IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/appene/v304y2021ics0306261921011727.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Can decontamination and reuse of N95 respirators during COVID-19 pandemic provide energy, environmental, and economic benefits?

Author

Listed:
  • Tao, Yanqiu
  • You, Fengqi

Abstract

The widespread COVID-19 pandemic led to a shortage in the supply of N95 respirators in the United States until May 2021. In this study, we address the energy, environmental, and economic benefits of the decontamination-and-reuse of the N95 masks. Two popular decontamination methods, including dry heat and vapor hydrogen peroxide (VHP), are investigated in this study for their effective pathogen inactivation and favorable performance in preserving filtration efficiency and structural integrity of respirators. Two multiple reuse cases, under which the N95 masks are disinfected and used five times with the dry heat method and 20 times using the VHP method, are considered and compared with a single-use case. Compared to the single-use case, the dry heat-based multiple-use case reduces carbon footprint by 50% and cumulative energy demand (CED) by 17%, while the VHP-based case decreases carbon footprint by 67% and CED by 58%. The dry-heat-based and VHP-based multiple reuse cases also present environmental benefits in most of the other impact categories, primarily due to substituting new N95 respirators with decontaminated ones. Decontaminating and reusing respirators costs 77% and 89% less than the case of single-use and disposal. The sensitivity analysis results show that the geographical variation in the power grid and the times of respirator use are the most influential factors for carbon footprint and CED, respectively. The result also reaffirms the energy, environmental, and economic favorability of the decontamination and reuse of N95 respirators.

Suggested Citation

  • Tao, Yanqiu & You, Fengqi, 2021. "Can decontamination and reuse of N95 respirators during COVID-19 pandemic provide energy, environmental, and economic benefits?," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 304(C).
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:appene:v:304:y:2021:i:c:s0306261921011727
    DOI: 10.1016/j.apenergy.2021.117848
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0306261921011727
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.apenergy.2021.117848?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Núria Boix Rodríguez & Giovanni Formentini & Claudio Favi & Marco Marconi, 2021. "Engineering Design Process of Face Masks Based on Circularity and Life Cycle Assessment in the Constraint of the COVID-19 Pandemic," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(9), pages 1-26, April.
    2. Zhao, Xiang & You, Fengqi, 2021. "Waste respirator processing system for public health protection and climate change mitigation under COVID-19 pandemic: Novel process design and energy, environmental, and techno-economic perspectives," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 283(C).
    3. Colin J. Worby & Hsiao-Han Chang, 2020. "Face mask use in the general population and optimal resource allocation during the COVID-19 pandemic," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 11(1), pages 1-9, December.
    4. Chandra Shekhar & Shreekant Varshney & Amit Kumar, 2020. "Reliability and Vacation: The Critical Issue," Springer Series in Reliability Engineering, in: Mangey Ram & Hoang Pham (ed.), Advances in Reliability Analysis and its Applications, pages 251-292, Springer.
    5. Gary Gereffi, 2020. "What does the COVID-19 pandemic teach us about global value chains? The case of medical supplies," Journal of International Business Policy, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 3(3), pages 287-301, September.
    6. Gary Gereffi, 0. "What does the COVID-19 pandemic teach us about global value chains? The case of medical supplies," Journal of International Business Policy, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 0, pages 1-15.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Tao Ran & Jianyong Pang & Jiuqun Zou, 2022. "An Emerging Solution for Medical Waste: Reuse of COVID-19 Protective Suit in Concrete," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(16), pages 1-18, August.
    2. Zhao, Xiang & Klemeš, Jiří Jaromír & Fengqi You,, 2022. "Energy and environmental sustainability of waste personal protective equipment (PPE) treatment under COVID-19," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 153(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Roberta Capello & Andrea Caragliu, 2021. "Regional growth and disparities in a post‐COVID Europe: A new normality scenario," Journal of Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 61(4), pages 710-727, September.
    2. Jill Juergensen & José Guimón & Rajneesh Narula, 2020. "European SMEs amidst the COVID-19 crisis: assessing impact and policy responses," Economia e Politica Industriale: Journal of Industrial and Business Economics, Springer;Associazione Amici di Economia e Politica Industriale, vol. 47(3), pages 499-510, September.
    3. Gergő Tóth & Zoltán Elekes & Adam Whittle & Changjun Lee & Dieter F. Kogler, 2022. "Technology Network Structure Conditions the Economic Resilience of Regions," Economic Geography, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 98(4), pages 355-378, August.
    4. Massimo Amato & Everardo Belloni & Paolo Falbo & Lucio Gobbi, 2021. "Europe, public debts, and safe assets: the scope for a European Debt Agency," Economia Politica: Journal of Analytical and Institutional Economics, Springer;Fondazione Edison, vol. 38(3), pages 823-861, October.
    5. Roy Setiawan & Rabia Salman & Bari Galimovich Khairov & Valeriy Vasilyevich Karpov & Svetlana Dmitrievna Danshina & Lidia Vladimirovna Vasyutkina & Natalia Alekseevna Prodanova & Viacheslav Zhenzhebir, 2021. "Sustainable Closed-Loop Mask Supply Chain Network Design Using Mathematical Modeling and a Fuzzy Multi-Objective Approach," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(10), pages 1-12, May.
    6. Evenett,Simon J. & Hoekman,Bernard M. & Rocha,Nadia & Ruta,Michele, 2021. "The Covid-19 Vaccine Production Club : Will Value Chains Temper Nationalism?," Policy Research Working Paper Series 9565, The World Bank.
    7. McIvor, Ronan & Bals, Lydia, 2021. "A multi-theory framework for understanding the reshoring decision," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 30(6).
    8. Sébastien Miroudot, 2020. "Reshaping the policy debate on the implications of COVID-19 for global supply chains," Journal of International Business Policy, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 3(4), pages 430-442, December.
    9. Florence Palpacuer & Alistair Smith, 2021. "Rethinking Value Chains," Post-Print hal-03559229, HAL.
    10. Doyeon Lee & Keunhwan Kim, 2021. "A Collaborative Trans-Regional R&D Strategy for the South Korea Green New Deal to Achieve Future Mobility," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(15), pages 1-30, August.
    11. Inferrera, Sergio, 2021. "Globalisation in Europe: Consequences for the business environment and future patterns in light of Covid-19," IWH-CompNet Discussion Papers 2/2021, Halle Institute for Economic Research (IWH).
    12. Krammer, Sorin M.S., 2022. "Navigating the New Normal: Which firms have adapted better to the COVID-19 disruption?," Technovation, Elsevier, vol. 110(C).
    13. Simon J. Evenett, 2020. "Chinese whispers: COVID-19, global supply chains in essential goods, and public policy," Journal of International Business Policy, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 3(4), pages 408-429, December.
    14. Ratan J. S. Dheer & Carolyn P. Egri & Len J. Treviño, 2021. "A cross-cultural exploratory analysis of pandemic growth: The case of COVID-19," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 52(9), pages 1871-1892, December.
    15. Georgios Angelidis & Charalambos Bratsas & Georgios Makris & Evangelos Ioannidis & Nikos C. Varsakelis & Ioannis E. Antoniou, 2021. "Global Value Chains of COVID-19 Materials: A Weighted Directed Network Analysis," Mathematics, MDPI, vol. 9(24), pages 1-19, December.
    16. repec:ocp:rpaper:pp-0722 is not listed on IDEAS
    17. Petra Dünhaupt & Hansjörg Herr & Fabian Mehl & Christina Teipen, 2022. "Economic and Social Effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic and the Future of Global Value Chains," Springer Books, in: Christina Teipen & Petra Dünhaupt & Hansjörg Herr & Fabian Mehl (ed.), Economic and Social Upgrading in Global Value Chains, chapter 0, pages 565-592, Springer.
    18. Agnieszka Szmelter-Jarosz & Javid Ghahremani-Nahr & Hamed Nozari, 2021. "A Neutrosophic Fuzzy Optimisation Model for Optimal Sustainable Closed-Loop Supply Chain Network during COVID-19," JRFM, MDPI, vol. 14(11), pages 1-22, November.
    19. Kihyung Kim & Li Zhao, 2021. "Filtering Facepiece Respirator Supply Chain Management Framework in a Disaster Such as COVID-19," Societies, MDPI, vol. 11(4), pages 1-15, November.
    20. Hasin Md. Muhtasim Taqi & Humaira Nafisa Ahmed & Sumit Paul & Maryam Garshasbi & Syed Mithun Ali & Golam Kabir & Sanjoy Kumar Paul, 2020. "Strategies to Manage the Impacts of the COVID-19 Pandemic in the Supply Chain: Implications for Improving Economic and Social Sustainability," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(22), pages 1-25, November.
    21. Jan Grumiller & Hannes Grohs & Christian Reiner, 2021. "“Increasing the resilience and security of supply ofproduction post-COVID-19” - The Case of Medical and Pharmaceutical Products," Working Paper Reihe der AK Wien - Materialien zu Wirtschaft und Gesellschaft 216, Kammer für Arbeiter und Angestellte für Wien, Abteilung Wirtschaftswissenschaft und Statistik.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:appene:v:304:y:2021:i:c:s0306261921011727. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/405891/description#description .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.