I’ve had this question for a while but never wanted the answer bc being unanswered made it a fascinating topic. But now I kind wanna know lol.

Please don’t turn the comment section into anything controversial people.

  • Assassassin@lemmy.dbzer0.com
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    7
    ·
    23 hours ago

    Per the Wikipedia article on biomedical waste:

    Biomedical waste is often incinerated. An efficient incinerator will destroy pathogens and sharps. Source materials are not recognizable in the resulting ash. Alternative thermal treatment can also include technologies such as gasification[13] and pyrolysis including energy recovery with similar waste volume reductions and pathogen destruction.

    An autoclave may also be used to treat biomedical waste. An autoclave uses steam and pressure to sterilize the waste or reduce its microbiological load to a level at which it may be safely disposed of.

    Microwave disinfection can also be employed for treatment of biomedical wastes. Microwave irradiation is a type of non-contact heating technologies for disinfection. Microwave chemistry is based on efficient heating of materials by microwave dielectric heating effects. When exposed to microwave frequencies, the dipoles of the water molecules present in cells re-align with the applied electric field. As the field oscillates, the dipoles attempts to realign itself with the alternating electric field and in this process, energy is lost in the form of heat through molecular friction and dielectric loss.

    For liquids and small quantities, a 1–10% solution of bleach can be used to disinfect biomedical waste. Solutions of sodium hydroxide and other chemical disinfectants may also be used, depending on the waste’s characteristics.

    Sooooo, burn it, almost burn it with steam, almost burn it with radio waves, or chemically burn it.