Used Face Masks: From Harmful Waste to Useful Batteries

Converting used face masks from harmful waste into useful batteries
Converting used face masks from harmful waste into useful batteries

How can used face masks be converted from harmful waste into useful batteries? Is this actually possible, or is it just baseless talk??

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The Danger of Used Face Masks

 

Of course, with the onset of the spread of the ”Covid-19” virus, it became necessary to use some protective tools against it,

even if only minimally, and among these tools that doctors recommend using are ”face masks” — but the danger does not lie there.

The danger began to emerge when used masks started covering our streets, and filling garbage bins and landfills,

and this was something that had not been planned for, and no one had thought about the proper way to dispose of used masks,

because they release toxic gases that are harmful to health and the environment.

In 2020 alone, 52 billion face masks were manufactured, and approximately 1.56 billion of them were used,

and became widespread in our surroundings — this large number is enough to show us the scale of the danger we face.

 

Attempting to Solve the Problem

 

As the crisis of used masks worsened and concerns grew over the gases they release, some specialized bodies actually attempted

to find a reliable solution for disposing of used masks without causing harm to either the environment or people.

The first solution they arrived at was recycling used face masks and incorporating them into road paving materials.

Then, afterwards, they developed a method for sterilizing masks in special ovens and subsequently reusing them,

but unfortunately all these methods and attempts failed, which means the danger of used masks continues to haunt us.

 

Used Face Masks: From Harmful Waste to Batteries Useful

 

From Russia — specifically scientists at the National University of Science and Technology — and from the United States and Mexico, a method has finally been discovered that can be described as the most effective yet for eliminating the danger of used face masks.

This new method is based on the idea of converting used masks from harmful waste into low-cost, flexible, and effectively disposable useful batteries.

 

How the Process of Converting Masks into Batteries Works

 

According to what was published in the “Journal of Energy Storage”, as stated by Professor Anvar Zakhidov, Scientific Director of the “High-Performance Devices and Photovoltaics” project at the National University of Science and Technology: to convert used masks into batteries, the masks are first sanitized using ultrasonic waves, after which they are fully immersed in an ink made of graphene,

then the material is pressed and heated to a temperature of 140 degrees Celsius. After this stage, a separator with insulating properties is placed between the two electrodes, and finally a protective casing is created.

In the end, the researchers confirmed that this method was very effective and they obtained highly satisfactory results, and that the performance of the battery made from masks was superior to that of conventional batteries.

So could this method be a first step toward thinking about making batteries through various means and other approaches?? Or can it simply be said that the success of this process is nothing but a stroke of luck??

 

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