Drug product immobilization in polyethylene-polypropylene matrices for the treatment of pharmaceutical wastes.

Abstract

Plastic products and pharmaceuticals are both problematic when it comes to the end of their lifecycle, non-recyclable plastic wastes presents serious environmental risks when improperly disposed into the environment; while, active pharmaceutical ingredients have raised a major concern in last two decades, particularly after being detected in surface and ground water at trace concentrations in several parts of the world, triggering potential ecological damage. Combining both elements in one package by transforming plastic and pharmaceutical wastes into a potentially useful material is desirable, and follows a cradle-to-cradle circular economy approach, thus reducing the environmental risks while providing a useful function. This study explores the potential of using recycled plastic material reclaimed from municipal solid waste as a method for immobilizing expired pharmaceutical waste. Mechanical properties and leaching tests were conducted on the reclaimed plastic material containing expired medication. The material properties were comparable to expanded poly(vinyl chloride), which highlights its potential usage in similar applications. Tests were conducted following ASTM guidelines. Pharmaceuticals leaching tests were conducted to identify the leaching mechanism, and a Kalman filter model used to predict the leaching behavior over a period of five years under weather conditions typical for Beirut, Lebanon. The material proved to have limited leaching over a prolonged period. Based on the data obtained, active pharmaceutical ingredient leaching occurs by diffusion from the plastic matrix. Finally, in addition to the containment of the pharmaceuticals in their solid form, their elimination from solution was also assessed. A novel approach of combining advanced oxidation processes and flash NanoPrecipitation (FNP), a recently developed micromixing technique, was compared against common batch techniques. Carbamazepine and Sulfamethoxazole degradation was evaluated using a chemically activated persulfate system thr