title: Drug product immobilization in recycled polyethylene/polypropylene reclaimed from municipal solid waste: experimental and numerical assessment.
abstract: Recently, there has been a growing interest in identifying suitable routes for the disposal of pharmaceutical wastes. This study investigates the potential of matrix materials composed of recycled polyethylene/polypropylene reclaimed from municipal solid wastes at immobilizing pharmaceutical solid wastes. Diclofenac (DF) drug product was embedded in boards of recycled plastic material, and leaching in water was assessed at various temperatures. DF concentrations were determined by high-performance liquid chromatography and revealed a maximum leachable fraction of 4% under accelerated conditions of 70°C, and less than 0.3% following 39 days of exposure at 20°C. The Ensemble Kalman Filter was employed to characterize the leaching behavior of DF. The filter verified the occurrence of leaching through diffusion, and was successful in predicting the leaching behavior of DF at 50°C and 70°C.
authors.affiliation: a Department of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering , American University of Beirut , Beirut , Lebanon.
authors.forename: Walid
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-5728-5663
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Saad
authors.affiliation: b Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering , American University of Beirut , Beirut , Lebanon.
authors.forename: Wael
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-6860-2652
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Slika
authors.affiliation: c Department of Mechanical Engineering , American University of Beirut , Beirut , Lebanon.
authors.forename: Zara
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0003-2042-5826
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Mawla
authors.affiliation: b Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering , American University of Beirut , Beirut , Lebanon.
authors.forename: George
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-5938-6265
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Saad
mesh_terms: D004008:Diclofenac / Q000737:chemistry*; D007220:Industrial Waste / Q000032:analysis; D020959:Polyethylene / Q000032:analysis / Q000737:chemistry*; D011126:Polypropylenes / Q000032:analysis / Q000737:chemistry*; D059027:Recycling; D012037:Refuse Disposal / Q000379:methods; D062611:Solid Waste / Q000032:analysis
chemical_list: D007220:Industrial Waste; D011126:Polypropylenes; D062611:Solid Waste; D004008:Diclofenac; D020959:Polyethylene
keywords: Ensemble Kalman Filter; Pharmaceutical waste; diclofenac; diffusion leaching; pharmaceuticals disposal