|
|
Article: Waste anaesthetic gas disposal system.
- Article from:
- New Materials Japan
- Article date:
- May 1, 2002
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2002 International Newsletters. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
|
Showa Denko KK (SDK) has developed, in co-operation with the Kyushu University Hospital, a system for disposing of waste anaesthetic gases at hospitals. A mixture of nitrous oxide and volatile anaesthetic after use in general inhalation anaesthesia is 99.5% decomposed and treated in the newly developed equipment, known as Anesclean. The waste anaesthetic gases are currently discharged into the air untreated.
Nitrous oxide is a greenhouse gas with an effect approximately 300 times that of carbon dioxide, and which is extremely stable in the atmosphere with a half-life of around 150 years. Although nitrous oxide's share of the total greenhouse gas emission in Japan ...