초록
Used disposable diapers have been considered for a long time as a type of waste difficult to recycle and valorize due to their composite nature including plastic, cellulose pulp, a super absorbent polymer and either urine, feces or both. Therefore, the fate of disposed diapers often is either incineration or landfill burial which both have various adverse environmental impacts. However, used disposable diapers contain nutrients: cellulose is an organic matter while urine and feces contain non negligible amounts of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium which are primary nutrients included in most chemical fertilizers used in agriculture. In a scope of waste recycling and valorization, this study focuses on developing a method to achieve nutrient solution extraction from used disposable diapers. The experiment essentially consists in shredding the diapers and letting them macerate in solutions of sodium hydroxide with various concentrations to allow breaking down of the cellulose and super absorbent polymer and release of urine and feces before sterilizing the solutions in an autoclave to remove potential coliform bacteria. At the end of the experiment, a set of parameters is measured for the final solution to identify concentrations of nutrients as well as presence or absence of harmful substances. Results are discussed and directions for future studies are suggested, which include mechanization of the diapers shredding process or added aeration to enhance nitrification and absorption of extracted nutrients from plants.