Abstract
It is widely accepted that plastic waste is one of the most urgent environmental concerns the world is currently facing. The emergence of bio-based plastics provides an opportunity to reduce dependency on fossil fuels and transition to a more circular plastics economy. For polyethylene terephthalate (PET), one of the most prevalent plastics in packaging and textiles, two bio-based alternatives exist that are similar or superior in terms of material properties and recyclability. These are polyethylene furanoate (PEF) and polytrimethylene terephthalate (PTT). The overarching aim of this study was to examine the transition from fossil-based to renewable plastics, through the lens of PET upcycling into PEF and PTT. The process for the production of PEF and PTT from three waste feed streams was developed in the SuperPro Designer software and the economic viability assessed via a discounted cumulative cash flow (DCCF) analysis. A techno-economic analysis of the designed process revealed that the minimum selling price (MSP) of second generation-derived PEF and PTT is 3.13 USD/kg, and that utilities and the feedstock used for the production of 2,5-furandicarboxylic acid (FDCA) needed in PEF synthesis contributed the most to the process operating costs. The effect of recycling PEF and PTT through the process at three recycling rates (42%, 50% and 55%) was investigated and it was revealed that increased recycling could reduce the MSP of the 2G bio-plastics (by 48.5%) to 1.61 USD/kg. This demonstrates that the plastic biorefinery, together with increasing recycling rates, would have a beneficial effect on the economic viability of upcycled plastics.
Highlights
The projected amount of global plastic waste is 500 million tonnes by 2030, of which the majority is food packaging, comprising 60% of all coastal waste [1]
The designed process resulted in the production of 59,000 and 53,000 tpa polyethylene furanoate (PEF) and polytrimethylene terephthalate (PTT), respectively, from waste streams of 68,000 tpa polyethylene terephthalate (PET), 132,000 tpa cellulose and 65,000 tpa crude glycerol
The minimum selling price (MSP) of PEF and PTT was calculated using a discounted cumulative cash flow (DCCF) analysis, and this was compared to the selling price (SP) of conventional PET
Summary
The projected amount of global plastic waste is 500 million tonnes by 2030, of which the majority is food packaging, comprising 60% of all coastal waste [1]. This has severe detrimental effects on the environment and human health. A system for the production and use of plastics that is more circular in nature-namely the circular economy-will result in a decrease in plastic production and waste [3]. In this system, the majority of plastic should be reusable or recyclable. It is estimated that 95% of the value of plastic packaging material is lost already after the first use [5]
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