Comprehensive analysis of pyrolysis in medical rubber gloves: pyrolysis characteristics, kinetics, thermodynamics, volatile products, and pathways

The surge in medical waste, fueled by the impact of COVID-19 and the influenza A virus, poses substantial challenges to waste treatment. Nevertheless, pyrolysis technology introduces a novel approach to the treatment of medical waste. This study investigated the pyrolytic characteristics, kinetics, thermodynamic parameters, volatile gases, and pyrolytic pathways of medical rubber gloves (MRGs) in a N₂ atmosphere utilizing Thermal Gravimetric Analyzer (TGA), Thermogravimetric-Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (TG-FTIR) and Pyrolysis gas chrogams-mass spectrometry (Py-GC/MS) analyses. Pyrolysis of MRG predominantly occurs between 284–501 °C and 613–701 °C. The initial stage is the primary reaction phase, exhibiting an average activation energy of 339.77 kJ/mol, following the reaction order model (Fn). The second pyrolysis stage has an average activation energy of 236.93 kJ/mol and adheres to the geometric contraction model (Rn). The volatile products from MRG pyrolysis primarily comprise olefins, alkanes, and aromatic hydrocarbons. The olefins consist primarily of 1,2-pentadiene and d-limonene, while the alkanes include cyclopropane, cyclohexane, and 1,4-dimethyl. Aromatic compounds are chiefly benzene, toluene, and xylene.