Plastics to fuel or plastics: Life cycle assessment-based evaluation of different options for pyrolysis at end-of-life

Das, Sabyasachi; Liang, Chao; Dunn, Jennifer B.

doi:10.1016/j.wasman.2022.08.015

Cited by 24 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 17 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…In the United States, landfilling is much more common than in the EU where several countries adopted landfill bans, and incineration with energy recovery is the dominant EOL fate for waste plastics. Emission and impact credits from landfilling are much smaller in comparison to incineration; therefore, LCAs for chemical recycling in the United States compared to the EU are likely to be more challenged . LCAs of plastics recycling should include GHG emissions and energy consumption along with a broad set of impact categories, such as ecosystem toxicity and human health, resources, water and air quality, and so on.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Emission and impact credits from landfilling are much smaller in comparison to incineration; therefore, LCAs for chemical recycling in the United States compared to the EU are likely to be more challenged. 76 LCAs of plastics recycling should include GHG emissions and energy consumption along with a broad set of impact categories, such as ecosystem toxicity and human health, resources, water and air quality, and so on. Particular attention to waste plastics leakage to terrestrial and marine environmental should also be included in LCAs.…”

Section: ■ Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Material Flow Analysis and Life Cycle Assessment of Polyethylene Terephthalate and Polyolefin Plastics Supply Chains in the United States

Chaudhari

Johnson

Reck

et al. 2022

ACS Sustainable Chem. Eng.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Plastics are useful and beneficial materials that contribute to an improved quality of life, yet they generate significant solid wastes and emissions and consume significant energy resources. Systems analysis is incomplete on current linear production systems of plastics supply chains and their associated processes. Our study combines material flow and life cycle assessment data sets of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and the main polyolefin polymers in the United States, comprising over 70% of plastics flows. This study estimates the total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and energy consumption of these supply chains, including transportation and end-of-life processes, lacking in prior studies. We calculate annual GHG emissions and energy consumption of these plastic supply chains to be 101 MMT CO2-eq and 3248 PJ in 2019, respectively. The GHG emissions of these supply chains represented 1.5% of the total U.S. emissions and 5% of the total U.S. industry-related GHG emissions. The total energy consumption of these supply chains represented 3.1% of the total U.S. energy consumption in 2019. Transportation of PET and polyolefin plastic materials contributes 5% and 2% to the total supply chain GHG emissions and energy consumption, respectively. This baseline study provides a benchmark and enables a comparison to future circular production systems for plastics in the United States.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: ■ Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Material Flow Analysis and Life Cycle Assessment of Polyethylene Terephthalate and Polyolefin Plastics Supply Chains in the United States

Chaudhari

Johnson

Reck

et al. 2022

ACS Sustainable Chem. Eng.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Chemical recycling has recently gained attention for providing valuable feedstock that could replace fossil resources and help transition to a circular carbon economy, − thereby avoiding the environmental impacts of incinerating and landfilling wP. − For instance, waste polyethylene and polypropylene can undergo pyrolysis to recover their respective monomers − or gasification to produce synthesis gas (a mixture of H 2 , CO, and CO 2 ), widespread in chemical production. , Although monomers should be the ultimate goal in chemical recycling, the gasification route appears easier to implement, is more mature, and can handle mixed-polymer inlet streams …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Environmental Sustainability Assessment of Hydrogen from Waste Polymers

Salah

Cobo

Pérez‐Ramírez

et al. 2023

ACS Sustainable Chem. Eng.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The rising demand for single-use polymers calls for alternative waste treatment pathways to ensure a circular economy. Here, we explore hydrogen production from waste polymer gasification (wPG) to reduce the environmental impacts of plastic incineration and landfilling while generating a valuable product. We assess the carbon footprint of 13 H2 production routes and their environmental sustainability relative to the planetary boundaries (PBs) defined for seven Earth-system processes, covering H2 from waste polymers (wP; polyethylene, polypropylene, and polystyrene), and a set of benchmark technologies including H2 from natural gas, biomass, and water splitting. Our results show that wPG coupled with carbon capture and storage (CCS) could reduce the climate change impact of fossil-based and most electrolytic routes. Moreover, due to the high price of wP, wPG would be more expensive than its fossil- and biomass-based analogs but cheaper than the electrolytic routes. The absolute environmental sustainability assessment (AESA) revealed that all pathways would transgress at least one downscaled PB, yet a portfolio was identified where the current global H2 demand could be met without transgressing any of the studied PBs, which indicates that H2 from plastics could play a role until chemical recycling technologies reach a sufficient maturity level.

show abstract

“…Only 10 percent of the total plastic waste is generated in the world. Still, it is recycled through various methods such as thermo‐chemical recycling, [8] catalytic pyrolysis cracking, [1–3,10] fast catalytic pyrolysis, [5] pyrolysis, [7,11–12] The pyrolysis process has been entering commercial‐scale operations, including Brightmark's yearly 1 lakh ton waste‐plastic facility under construction in India, [13] situ micro‐scale pyrolysis, [5] recycling, [8] thermal catalytic, [10] integrated pyrolysis method [14] . Meanwhile, pyrolysis can convert waste plastics to renewable hydrocarbon fractions or petrochemicals [1–3,11,15–16] .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A BaCO₃ Nanomaterial for Pyrolysis of Sustainable Waste and Virgin Polystyrene into Green Aromatic Derivatives

Singh¹

2023

ChemistrySelect

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Green aromatic derivatives (GADs) were obtained from waste polystyrene thermocol (WPST) and virgin polystyrene (VPS) through pyrolysis using BaCO3 (Barium carbonate nanomaterial). BaCO3 nanomaterial was synthesized in the laboratory, and their properties were characterized through XRD, EDX, and SEM. WPST and VPS were analyzed through TGA for thermal stability, and FT‐IR determined the functional groups. GADs obtained from WPST and VPS were analyzed through GC‐MS‐MS and FT‐IR. GADs were analyzed through GC‐MS‐MS and found their results were aromatic derivatives (99.29 % from VPS, while 88.77 % from WPST) and aliphatic (0.29 % from VPS, while 11.23 % from WPST). In the first experiment, 95 g VPS plastics and 5 g BaCO3 were used; the recovered quantities of liquid GADs, py‐gases, and residues amount to 90 %, 9.9 %, and 0.12 %. In the second experiment, 93 % liquid GADs, 6.85 % py‐gases (pyrolysis gases), and 0.15 % residue from 70 g VPS+20 g WTPS and 10 g BaCO3 were obtained. In the third experiment, 85 % GADs, 14.82 % py‐gases, and 0.18 % residue from 100 g WTPS without catalyst were collected. GADs were successfully obtained without any problem. GADs can be used as raw materials in chemical industries and refineries.

show abstract

Plastics to fuel or plastics: Life cycle assessment-based evaluation of different options for pyrolysis at end-of-life

Cited by 24 publications

References 17 publications

Material Flow Analysis and Life Cycle Assessment of Polyethylene Terephthalate and Polyolefin Plastics Supply Chains in the United States

Material Flow Analysis and Life Cycle Assessment of Polyethylene Terephthalate and Polyolefin Plastics Supply Chains in the United States

Environmental Sustainability Assessment of Hydrogen from Waste Polymers

A BaCO₃ Nanomaterial for Pyrolysis of Sustainable Waste and Virgin Polystyrene into Green Aromatic Derivatives

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About

Plastics to fuel or plastics: Life cycle assessment-based evaluation of different options for pyrolysis at end-of-life

Cited by 24 publications

References 17 publications

Material Flow Analysis and Life Cycle Assessment of Polyethylene Terephthalate and Polyolefin Plastics Supply Chains in the United States

Material Flow Analysis and Life Cycle Assessment of Polyethylene Terephthalate and Polyolefin Plastics Supply Chains in the United States

Environmental Sustainability Assessment of Hydrogen from Waste Polymers

A BaCO3 Nanomaterial for Pyrolysis of Sustainable Waste and Virgin Polystyrene into Green Aromatic Derivatives

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About

A BaCO₃ Nanomaterial for Pyrolysis of Sustainable Waste and Virgin Polystyrene into Green Aromatic Derivatives