| Abstract [eng] |
In the past decades, the problem of resource depletion and waste accumulation has become particularly prominent worldwide. The Covid-19 pandemic, which made the wearing of protective masks mandatory, also contributed significantly to the accumulation of waste. In many countries around the world, the requirement to wear protective face masks in public places has led to a rapid increase in their production and use. Although textile masks are reusable and should be washed and used for long periods of time, many people replace them more often than necessary or throw them away when they wear out. Waste from disposable medical masks is also a concern as they are made of plastic. Composites of different plastics are known to be difficult to recycle, so such waste is usually incinerated. One solution to this problem could be the use of thermochemical processes such as pyrolysis and gasification to recycle protective face masks into raw material that could be used for the sustainable production of energy products. Particular attention has been focused on pyrolysis and gasification of waste, which produces gas, tar and char. The ZSM-5 catalyst is also an important tool in catalytic pyrolysis reactions, helping to improve the yield and quality of products. In this thesis project, the thermal decomposition of disposable medical and textile masks was studied with the aim of obtaining energetically valuable products. The research determined the compounds released during pyrolysis and gasification and evaluated the effect of the catalyst ZSM-5 on the formation of compounds. |
