Chlorinated plastics offer unique opportunities and challenges in upcycling

Abstract

Chlorinated plastics are part of the everyday lives of consumers and producers alike. They can be found in buildings, automobiles, fashion, packaging, and many other places. This prevalence makes them a considerable part of the plastic waste crisis. Interest in “upcycling” (as opposed to recycling) has grown recently to augment the possibilities of managing plastic waste. The advances made in plastic upcycling have focused on polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and polystyrene (PS) while chlorinated plastics, chiefly polyvinyl chloride (PVC), have received much less attention. The release of chlorine‐containing molecules during treatment of chlorinated plastic greatly complicates cross‐method upcycling, or even the treatment of plastic mixes containing chlorinated plastics. This review presents a case for extracting value from chlorinated plastics by highlighting appealing upcycling products made owing to, or despite, the C‐Cl bond via depolymerization, carbonization and modification.This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Impacts associated with the plastic polymers polycarbonate, polystyrene, polyvinyl chloride, and polybutadiene across their life cycle: A review

“…Importantly, this effect of polymer has been found to be independent of leached chemicals and particle size/shape, with an independent effect of leached chemicals and particle size/shape also demonstrated. Furthermore, chlorinated polymers like PVC pose unique challenges, including in end-of-life management, compared to other plastics [ 65 ].…”