Recommendations for life-cycle assessment of recyclable plastics in a circular economy

Nordahl, Sarah L.; Scown, Corinne D.

doi:10.1039/d4sc01340a

Chem. Sci.

2024

DOI: 10.1039/d4sc01340a

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Recommendations for life-cycle assessment of recyclable plastics in a circular economy

Sarah L. Nordahl,

Corinne D. Scown

Abstract: Technologies that enable plastic circularity offer a path to reducing waste generation, improving environmental quality, and reducing reliance on fossil feedstocks. However, life-cycle assessment (LCA) methods commonly applied to these...

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Cited by 8 publications

References 74 publications

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Chemical upcycling of polyolefins into liquid refinery feedstock from the circularity and chemical engineering aspects

Aydogdu,

Erkmen,

Suerkan

et al. 2024

Journal of Environmental Chemical Engineering

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Chemical upcycling of polyolefins into liquid refinery feedstock from the circularity and chemical engineering aspects

Aydogdu,

Erkmen,

Suerkan

et al. 2024

Journal of Environmental Chemical Engineering

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Global projections of plastic use, end-of-life fate and potential changes in consumption, reduction, recycling and replacement with bioplastics to 2050

Dokl,

Copot,

Krajnc

et al. 2024

Sustainable Production and Consumption

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Tracking Chain Populations and Branching Structure during Polyethylene Deconstruction Processes

Balzer,

Hinton,

Vance

et al. 2024

ACS Cent. Sci.

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Catalytic deconstruction has emerged as a promising solution to valorize polyethylene (PE) waste into valuable products, such as oils, fuels, surfactants, and lubricants. Unfortunately, commercialization has been hampered by inadequate optimization of PE deconstruction due to an inability to either truly characterize the polymer transformations or adjust catalytic conditions to match the ever-evolving product distribution and associated property changes. To address these challenges, a detailed analysis of molar mass distributions and thermal characterization was developed herein and applied to low-density polyethylene (LDPE) deconstruction to enable more thorough identification of polymer chain characteristics within the solids (e.g., changes in molar mass or branching structure). For example, LDPE hydrocracking exhibited comparable rates of polymer chain isomerization and C−C bond scission, and the solids generated possessed a broadened molar mass distribution with a disappearance of a significant fraction of highly linear segments, indicating polymer-structure-dependent interactions with the catalyst. Solids analysis from pyrolysis yielded starkly different results, as the resulting solids were devoid of unreacted polymer chains and had a narrowed molar mass distribution even at short times (e.g., 0.2 h). By tracking the polymeric deconstruction behavior as a function of reaction type, time, and catalyst design, we mapped critical pathways toward PE valorization.

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Recommendations for life-cycle assessment of recyclable plastics in a circular economy

Abstract: Technologies that enable plastic circularity offer a path to reducing waste generation, improving environmental quality, and reducing reliance on fossil feedstocks. However, life-cycle assessment (LCA) methods commonly applied to these...

Cited by 8 publications

References 74 publications

Chemical upcycling of polyolefins into liquid refinery feedstock from the circularity and chemical engineering aspects

Chemical upcycling of polyolefins into liquid refinery feedstock from the circularity and chemical engineering aspects

Global projections of plastic use, end-of-life fate and potential changes in consumption, reduction, recycling and replacement with bioplastics to 2050

Tracking Chain Populations and Branching Structure during Polyethylene Deconstruction Processes

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