High-value utilization of mask and heavy fraction of bio-oil: From hazardous waste to biochar, bio-oil, and graphene films

At present, it is very common to wear mask outdoors in order to avoid coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19) infection. However, this leads to the formation of numerous plastic wastes that threaten humans and ecosystem. Against this major background, a novel co-pyrolysis coupled chemical vapor deposition (CVD) strategy is proposed to systematically convert mask and heavy fraction of bio-oil (HB) into biochar, bio-oil, and three-dimensional graphene films (3DGFs) is proposed. The biochar exhibits high higher heating value (HHV) (33.22–33.75 MJ/kg) and low ash content (2.34%), which is obviously superior to that of the walnut shell and anthracite coal. The bio-oil contains rich aromatic components, such as 1,2-dimethylbenzene and 2-methylnaphthalene, which can be used as chemical feedstock for insecticides. Furthermore, the 3DGF(800) has a wide range of applications in the fields of oil spill cleanup and oil/water separation according to its fire resistance, high absorbability (40–89 g g(-1)) and long-term cycling stability. This research sheds new light on converting plastic wastes and industrial by-products into high added-value chemicals.