Department of Civil Engineering, University of Engineering and Technology (UET), Taxila 47080, Pakistan.
Civil Engineering Department, Khwaja Fareed University of Engineering and Information Technology (KFUEIT), Rahim Yar Khan 64200, Pakistan.
Sci Total Environ. 2021 Nov 10;794:148746. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.148746. Epub 2021 Jun 29.
Not only has the COVID-19 pandemic caused a global health crisis, but it has also changed the dynamics of waste generation around the world. This situation demands a productive solution for face mask (FM) waste management to solve several associated environmental issues. In the current study, a novel soil treatment method is proposed for the improvement of mechanical characteristics of fat clay by using FM as fiber reinforcement and silica fume (SF) as the cementitious agent in the form of a composite binary admixture (CBA). The performance of the proposed CBA is compared with SF and FM as the lone stabilizers by conducting extensive geotechnical testing. The SF treatment exponentially improves the strength characteristics of soil but it marginalizes the ductility of soil, inviting sudden failure and instability under dynamic loadings. It is observed that the proposed CBA not only improves the strength characteristics more than SF but also regulates the ductility and deformability of treated soil due to the presence of FM fibers. In addition, the policies and protocols on the logistics of collecting FM waste and making it ready for the proposed geotechnical application are reviewed; associated health risks, socioeconomic conditions and available technologies are the major governing factors to formulate and implement these policies. Moreover, the prolonged storage of COVID-19 FM waste for disinfection is found to be suitable for the proposed soil stabilization method as per the literature. The current study helps in achieving cost-effective filler/foundation material, solving COVID-19 FM waste problems and promoting resource conservation.
新冠疫情不仅引发了全球卫生危机，还改变了全球垃圾产生的动态。这种情况需要一种有效的解决方案来管理口罩（FM）废物，以解决几个相关的环境问题。在目前的研究中，提出了一种新的土壤处理方法，通过使用 FM 作为纤维增强材料和硅灰（SF）作为水泥化剂，以复合二元外加剂（CBA）的形式，改善脂肪土的力学特性。通过进行广泛的土工试验，比较了所提出的 CBA 与 SF 和 FM 作为单一稳定剂的性能。SF 处理显著提高了土壤的强度特性，但使土壤的延展性降低，在动载下容易突然失效和失稳。研究表明，所提出的 CBA 不仅提高了强度特性，而且由于 FM 纤维的存在，调节了处理后土壤的延展性和变形性。此外，还审查了收集 FM 废物并使其为拟议的土工应用做好准备的物流政策和协议；相关的健康风险、社会经济条件和现有技术是制定和实施这些政策的主要控制因素。此外，根据文献，发现将 COVID-19 FM 废物长时间储存用于消毒，适合于所提出的土壤稳定方法。本研究有助于实现经济有效的填料/基础材料，解决 COVID-19 FM 废物问题，并促进资源节约。
