Non-recyclable Plastic Research Articles

Waste to Value-Added Product: Developing Electrically Conductive Nanocomposites Using a Non-Recyclable Plastic Waste Containing Vulcanized Rubber.

This study intends to show the potential application of a non-recyclable plastic waste towards the development of electrically conductive nanocomposites. Herein, the conductive nanofiller and binding matrix are carbon nanotubes (CNT) and polystyrene (PS), respectively, and the waste material is a plastic foam consisting of mainly vulcanized nitrile butadiene rubber and polyvinyl chloride (PVC). Two nanocomposite systems, i.e., PS/Waste/CNT and PS/CNT, with different compositions were melt-blended in a mixer and characterized for electrical properties. Higher electrical conduction and improved electromagnetic interference shielding performance in PS/Waste/CNT system indicated better conductive network of CNTs. For instance, at 1.0 wt.% CNT loading, the PS/Waste/CNT nanocomposites with the plastic waste content of 30 and 50 wt.% conducted electricity 3 and 4 orders of magnitude higher than the PS/CNT nanocomposite, respectively. More importantly, incorporation of the plastic waste (50 wt.%) reduced the electrical percolation threshold by 30% in comparison with the PS/CNT nanocomposite. The enhanced network of CNTs in PS/Waste/CNT samples was attributed to double percolation morphology, evidenced by optical images and rheological tests, caused by the excluded volume effect of the plastic waste. Indeed, due to its high content of vulcanized rubber, the plastic waste did not melt during the blending process. As a result, CNTs concentrated in the PS phase, forming a denser interconnected network in PS/Waste/CNT samples.

Catalytic pyrolysis of mechanically non-recyclable waste plastics mixture: Kinetics and pyrolysis in laboratory-scale reactor

Post-consumer waste plastics that cannot be mechanically recycled represent a concerning environmental issue. According to the latest available data for Europe, as much as 25% of collected post-consumer waste plastics are landfilled, 43% is energy recovered, and 32% is recycled. One possible way of recovering non-recyclable plastics is pyrolysis, which is considered environmentally friendly technology for obtaining fuel or chemicals from plastic waste. To tackle the challenge of recovering non-recyclable plastics via pyrolysis, it is necessary to determine their actual composition. Visual separation of collected non-recyclable plastics was performed, and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy was used to confirm the accuracy of visual separation. A significant amount of plastics labelled as “other” was found. Since the composition of “other” waste plastics has not been sufficiently investigated, relatively few studies on their pyrolysis have been conducted. Therefore, they were characterised and added to the mixture with other found polymer types of non-recyclable plastics. Thermogravimetric analysis was conducted to determine thermochemical behaviour and kinetic parameters required for laboratory pyrolysis investigation. Kinetic analysis was conducted using the Friedman isoconversional model-free method and non-linear multivariate regression method. The goal of this paper was to analyse the kinetics, determine the product yield and characteristics of the pyrolysis process of non-recyclable plastics over zeolite catalysts. It was found how the decomposition of non-recyclable plastics occurs in two decomposition steps. The activation energy of non-recyclable plastics was 144 kJ/mol in the first stage of decomposition and 262 kJ/mol in the second stage of decomposition. It decreased by 34% and 6.5% after fresh fluid catalytic cracking catalyst was added and 41% and 18.3% with iron-modified Zeolite Socony Mobil-5 catalyst. The yield of condensate was 55% (wax) for the original sample, and it decreased to 50% (wax and oil) and 27% (mostly oil) with fresh fluid catalytic cracking and iron modified Zeolite Socony Mobil-5 catalysts. Processes with catalysts promoted the formation of olefins and aromatic compounds in pyrolytic oil. All pyrolysis products had a high value of higher heating value ranging from 39 MJ/kg to 43 MJ/kg showing good potential for further energy use.

Waste-to-methanol: Direct CO2 Emissions Assessment for the Methanol Production from Municipal Waste-derived Syngas

The valorization of municipal waste represents one of the major opportunities for the next future. In particular, the Organic Fraction of Municipal Solid Waste (OFMSW) can be used in anaerobic digesters to produce biogas/biomethane. Furthermore, a fraction of Municipal Solid Waste (e.g. non-recyclable plastics, paper cardboard, etc.) can be converted to Refuse Derived Fuel (RDF). Both biogas/biomethane and RDF may be further converted in syngas (a mixture of H2, CO and CO2) by using several technologies, such as steam reforming for the former, and gasification for the latter. Syngas may be used as fuel in CHP plants or for the production of chemical intermediates and fuel. The digestate derived from anaerobic digestion, as well as CO2 from biogas, can be used as nutrients source to grow microalgae, which are feedstock suitable for supercritical water gasification (SWG). In this paper, an integrated process is proposed, by coupling an anaerobic digestion plant for biomethane production with (i) high-temperature gasification of RDF and (ii) SWG of algae grown up with digestate and CO2 from biogas. The biomethane is assumed to be converted in syngas by steam reforming. Considering its importance for the chemical industry chain, methanol is considered as a target product. Methanol synthesis is assessed in terms of mass and energy balances and direct CO2 emissions. The results show that high-temperature endothermic processes require the use of purge gas as a fuel in a burner to sustain itself. The lowest direct CO2 emission value per kg of methanol produced is obtained in the case of high use of RDF, minimum recycling of CO2 to algae production and minimum purge ratio.

Achieving sustainability in the design of Plastic Products

The research focuses on achieving sustainability in the design of plastic products by limiting the use of non-reusable or non-recyclable plastic products and the use of innovative alternatives to plastics, or design products to achieve sustainability and preserve environmental resources. The problem lies in the use of plastic materials as basic materials in the product's building, which are difficult to decompose, reuse or recycle, causing waste of materials and the accumulation of mountains of waste harmful to the environment and public health. The study focused on explaining the concept, objectives, and importance of sustainability and its relationship to product design in general and plastic products in particular. In addition to, studying the importance of plastic materials in product design, the volume of its waste, production rates in different sectors, the dispose methods and presenting the most important applications and experiences of achieving sustainability in product design at many companies to reduce the use of the harmful plastic material on the resources and the environment. finally, The research reached some solutions to reduce plastic waste, the necessity of finding alternatives to single-use plastic Materials in the design, not using plastic materials without the necessary need for their characteristics in the design, and using biodegradable, re-usable, or recycling plastics in the narrowest possible limits.

Environmental impact assessment of emissions from non-recycled plastic-to-energy processes

Generally, plastics pose a variety of environmental impacts due to their increased use and non-biodegradability. End-of-life treatment is a viable way of recovering energy from plastics while at the same time reducing the amount of plastics disposed of in landfills. This paper studies the environmental impact of Non-Recycled Plastics (NRP)-to-energy processes. Three waste treatment processes were considered for NRP: pyrolysis, waste-to-energy (WtE), and landfill. The environmental impact assessment results indicated that conversion technologies such as pyrolysis and WtE are preferred over landfill. The total energy consumed in the pyrolysis process was 24635.7 MJ/tonne. The conversion technologies have a lower environmental impact and produced net positive energy from NRP. The global warming potential shows that pyrolysis (3.91 kg eq. CO2) contributes the least to global warming than waste-to-energy (18.56 kg eq. CO2) and landfill (17.5 kg eq. CO2). However, sensitivity analysis suggested that the inefficiencies of the current conversion technologies should be addressed. Between the two technologies studied, pyrolysis contributed less environmental burden, having a lower global warming potential, a higher efficiency in energy conversion, and less harmful emissions such as selenium and methane.

Evaluation of circular economy potential of plastic waste in Sri Lanka

AbstractWith increasing industrialization and high growing coastal population in Sri Lanka, plastic waste in municipal solid waste has increased tremendously over the past few decades. Plastic consumption in Sri Lanka is increasing at 16% annually with a current consumption of 265,000 megagram (Mg) per annum. If the current trends continue, a large amount of plastics will end up in an open environment threatening natural ecosystems. An attempt was carried out to understand the plastic material flow within Sri Lanka in the year 2017. Through material flow analysis, plastic material flow cycle consisting of nine processes was categorized. The plastic collection and recycling efficiencies were found to be 33% and 3%, respectively. The total quantity of plastics washed into the sea could have been approximated to 69,427 Mg. The per capita contribution is about 3.3 kg. With the integration of the plastic waste circular economy to the Renewable Energy Development Plan (2019–2025) of Sri Lanka, various scenarios were developed for the year 2025. Source segregation of plastic wastes, landfill mining to recover nonrecyclable plastics for energy production, and integration of formal and informal sectors are the three key recommendations to transform to a more vibrant circular economy.

Europe is implementing a tax on plastic

European environmentalists scored a win last summer when the European Union passed a tax of €0.80 (about $1.00) per kilogram on nonrecycled plastic packaging waste, effective Jan. 1 of this year. But the tax isn’t likely to boost recycling rates anytime soon. The tax is part of the EU’s €750 billion ($900 billion) COVID-19 economic recovery package. It’s paired with other new taxes on, for example, financial transactions and imports of carbon-intensive products. A report from Deutsche Bank says the plastics tax is meant “to create incentives for member states to reduce waste and increase recycling,” but the report authors note that the tax also has a less idealistic motive: raising about €7 billion annually to help pay for the recovery package. Even though the plastics tax is now in place, Europe’s consumers and companies that use plastics won’t necessarily see big changes right away, says Gabriel Kurt, head of

Isotope ratio mass spectrometry and spectroscopic techniques for microplastics characterization

Micro- and nano-scale plastic particles in the environment result from their direct release and degradation of larger plastic debris. Relative to macro-sized plastics, these small particles are of special concern due to their potential impact on marine, freshwater, and terrestrial systems. While microplastic (MP) pollution has been widely studied in geographic regions globally, many questions remain about its origins. It is assumed that urban environments are the main contributors but systematic studies are lacking. The absence of standard methods to characterize and quantify MPs and smaller particles in environmental and biological matrices has hindered progress in understanding their geographic origins and sources, distribution, and impact. Hence, the development and standardization of methods is needed to establish the potential environmental and human health risks. In this study, we investigated stable carbon isotope ratio mass spectrometry (IRMS), attenuated total reflectance - Fourier transform infrared (ATR-FTIR) spectroscopy, and micro-Raman spectroscopy (μ-Raman) as complementary techniques for characterization of common plastics. Plastic items selected for comparative analysis included food packaging, containers, straws, and polymer pellets. The ability of IRMS to distinguish weathered samples was also investigated using the simulated weathering conditions of ultraviolet (UV) light and heat. Our IRMS results show a difference between the δ13C values for plant-derived and petroleum-based polymers. We also found differences between plastic items composed of the same polymer but from different countries, and between some recycled and nonrecycled plastics. Furthermore, increasing δ13C values were observed after exposure to UV light. The results of the three techniques, and their advantages and limitations, are discussed.

Composite materials based on non-recyclable polyethylene

In this paper, the possibilities of creating composite materials based on cross-linked polyethylene (XPE) were investigated. The environmental benefit of recycling such polyethylene is to free up space for buildings that are now occupied by landfills. The influence of polyethylene, previously considered non-recyclable, on the strength characteristics of concrete is shown. In the course of the work, waste from the existing chemical industry was used, with varying particle sizes (0.5-15 mm). The analysis of patent information on the utilization of polyethylene in construction materials. Using mathematical planning methods, the compositions of composite materials are optimized. The volume of solid waste of non-recyclable plastic is more than 1.3 billion tons. Its decay period in the natural environment is more than 400 years. There is no world experience in the use of such waste, so the problem of its disposal is more than relevant. Thanks to the results obtained, it is possible to significantly reduce the degree of environmental pollution by waste of chemically cross-linked polyethylene, and get a new composite material for construction, a wide range of applications. The economic justification of the developed technology being introduced into mass production is presented.

국내 생활폐기물 분야 플라스틱 비재활용 처리량 요인분해 연구

플라스틱으로 인한 환경오염 피해가 늘어나고 플라스틱 재활용의 중요성이 커지고 있는 가운데, 재활용되지 않고 소각, 매립 등으로 처리되는 플라스틱 양을 줄일 필요성이 더욱 커지고 있다. 플라스틱 비재활용 처리량은 여러 복합적인 요인들에 의한 영향을 받고, 요인별 효과가 각기 다르기 때문에 이에 대한 면밀한 분석이 필요하다. 이 연구는 로그 평균 디비지아 지수(Log Mean Divisia Index; LMDI) 방법론을 활용하여 1998~2018년 기간 생활폐기물 분야에서의 플라스틱 비재활용 처리량 변화에 관한 특성을 분석하였다. LMDI 방법론은 에너지 소비 특성이나 CO2 배출 특성 연구에서 많이 활용되는 방법론이지만, 여러 장점이 많고 적용 가능성이 높아 폐기물 분야에서도 활용될 수 있다. 이 연구에서는 우리나라 생활폐기물 분야에서 발생되었으나 재활용되지 않고 처리된 플라스틱 양의 변화를 비재활용률 효과, 플라스틱 비율효과, GDP 대비 폐기물 배출량 효과, 가구당 GDP 효과, 가구인원 역수 효과, 인구 효과로 분해하고, 각 효과들이 플라스틱 비재활용 처리량에 미친 영향을 분석하였다.

The growing global plastic waste problem - lessons for environmental economics policy design and choice

Common environmental economics instruments often used in addressing waste problems have suffered paralysis when it comes to resolving the global plastic waste problem. This study illustrates the use of an Environmental Solutions Decision-making Tree (ESD-Tree), and a plastic waste market in reversing the problem. Several interesting results emerge. These include, banning non-recyclable plastic bags for which the unit cost per use of a close substitute, is less or equal to the unit cost per use of the plastic, provided production of the substitute generates at least as many jobs as the plastic bag. Next, the results revealed that producer-ran and public-ran centres introduced in the proposed plastic waste market work together to eliminate incentives for market participants to deviate from equilibrium market prices. The study derived an implementable second-best tax which internalises plastic waste externalities, and provides an imperfect restoration of the social optimum in the plastic waste market.

Top Priority to Curb Plastic Pollution: Empowering Those at the Bottom

Empowering marginalized waste pickers in developing countries is key to curbing plastic inputs to the ocean and tackling several Sustainable Development Goals. Financial mechanisms aimed at valuing non-recyclable plastic waste can trigger these workers' engagement with an expenditure lower than that of pollution impacts. But … who is going to pay the bill?

Own resources in the light of European Council Conclusions on the MFF and next generation EU

The article deals with the system of EU own resources which is currently formed by traditional own resources, VAT-based resource and GNI-based resource. The system and its potential reform have been subject of scientific and political debates for many years. On 21 July 2020, the European Council agreed on the multiannual financial framework 2021-2027 and a specific recovery instrument Next Generation EU. The European Council conclusions also confirmed the need to reform the existing system and to introduce new own resources (e.g. resource based on non-recycled plastic waste). Therefore, this article aims to elaborate on the EU own resources and their future post-2020. The methods of description, analysis, comparison, and synthesis were used for writing this contribution. First, the current system of EU budget revenue is analysed. Second, reform efforts since the establishment of the High Level Group on Own Resources are described. Third, the European Commission’s original proposal from 2018 is compared to the European Council conclusions.

Conversion of waste plastic to fuel products

Worldwide plastic production is prophesied to increase by 3.8% until 2030. Flexible and non-recyclable plastic materials are used in a wide range of applications like packaging, 3D printing, and construction. To keep out the plastic waste from landfill a potential approach is “plastic to energy”, which unlocks the chemical energy stored in it and extract fuel. Environmental issues allied with waste plastics is a worldwide concern and threat. India has apparent and substantial growth both in production and intake of plastics. Thus becoming difficult for the administration of waste plastic collection and discrimination processes. According to the Central pollution control board (CPCB), the pollution boards in India filed information on plastic waste generation in 2018–19. As per CPCB estimate of plastic waste generated in 2017–18 was approximately 660,787.85 tones, enough to fill 66,079 trucks at 10 tones per truck. This does not reflect the situation in more than 60% of India’s states and union territories. Presently, incinerators or Waste-to-energy (WTE) plants are positioned as the modus operandi for waste treatment which derives fuels from waste plastic and minimizes the solid waste sent to landfills. However, reports show that significant amounts of greenhouse gas emissions are generated from WTE systems. Therefore, pyrolysis process enlightens a well-organized, clean and operative means of not only removing plastic wreckage from the environment but also explore some innovative ways of turning waste into valuable products like Petrol, High-Speed Petrol, Diesel and Gas etc.

The Yield Prediction of Synthetic Fuel Production from Pyrolysis of Plastic Waste by Levenberg-Marquardt Approach in Feedforward Neural Networks Model.

The conversion of plastic waste into fuel by pyrolysis has been recognized as a potential strategy for commercialization. The amount of plastic waste is basically different for each country which normally refers to non-recycled plastics data; consequently, the production target will also be different. This study attempted to build a model to predict fuel production from different non-recycled plastics data. The predictive model was developed via Levenberg-Marquardt approach in feed-forward neural networks model. The optimal number of hidden neurons was selected based on the lowest total of the mean square error. The proposed model was evaluated using the statistical analysis and graphical presentation for its accuracy and reliability. The results showed that the model was capable to predict product yields from pyrolysis of non-recycled plastics with high accuracy and the output values were strongly correlated with the values in literature.

Energy Recovery from the Aged Waste in Saravan Dump Site, Rasht, Iran

Non-recycled plastic, as a recent potential source of energy, has a greater calorific value compared with most waste components. In this study, municipal solid wastes of the Saravan dumpsite were c...

Opportunities for chemical recycling to benefit from waste policy changes in the United Kingdom

Abstract Increased awareness in the United Kingdom around the issues of dealing with plastic waste, particularly non-recyclable plastics, has created political pressure to find new ways to manage this waste stream. As a result, the UK government recently convened consultations around adapting the national plastic waste management strategy in light of curtailed overseas plastic recycling. In this work, we consider the potential role that chemical recycling, such as gasification and pyrolysis, may have to play in the context of plastic waste valorization, and assess the policies and market conditions that would be required to make chemical recycling a feasible means by which to manage difficult to recycle plastic waste in the UK.

Utilization of mixed organic-plastic municipal solid waste as renewable solid fuel employing wet torrefaction

The largest obstacles in the utilization of municipal solid waste (MSW) as solid fuel in developing countries such as Indonesia are its high water content, irregular size and shape, and difficulty-to-sort due to the mix of plastic and organic waste. Based on literature study, wet torrefaction could be an appropriate pre-treatment process for mixed MSW because it requires no initial drying and mixed organic-plastic MSW can be processed without initial sorting. In this research, experiments were conducted to investigate the effect of wet torrefaction on increasing the fuel properties of mixed MSW. Based on field survey, the composition of the analyzed sample was: leaf litter (34.67%), food waste (23.33%), vegetable waste (14.33%), fruit waste (11.00%), and non-recycled plastic (16.67%). The experiments were conducted in a 2.5-L stirring reactor temperature variation (150, 175, 200 and 225 °C) with several holding times and solid loads. The result showed that wet torrefaction at a temperature of 200 °C with holding time of 30 min and solid load of 1:2.5 was the optimum condition, producing solid product with uniform physical shape, small particles and homogeneous particle size distribution, HHV of 33.01 MJ/kg and energy yield of 89%. The wet torrefaction process is not only suitable to convert the mixed MSW into renewable high energy density solid fuel, but it can also be used to produce separate organic product that can be used as solid fuel and plastic product that can be prepared for other treatments, such as pyrolysis to produce liquid fuel or recycling.

Current influence of China’s ban on plastic waste imports

The current global production of plastics is over 300 million tons, 20% of which is produced in China. It has been estimated that about 90% of the discarded plastics are not recycled. China was the world’s leading importer of waste plastics, while since January 1, 2018, China’s import ban on waste plastics has been put into force, which has had a far-reaching effect on global plastic production and solid waste management. Southeast Asian countries like Malaysia have replaced China as the leading importer of plastic wastes. As the main exporter of waste plastics, EU has released strategy and initiative about plastics to restrict the use of micro plastics and single-use plastics. Meanwhile main European counties like UK, German and France have also taken own active measures to realize the control of packaging waste and non-recycled plastic and the recycling of plastic wastes in several years. As For the US, some areas such as Seattle and San Francisco have positively responded to the global trend of plastic ban. However, the controversy over “plastic restriction” in the whole state obstructed the promulgation and implementation of the national plastic ban. On the whole, major companies and more than 60 countries all over the world have introduced levies or bans to combat single-use plastic wastes. The Chinese government began to rectify the domestic waste plastics market and the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology of China has clarified the threshold of waste plastic treatment capacity for key enterprises. In addition to landfill, direct recovery and waste to energy processes are the main disposal methods of waste plastics. Thermoplastics like PE, PP and PET that are sorted out from the waste stream by citizens can be directly recycled to the primary material. The mixed waste plastics can be used as fuel in waste to energy plants, or as feedstock to pyrolysis plants that transform them to high value-added oil or chemical materials, which are more promising disposal methods of waste plastics.

Evaluation of Mechanical and Interfacial Properties of Bio-Composites Based on Poly(Lactic Acid) with Natural Cellulose Fibers.

The circular economy policy and the interest for sustainable material are inducing a constant expansion of the bio-composites market. The opportunity of using natural fibers in bio-based and biodegradable polymeric matrices, derived from industrial and/or agricultural waste, represents a stimulating challenge in the replacement of traditional composites based on fossil sources. The coupling of bioplastics with natural fibers in order to lower costs and promote degradability is one of the primary objectives of research, above all in the packaging and agricultural sectors where large amounts of non-recyclable plastics are generated, inducing a serious problem for plastic disposal and potential accumulation in the environment. Among biopolymers, poly(lactic acid) (PLA) is one of the most used compostable, bio-based polymeric matrices, since it exhibits process ability and mechanical properties compatible with a wide range of applications. In this study, two types of cellulosic fibers were processed with PLA in order to obtain bio-composites with different percentages of microfibers (5%, 10%, 20%). The mechanical properties were evaluated (tensile and impact test), and analytical models were applied in order to estimate the adhesion between matrix and fibers and to predict the material’s stiffness. Understanding these properties is of particular importance in order to be able to tune and project the final characteristics of bio-composites.