A report by the Department of Health estimates that unused medicines cost the NHS around £300 million every year, with an estimated £110 million worth of medicine returned to pharmacies, £90 million worth of unused prescriptions being stored in homes and around £50 million worth of medicines disposed of by Care Homes.
Although the incineration is an adequate solution for pharmaceutical waste as it reduces the amount of waste, the lack of conversion of raw materials into CO2 and H2O is a drawback. Unlike the incinerator, gasification units can be designed to convert waste into useful gases, with no flue gases released into the atmosphere and the syngas already purified and ready to be used by the chemical industry and/or energy production.
The micro gasification system can be designed for hospitals, public and private buildings, farms, indoor or outdoor space. The fact that the unit is mobile reduces the possibility of a chemical accident as there is no need for transport of hazardous waste.
This study will involve both the prediction and determination of calorific values generated by incinerating the most widely distributed medications and other pharmaceutical waste, as well as the design and analysis of a small-scale gasification unit.
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