Scientists at the University of the Philippines Visayas (UPV) have developed a technology for waste disposal in hospitals known as Oil-Based Thermal Disinfection (OBTD) Technology.
The OBTD Technology was produced to treat infectious and pathological hospital wastes. It also seeks to address the lack of waste treatment facilities in several areas in the Philippines, specifically in Western Visayas.
This technology was funded by the Department of Science and Technology and a spin-off company – FILARB Waste Management Services – has emerged from the technology development and commercialization project as part of its sustainability plan.
FILARB Waste Management Services was officially registered as a company in September 2023. Its founder is Dr. Ramer Bautista, a faculty member of the UPV School of Technology.
The OBTD Technology is the first of its kind in the world, and The Medical City Iloilo is the first to avail of it.
While the OBTD is the flagship technology of FILARB, its research team is also implementing small projects on biodiesel production from used cooking oil, biogas production from food waste, utilization of waste from engineered bamboo production, bamboo briquette production, and development of technologies on pyrolysis, drying, and other waste utilization methods.
Most of the non-burn disinfection technologies employ 121°C temperature, while the OBTD operates at 170-200°C to ensure better disinfection in a shorter time, without the complexity of operation such as high pressure and gas-tight systems.
This is achieved using coconut or vegetable oil as a heating medium, which can easily be heated up to 200-220°C at atmospheric pressure. This simple method has become the basis of the commercial-scale equipment installed at TMCI, whose leadership believes in this innovation and is willing to be a partner in pioneering a new technology.
FILARB, TMCI, and UPV envision this technology to solve the healthcare waste problem in Western Visayas and even in regions in the Philippines that have no available treatment. (With sources from FILARB)
