Novel strategy in biohydrogen energy production from COVID - 19 plastic waste: A critical review

Plastic wastes for carbon-based materials: Investigations on recent applications towards environmentally sustainable, carbon dioxide capture and green energy

The rapid growth in plastic production, coupled with inadequate waste management, has led to a significant accumulation of plastic waste in different environments. This raises substantial concerns about long-term ecological impacts, including bioaccumulation in organisms and potential risks to human health. This review focuses on plastic waste-derived carbon materials (PWCMs) and their role in promoting sustainable, eco-friendly energy solutions. The novelty of the study examines the current progress in converting plastic waste into carbon-based materials, with a particular emphasis on recent applications in environmentally sustainable practices, carbon dioxide capture, and green energy solutions. The growing interest in carbon-based materials is due to their unique characteristics, including high specific surface area, porosity, electronic conductivity, stable structure, and versatile surface chemistry. The utilization of PWCMs and their composites has shown promise in absorbing a wide range of contaminants. For organic pollutants, this includes dyes such as methylene blue and pharmaceuticals like antibiotics, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), and other endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs). For inorganic contaminants, PWCMs effectively target heavy metals, i.e., cadmium, lead, mercury, and arsenic, as well as anions like nitrate and phosphate. Converting waste plastics into carbonaceous adsorbents holds excellent potential for removing up to 99% of toxic metal elements from wastewater. Furthermore, carbon capture through PWCMs provides an environmentally friendly and practical approach to closing the carbon loop, advancing carbon neutrality, and fostering a more sustainable future. Repurposing waste plastic for hydrogen production has significant potential to contribute to decarbonization efforts and accelerate achieving sustainable development goals (SDGs). The findings also offer valuable insights into the advanced uses of PWCMs, encouraging future efforts in upcycling plastic waste for innovative and sustainable solutions. Yet, a comprehensive evaluation of PWCM applications and their limitations is needed to guide future research toward optimizing their synthesis for economic and environmental sustainability.

Evaluating the Environmental Impact of Single-Use and Multi-Use Surgical Staplers with Staple Line Buttressing in Laparoscopic Bariatric Surgery

PURPOSE

Operation rooms have a large environmental impact. Single-use staplers (SUS) are widely used surgical instruments that contribute to resource consumption and waste generation, whereas multi-use staplers (MUS) can greatly reduce the environmental impact of surgery. The staple lines are often reinforced with buttressing material to prevent leaks and bleeding. We explore current clinical practice and environmental concerns regarding stapling and buttressing, as well as the environmental impact of staple line buttressing in sleeve gastrectomy (SG) and Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB). Furthermore, we extend this analysis by taking packaging material and the lithium in power supplies into consideration.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

A survey of bariatric surgeons was conducted to assess stapler and buttressing use in clinical practice. We deconstructed and analyzed the product and packaging composition of a commonly used SUS with separate staple line reinforcement (Echelon Flex™ with Echelon Endopath™, Ethicon) and MUS (Signia™ with Tri-Staple™ reinforced reloads, Medtronic), where the buttressing material was delivered separately or already incorporated in the reload cartridge, respectively. Both systems were compared regarding total waste generation, resource use (determined as total material requirement), and greenhouse gas emission caused by their lithium content.

RESULTS

60 mm cartridges were most frequently used in bariatric surgery, and 67% of surveyed surgeons applied staple line reinforcement. MUS with pre-attached buttressing resulted in a reduction of waste, material consumption, and greenhouse gas emissions compared to SUS with separate buttressing: they reduced product waste by 40% (SG and RYBG), packaging waste by 60% (SG) and 57% (RYGB), resource consumption by more than 90%, and greenhouse gas emissions related to the lithium in the batteries by 99.7%. Preloaded buttressing produced less waste than separate buttressing per stapler firing.

CONCLUSION

The environmental impact of surgery can be greatly reduced by using MUS with pre-attached buttressing rather than SUS with separate buttressing.

Plastic wastes in the time of COVID-19: Their environmental hazards and implications for sustainable energy resilience and circular bio-economies

The global scope of pollution from plastic waste is a well-known phenomenon associated with trade, mass consumption, and disposal of plastic products (e.g., personal protective equipment (PPE), viral test kits, and vacuum-packaged food). Recently, the scale of the problem has been exacerbated by increases in indoor livelihood activities during lockdowns imposed in response to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. The present study describes the effects of increased plastic waste on environmental footprint and human health. Further, the technological/regulatory options and life cycle assessment (LCA) approach for sustainable plastic waste management are critically dealt in terms of their implications on energy resilience and circular economy. The abrupt increase in health-care waste during pandemic has been worsening environmental quality to undermine the sustainability in general. In addition, weathered plastic particles from PPE along with microplastics (MPs) and nanoplastics (NPs) can all adsorb chemical and microbial contaminants to pose a risk to ecosystems, biota, occupational safety, and human health. PPE-derived plastic pollution during the pandemic also jeopardizes sustainable development goals, energy resilience, and climate control measures. However, it is revealed that the pandemic can be regarded as an opportunity for explicit LCA to better address the problems associated with environmental footprints of plastic waste and to focus on sustainable management technologies such as circular bio-economies, biorefineries, and thermal gasification. Future researches in the energy-efficient clean technologies and circular bio-economies (or biorefineries) in concert with a "nexus" framework are expected to help reduce plastic waste into desirable directions.