LIFE CYCLE ASSESSMENT OF PPE KIT USING OPEN -LCA SOFTWARE

International Research Journal of Engineering and Technology (IRJET) e ISSN: 2395 0056

Volume: 09 Issue: 04 | Apr 2022 www.irjet.net p ISSN: 2395 0072

LIFE CYCLE ASSESSMENT OF PPE KIT USING OPEN -LCA SOFTWARE

1,2,3,4 Graduate student , Department of civil engineering, Mar Athanasius College of engineering, Kothamangalam, Kerala, India

5Assistant Professor, Department of civil Engineering, Mar Athanasius College of engineering , Kothamangalam Kerala, India ***

Abstract Due to COVID 19, the demand for Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) kits has increased rapidly. The accumulation of used PPE kits on earth pose a threat to environment and human health. This paper analyses the environmental impact caused by most common PPE items such as face shield, gloves, single use gown, and surgical mask. Here, Life Cycle Assessment of PPE kit has been performed using open LCA software. The results of LCA shows that the single use surgical gown causes the most environmental impact when compared to the other three PPE items. This study also identifies the remedial measures to reduce the impacts caused by the use of PPE kit.

Key Words: ELCD 3.2 Green delta, LCI, LCIA, Open LCA 1.11.

1. INTRODUCTION

Coronavirus disease also known as COVID 19 is an infectious disease caused by the SARS CoV 2 virus. It spreads very rapidly among humans by personal contact orbycontactwithair waterdropletsduringcoughingand sneezing of coronavirus affected person. The COVID 19 pandemicresultedinthelossofhumanlifeworldwideand placed the public health under stress. This lead to the rapidincreaseintheuseofPersonalProtectiveEquipment (PPE)kit.Sinceitisoneoftheeffectivemeasuretoreduce the spreading level of coronavirus. The resultant surge in the need for PPE has demanded an increase in PPE production. This resulted in the uncontrolled accumulationofPPEwastesanditbecomesachallengeto thewastemanagementsystem.

The daily disposal of these PPE items from hospitals generates serious waste issues in world especially in developing countries. To protect people from COVID 19 there is a huge need for PPE kit. In order to meet the global need, the production of PPE Kit has expanded. The production, use and disposal of these items cause serious environmental impacts. Proper disposal is needed Otherwise, the waste management will become more complicated.

In this paper we conducted Life Cycle Assessment of PPE kits in order to identify the potential environmental impactscausedbyitemssuchasfaceshield,gloves,single

use gown and surgical mask. The selected environmental impactcategoriesare(a)acidification;(b)GlobalWarming Potential; (C) Human toxicity; (d) Ozone layer depletion. Inaddition,thisstudyfindstherawmaterialsrequiredfor the production of PPE Kit items and the issues occurring during the disposal. This shows that the introduction of PPEkittosavethelifeofpeoplefromCOVID 19boostthe environmentalproblems.Inordertoreducetheseimpacts, weneedtoestablishsomesustainableapproach.

2. MATERIALS AND METHODS

2.1 Data collection

The data collection strategy for this study was mainly concentrated on the most relevant journal publications related to the COVID 19 outbreak. Furthermore, data and information required for the study are collected from online resources, journals, policy and media reports, and the notifications from Government. The data from these sources have high quality and provides vital information. ThecollectedliteraturesarefromthestartingofCOVID 19 until the completion of this study. Information regarding the raw materials needed for the production of PPE Kit items, and environmental issues associated with the transportation and disposal of these items are gathered fromliteraturereview

2.2 Methodology

We conducted LCA method as defined in ISO standards in fourdistinctphasesusingOpen LCA1.11.0software.Main features:Fastandreliable evaluation ofsustainabilityand LifeCycleAssessment.

Certainassumptionsmadeare:

1.LocationchosenasKerala

2.Transportationassumedtobeinsmalllorrybyroad

3.Distance of transportation to be 210km Trivandrum to Kochi.SinceTrivandrumiscapitalcityofKerala&Kochiis tradecentre.

4.Weight of components for one unit of PPE Kit is consideredforinput

International Research Journal of Engineering and Technology (IRJET) e ISSN: 2395 0056

Volume: 09 Issue: 04 | Apr 2022 www.irjet.net p ISSN: 2395 0072

5.Incineration is taken as end of life based on survey resultsobtainedfromhospitals.

FourstepsofLCA:

Goalandscopedefinition

Thisistheinitialandthemostimportantphaseofstudy

Itincludes 

theexpectedapplication  usesofresults 

Andtowhomresultsarereported.

The functional unit is a measure of the function of the systemtobestudied,forrelatinginputsandoutputsthese will actasreference. Thiscanbeused forthe comparison oftwodifferentsystems.

Lifecycleinventory(LCI)

Inthisstage,welookintotheorderofstepsinlife cycle of product system.it begins with extraction ofrawmaterialswiththefinal disposal.createda flow diagram which shows the major inputs and outputstothesystem. 

ThedatabaseusedhereisELCD3.2greendelta v2 18 

It involves the data collection and calculation to quantify material and energy inputs and outputs ofPPEkit.

Lifecycleimpactassessment(LCIA)

Acidification, global warming potential, human toxicityandozonelayerdepletionaretheselected potentialparameters. 

In LCIA, it combines databases from open LCA nexusinmoreefficientway 

CMLIAbaselineistheselectedLCIAmethod

Interpretation

From the results the major issues are identified. The resultsare basedonmajor environmental problemssuch as ozone layer depletion, human toxicity and some other parameters.

Fig2.Systemboundaries gloves

International Research Journal of Engineering and Technology (IRJET) e ISSN: 2395 0056

Volume: 09 Issue: 04 | Apr 2022 www.irjet.net p ISSN: 2395 0072

Fig1,2,3and4 indicates system boundaries of face shield,gloves,singleusegownandsurgicalmask.

Fig3.Systemboundaries singleusegown

Fig5.Systemflowdiagram Faceshield

Fig6.Systemflowdiagram Gloves

Fig4.Systemboundaries surgicalmask

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International Research Journal of Engineering and Technology (IRJET) e ISSN: 2395 0056

Table 1.FinalResults

Fig7.Systemflowdiagram Singleusegown

3.RESULTS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

(a)acidification

Fig8.Systemflowdiagram Surgicalmask

Fig5,6,7and8referssystemflowdiagramswhichindicate the impact values taken in the software phase.However, theinputvaluesaretakenbyconsideringrawmaterialfor theproductionofasinglePPEkit.

(b)globalwarmingpotential

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International Research Journal of Engineering and Technology (IRJET) e ISSN: 2395 0056

Volume: 09 Issue: 04 | Apr 2022 www.irjet.net p ISSN: 2395 0072

The war against COVID 19 with countries implementing various measures to ensure reduced fatalities and morbidity from this novel coronavirus SARS CoV 2 is still continuing. Withthese,the useofPPE kits haveincreased rapidly, especially by medical practitioners, as a means of protection from this novel coronavirus. While the use is absolutely essential, it is clear that disposal of these PPEs might become a problem in the future. We cannot avoid theuseofPPEkitbutcansearchforalternativesorproper disposal methods by knowing its environmental impact, how much impact does it cost ?. There are various components for PPE kit, here in this analysis we have selectedthemostcommoncomponentssuchassingleuse gown, surgical mask, face shield, gloves. From our life cycle analysis using OPEN LCA software it is clear that Single use gown contribute high impact in the environmentthantheothercomponents weselected.The singleusegownhavehigherimpactfortheindicatorssuch as acidification, ozone layer depletion, human toxicity, global warming. Face shield contributes second highest impact. Gloves and Surgical mask have minimal impact comparingtoother.Therearevariationsinenvironmental impact of various components of PPE kit, based on this variations specific disposal methods can use according to theirenvironmentalimpact.

REFERENCES

[1] H. Kumar et al., “COVID 19 Creating another problem? Sustainable solution for PPE disposal throughLCAapproach,” Environment, Development and Sustainability, vol. 23, no. 6, pp. 9418 9432, Jun.2021,doi:10.1007/s10668 020 01033 0.

CONCLUSIONS

[2] N. Singh, Y. Tang, and O. A. Ogunseitan, “EnvironmentallySustainableManagementofUsed Personal Protective Equipment,” Environmental Science and Technology, vol. 54, no. 14, pp. 8500 8502,Jul.2020,doi:10.1021/acs.est.0c03022.

[3] N. C. J, R. Ravi, A. K. U, and D. Venu, “LIFE CYCLE ASSESSMENT OF COTTON Vs SURGICAL FACE MASK USING OPEN LCA SOFTWARE,” International Research Journal of Engineering and Technology, 2021, [Online]. Available: www.irjet.net

[4] C.Rizan,M.Reed,andM.F.Bhutta,“Environmental impact of personal protective equipment distributed for use by health and social care services in England in the first six months of the COVID 19 pandemic,” J R Soc Med, vol. 114, no. 5, pp. 250 263, May 2021, doi: 10.1177/01410768211001583.