Valorisation of polylactic acid (PLA) waste: A comparative life cycle assessment of various solvent-based chemical recycling technologies

Aryan, Venkat; Maga, Daniel; Majgaonkar, Pranav; Hanich, Ronny

doi:10.1016/j.resconrec.2021.105670

Cited by 46 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 44 publications

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“…Although mechanical recycling has a smaller carbon footprint, the quality of recyclate will vary, as dyes and additives will remain in the recycled material. According to a recent study from Aryan et al, chemical recycling of PLA via hydrolysis and via alcoholysis with either methanol or ethanol all have life cycle nonbiogenic GHG emissions of around 1.5 kg CO 2eq per kg of PLA waste excluding substitution credits for final products, making PLA upcycling with DMC a slightly less emission-intensive recycling option …”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…According to a recent study from Aryan et al, chemical recycling of PLA via hydrolysis and via alcoholysis with either methanol or ethanol all have life cycle nonbiogenic GHG emissions of around 1.5 kg CO 2eq per kg of PLA waste excluding substitution credits for final products, making PLA upcycling with DMC a slightly less emission-intensive recycling option. 46 Unlike Scenario 1, Scenarios 2 and 3 consider a stream that is 90% PET with 10% PLA contamination. Both Scenarios 2 and 3 offer the opportunity to produce a higher quality, more pure PET stream for mechanical recycling while also upcycling PLA.…”

Section: Methanolysis Kinetics With [Htbd]mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Solvent-Assisted Poly(lactic acid) Upcycling under Mild Conditions

Hubble

Nordahl

Zhu

et al. 2023

ACS Sustainable Chem. Eng.

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Poly(lactic acid) (PLA) is a biosourced green plastic derived from natural sources that can replace polyolefins in many applications; however, it is seldom recycled. PLA is a prime candidate for chemical recycling by depolymerization, which produces valuable commodity chemicals and/or fresh monomer for new production, compared to mechanical/thermal reprocessing which produces lesser-quality resin. A scalable, low-cost depolymerization process could render PLA the premier choice for designed-to-be-recycled products in a future circular plastics economy. Here, we report a novel process for depolymerization of PLA under mild conditions using alcoholysis with ionic liquid catalysts in the presence of dimethyl (or diethyl) carbonate as a green solvent, along with critical technoeconomic analysis of the potential impact of this process. The effects of catalyst structures, the solvent system, and PLA resin type on conversion and yield were studied. The reaction kinetics were statistically analyzed with experimental and modeling data, suggesting a fast first-order reaction in PLA degradation. Predictive modeling results based on empirical data further guide the design of scenarios and potential for practical application.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Methanolysis Kinetics With [Htbd]mentioning

confidence: 99%

Solvent-Assisted Poly(lactic acid) Upcycling under Mild Conditions

Hubble

Nordahl

Zhu

et al. 2023

ACS Sustainable Chem. Eng.

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“…The system boundary for carbon footprint calculations (kg CO 2 -equiv) starts when the nonhousehold end-use plastic film waste is selectively collected from urban areas (in different collection frequencies). Starting with the zero burden assumption of the waste, , the selectively collected nonhousehold end-use plastic film waste will be transported to a recycling facility (hub), which is assumed to be located at the Port of Ghent–Belgium. The functional unit of this calculation is defined as 1 tonne of rPE basic/advanced produced through mechanical recycling.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Method to Develop Potential Business Cases of Plastic Recycling from Urban Areas: A Case Study on Nonhousehold End-Use Plastic Film Waste in Belgium

Lase,

Frei,

Gong

et al. 2023

ACS Sustainable Chem. Eng.

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Waste management of nonhousehold end-use plastic waste receives considerably less attention compared to household waste. This article develops and applies a cost-benefit analysis model to develop potential business cases for selective collection and mechanical recycling scenarios of nonhousehold end-use plastic film waste from urban areas considering the City of Ghent in Belgium and 12 municipalities nearby as a case study. Three different collection frequencies (weekly, fortnightly, and monthly) and two different mechanical recycling plant layouts (basic and advanced configuration) are considered. Data on waste quantity, composition, and economic parameters are collected from real sampling from urban areas combined with information from the literature. In the most favorable scenarios, results show that the annual costs of collecting and recycling are estimated to be in the range of €635 to €1,445/tonne output, depending on the collection frequencies and plant configurations. Mechanical recycling yields 48−77% regranulates, depending on the plant configuration and feedstock quality. Scale is essential for plastic recycling plant development; a positive net economic balance (ranging from €5 to €537/tonne output) is achieved when at least 10 500 tonnes/year of waste is collected (fortnightly or monthly) and processed. The recycling systems become economically more effective as the processing capacity increases. It is imperative to maintain high feedstock quality as recycling systems become economically less favorable when the residue content in the collected plastic film waste exceeds 30−35%. A greenhouse gas emission calculation indicates that minimizing residue and promoting high-quality feedstock from collected waste are the key to increasing the carbon footprint savings of recycling.

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“…However, recycling of the PLA/PC blends is still in its early stages. Post-consumer recycling of the PLA/PC blends has been simulated in a few works [ 24 , 25 ], and the results clearly showed that aging corresponding to one year of use leads to the significant degradation of PLA, resulting in a reduced elongation at break. In addition, the content of PLA as a biopolymer in the PLA/PC blends should be as high as possible once performance requirements are met, which is helpful in reducing the environmental impact [ 26 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Upcycling of Poly(Lactic Acid) by Reactive Extrusion with Recycled Polycarbonate: Morphological and Mechanical Properties of Blends

et al. 2022

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Poly(lactic acid) (PLA) is one of the most promising renewable polymers to be employed to foster ecological and renewable materials in many fields of application. To develop high-performance products, however, the thermal resistance and the impact properties should be improved. At the same time, it is also necessary to consider the end of life through the exploration of property assessment, following reprocessing. In this context the aim of the paper is to develop PLA/PC blends, obtained from recycled materials, in particular scraps from secondary processing, to close the recycling loop. Indeed, the blending of PLA with polycarbonate (PC) was demonstrated to be a successful strategy to improve thermomechanical properties that happens after several work cycles. The correlation between the compositions and properties was then investigated by considering the morphology of the blends; in addition, the reactive extrusions resulting in the formation of a PLA-PC co-polymer were investigated. The materials obtained are then examined by means of a dynamic-mechanical analysis (DMTA) to study the relaxations and transitions.

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Valorisation of polylactic acid (PLA) waste: A comparative life cycle assessment of various solvent-based chemical recycling technologies

Cited by 46 publications

References 44 publications

Solvent-Assisted Poly(lactic acid) Upcycling under Mild Conditions

Solvent-Assisted Poly(lactic acid) Upcycling under Mild Conditions

Method to Develop Potential Business Cases of Plastic Recycling from Urban Areas: A Case Study on Nonhousehold End-Use Plastic Film Waste in Belgium

Upcycling of Poly(Lactic Acid) by Reactive Extrusion with Recycled Polycarbonate: Morphological and Mechanical Properties of Blends

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