Characterizations of Meltblown polypropylene waste in mask manufacturing

Within the production process of Meltblown filtration materials for facial mask manufacturing, there is a considerable generation of clean waste of Meltblown polypropylene (PP) fabric. The direct disposal of these clean PP wastes represents a significant economic loss and, moreover, poses serious environmental pollution since PP is a non-biodegradable polymer that may take hundreds of years to decompose when landfilled. Recycling the clean polypropylene waste back for reuse in Meltblown manufacturing or the manufacturing of other products will not only bring sound economic benefits but also significantly lessen its environmental burden. In this MITACS project, we will characterize the structure and physical properties of the clean PP waste generated in the industry partner’s manufacturing facilities and identify strategies for their reuse in the manufacturing of products based on Meltblown technology.

Faculty Supervisor:

Zhibin Ye

Student:

Partner:

Meltech Innovation

Discipline:

Engineering

Sector:

Manufacturing

University:

Concordia University

Program: