Waste Management World is reporting that a Japanese research group has announced successful early development of a clinical waste management process using titanium dioxide (TiO2) to treat pre-shredded clinical wastes at 450 – 500C.

Headline claims announce that the process produces only water and CO2, reducing the carbon footprint of standard incineration technologies. The process requires that toxic gasses will be neutralized but no detail is provided to assess the extent or cost of this additional requirement.

As always, the devil is in the detail. TiO2 is highly reactive and toxic; it is possibly carcinogenic to humans. The process can manage only 7 tonnes waste per month– unless it can scaled up, there is definitely little future but it is understood that there are possible applications also in the treatment of WEEE and recovery of rare metals.

http://www.waste-management-world.com/index/from-the-wires/wire-news-display/1302949929.html