Economic and Environmental Assessment of Plastic Waste Pyrolysis Products and Biofuels as Substitutes for Fossil-Based Fuels

Abstract

The global economy is shifting toward more sustainable sources of energy. The transportation sector is a remarkable example of this fact, where biofuels have emerged as promising alternatives to traditional fossil fuels. This work presents a techno-economic and environmental assessment of existing liquid fuels in hard-to-decarbonize sectors and their emerging renewable substitutes. The comparison focuses on fossil-based, biomass-derived, and plastic waste-sourced fuel alternatives that can be used in spark-ignition (gasoline) and compression-ignition (diesel) engines. Results for diesel substitutes prove the superior performance of plastic waste pyrolysis oil in terms of production cost reduction (−25% compared to diesel) and “well-to-tank” life cycle impact reduction (−54% human health, −40% ecosystems, −98% resources). Consequently, research and development toward the conversion of plastic waste into fuels should be extended to make the technology more accessible and robust in terms of fuel quality. On the contrary, the results for gasoline alternatives are not as conclusive: bioethanol and ethanol from plastic pyrolysis have a considerably lower impact on resource scarcity than gasoline (−80% and −35% respectively) and higher on the other two life cycle endpoint categories, but they have higher production costs compared to gasoline (+57% and +130% respectively). While blends of gasoline with pyrolysis-sourced ethanol can reduce the impact on human health and ecosystems, blends with bioethanol have a lower impact on resource scarcity and increase economic profitability. This allows fuel providers to offer tradeoff solutions in the form of blends based on their priorities.

Thermochemical Valorization of Waste Plastic for Production of Synthetic Fuels, Fine Chemicals, and Carbon Nanotubes

“…Notably, the main contribution to the cost of production is the cost of waste PE, more specifically, the sorting cost. The TEA by Pacheco-López and co-workers also indicated that pyrolysis oil obtained from catalytic low temperature pyrolysis of PP was the most economically profitable diesel alternative compared with fossil diesel and biodiesel. Yousef et al also carried out TEA and compared the different thermochemical conversion processes using surgical mask waste as feedstock, obtaining pyrolysis oil and syn gas.…”

“…Substantial reductions for impacts on human health and ecosystem quality were also attained. Furthermore, according to the LCA performed by Pacheco-Loṕez and co-workers, 225 plastic waste pyrolysis oil (WPO) was the most environmental diesel alternative compared to fossil diesel and biodiesel. It was revealed that the production of WPO from catalytic low temperature pyrolysis of PP had low emissions due to the simplicity of its process and low energy demand.…”

A review on catalytic pyrolysis of municipal plastic waste

“…is higher than petroleum products, and is the main barrier against the commercialization of MPW pyrolysis (Villalobos et al, 2006). For example, Pacheco‐Lopez et al (2021) conducted an economic assessment of ethanol production from plastic pyrolysis used as a gasoline alternative, and its production cost is 130% higher than fossil‐based gasoline. Many countries have ambitious zero‐carbon targets to mitigate climate change and are on the way to systematically shifting toward more sustainable waste management, where chemical recycling will be prioritized (Bauer et al, 2022).…”

Evaluating Economic and Environmental Impact of A Plastic Waste Processing Industry nased on Circular Economy using Benefit-Cost Analysis

“…Recently, researchers have begun to examine the potential of the pyrolysis process as an alternative to waste management (Czajczyńska et al 2017). In the pyrolysis process, plastic waste is heated to produce oil that can substitute for fuel oil (Csukás et al 2013;Mangesh et al 2020;Pacheco-López et al 2021;Wu et al 2017).…”