except where otherwise noted, this item's license is described as Copyright © The Author(s) 2022. This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.