Abstract
Over the past few decades, life cycle assessment (LCA) has been established as a critical tool for the evaluation of the environmental burdens of chemical processes and materials cycles. The increasing amount of plastic solid waste (PSW) in landfills has raised serious concern worldwide for the most effective treatment. Thermochemical post-treatment processes, such as pyrolysis, seem to be the most appropriate method to treat this type of waste in an effective manner. This is because such processes lead to the production of useful chemicals, or hydrocarbon oil of high calorific value (i.e. bio-oil in the case of pyrolysis). LCA appears to be the most appropriate tool for the process design from an environmental context. However, addressed limitations including initial assumptions, functional unit and system boundaries, as well as lack of regional database and exclusion of socio-economic aspects, may hinder the final decision. This review aims to address the benefits of pyrolysis as a method for PSW treatment and raise the limitations and gaps of conducted research via an environmental standpoint.
Highlights
Production of plastics has increased drastically over the past century, from a mere 1.3 million tonnes in 1950 to >322 million tonnes in 2015 (PE 2016)
Plastic solid waste remains one of the major concerns globally due to the environmental impact, as it can lead to long-term soil and groundwater pollution
Pre-treatment and recycling have been proven beneficial for reducing their impact, the increasing amounts of plastic waste and the low percentage used as recyclable plastic highlight the importance of post-treatment of the plastic solid waste (PSW)
Summary
Production of plastics has increased drastically over the past century, from a mere 1.3 million tonnes in 1950 to >322 million tonnes in 2015 (PE 2016). Within the European Economic Area (EEA) agreement countries, there is a significant number of industrial partners that utilise thermal waste-to-fuel (WtF) technologies including Cynar plc, Plastoil, Promeco, Syngas Products Group, Plastic Energy, Recycling Technologies and Enval Ltd (Haig et al 2017) Amongst these companies, Syngas Products Group Ltd focuses on nonrecyclable waste feedstock to energy, while utilising a combined process of pyrolysis-gasification for the synthesis of renewable gas of high calorific value. The study of Zaman (2013) concluded that the global warming potential of pyrolysis-gasification process of the MSW was 1000.153 kg CO2-eq/tMSW compared with the 40.04723 kg CO2-eq/tMSW in case of landfill, despite the benefits for energy production via pyrolysis of the MSW These results could be related to the GHG impact of the harmful residue of the pyrolytic process leading to productions of carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide during decomposition of final residue. Life cycle impact assessment (LCIA): The impact and burdens are evaluated in this stage with a set magnitude and value with the aid of impact indicators
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
