Plastic Solid Waste Research Articles

Small-Scale Mechanical Recycling of Solid Thermoplastic Wastes: A Review of PET, PEs, and PP

The mechanical recycling of solid plastic waste on a small-scale level can be accomplished with the correct approaches. Thermoplastics are the types of plastic mostly considered for mechanical recycling because of their physical properties and ease of reprocessing. This paper reviews the mechanical reprocessing techniques of selected thermoplastics (polyethylene terephthalate and polyolefins), since they constitute a significant proportion of the plastics used commercially. Furthermore, necessary considerations for the effective operation of small-scale plants, including energy requirements of machinery and optimisation in order to improve efficiency and product quality, are discussed. A clearer understanding and addressing of the process-related challenges will lead to the successful establishment and management of small-scale mechanical recycling facilities to benefit communities. Efficient small-scale mechanical reprocessing establishments have become essential in reducing the environmental impacts of solid plastic waste and for energy conservation.

Tandem catalytic pyrolysis of mixed plastic packaging wastes to produce BTEX over dual catalysts

The ubiquitous challenges caused by the accumulation of mismanaged plastic solid wastes have seriously endangered ecological health. For enhancing the sustainable and environment-friendly conversion of mixed plastic packaging wastes into high-value benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylene (BTEX) while effectively reducing the coke deposition on catalysts, tandem catalytic pyrolysis of mixed packaging plastics over dual catalysts (MCM-41 and HZSM-5) was explored via a combination of in-situ catalysis and ex-situ catalysis in a two-stage fixed bed reactor. The selectivity of total and monocyclic aromatic hydrocarbons was nearly 100% and 85% with MCM-41 (500 °C) followed by HZSM-5 (550 °C), respectively. The BTEX production (245.33 mg/g) was considerably improved as compared to ex-situ catalysis of HZSM-5 (185.30 mg/g) and MCM-41/HZSM-5 (209.14 mg/g). Moreover, the total coke amount of tandem catalysis decreased to 14.25 mg/g than that of ex-situ catalysis of HZSM-5 (30.72 mg/g). The mechanisms analysis revealed that the pre-reforming effect of MCM-41 suppressed polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) formation and coke deposition on the following HZSM-5 and meanwhile improved the utilization of internal acid sites for obtaining high-yield BTEX.

Selection of plastic solid waste treatment technology based on cumulative prospect theory and fuzzy DEMATEL.

Under the global implementation of a low-carbon economy, the treatment of municipal plastic solid waste (PSW) has become an important task to be solved urgently. In the actual decision-making process of PSW treatment, the evaluation information is usually fuzzy, and the decision-makers (DMs) are bounded rational. For selecting the most appropriate PSW treatment technology, we propose a multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) method based on cumulative prospect theory and fuzzy decision-making trail and evaluation laboratory (DEMATEL). Firstly, we construct the criteria system of PSW treatment that consists of 9 sub-criteria from the perspectives of environment, economy, society, and technology. Then, considering the interdependences and interactions between these evaluation criteria and allowing multiple stakeholders to participate in decision-making, we propose a fuzzy DEMATEL method to deal with the fuzziness of evaluation in the decision-making process and determine the weights of the evaluation criteria. Subsequently, taking into account the different opinions of different stakeholders and psychological factors such as risk preference and loss aversion of stakeholders, we aggregate the evaluation information of different stakeholders and develop the PSW treatment alternatives to rank the orders by using the proposed multi-actor cumulative prospect theory (CPT) method. We study seven alternative processes for PSW treatment by the developed model, including landfill, recycling, pyrolysis, incineration, and the combination of landfilling and recycling, landfill and incineration, and recycling and pyrolysis. According to the ranking results, we find the combination of recycling and incineration is the best treatment alternative. We take the seven PSW treatment technologies in Shanghai as the case study to verify the effectiveness and feasibility of the proposed method. Through the sensitivity analysis and comparison analysis with fuzzy similarity to ideal solution (FTOPSIS) method and an acronym in Portuguese of the interactive and multi-criteria decision-making (TODIM) method, we illustrate the effectiveness and superiority of the proposed method. This research provides significant references for the PSW treatment technology selection problems under uncertain environments and extends the methods in the decision-making field.

Microbial assemblage for solid waste bioremediation and valorization with an essence of bioengineering.

Environmental solid waste bioremediation is a method of treating contaminated solid waste that involves changing ecological conditions to foster the growth of a broad spectrum of microorganisms and the destruction of the target contaminants. A wide range of microorganisms creates metabolites that may break down and change solid waste-based pollution to various value-added molecules. Diverse bioremediation technologies, their limitations, and the procedure involve recycling solid waste materials from the environment. The existing environmental solid waste disposal services are insufficient and must be upgraded with more lucrative recovery, recycling, and reuse technologies to decrease the enormous expenditures in treatment procedures. Bioremediation of solid waste eliminates the toxic components. It restores the site with the advent of potential microbial communities towards solid waste valorization utilizing agriculture solid waste, organic food waste, plastic solid waste, and multiple industrial solid wastes.Bioengineering on diverse ranges of microbial regimes has accelerated to provide extra momentum toward solid waste recycling and valorization. This approach increases the activity of bioremediating microbes in the commercial development of waste treatment techniques and increases the cost-effective valuable product generation. This framework facilitates collaboration between solid waste and utilities. It can aid in establishing a long-term management strategy for recycling development with the advent of a broad spectrum of potential microbial assemblages, increasing solid waste contamination tolerance efficiency and solid waste degradability. The current literature survey extensively summarises solid waste remediation valorization using a broad spectrum of microbial assemblages with special emphasis on bioengineering-based acceleration. This approach is to attain sustainable environmental management and value-added biomolecule generation.

Molecular dynamics simulation of converting waste polyethylene (PE) to chemicals and fuels under non-isothermal and isothermal conditions

Pyrolysis, one method of chemical recycling, has been an effective and clean way for processing plastic solid waste (PSW), which is a heavy burden for sustainable development. Series of molecular dynamic simulations are carried out for detailed pyrolysis of polyethylene (PE) waste using reactive force field (ReaxFF) for both non-isothermal and isothermal conditions. The results show that the PE pyrolysis at non-isothermal conditions can be divided into four stages. The last stage (post pyrolysis) is analyzed in depth, which shows decreasing of short-chain products and increasing of relatively long-chain components at high temperatures. Pyrolysis of PE at high heating rates reduces oil cracking and results in high yield of oil. The effect of reaction time depends on the pyrolysis temperature. In addition, under isothermal pyrolysis conditions, the simulated temperature range of 2500–2750 K is optimal for more recovery of C2H4 and C3H6 due to its high yield and mild influence of reaction time. Finally, detailed mechanisms of generation and consumption of C2H4 and C3H6 of PE pyrolysis are demonstrated. The regeneration of long-chain oil in the late stage of PE pyrolysis and the corresponding mechanisms are illustrated. The results in this study can be used to guide the design of systems for PSW processing with recovery of chemicals and fuels.

Comparison of various catalysts in pyrolysis process: A review

The existence of polarity between production and recycling rates, as well as extravagant fossil fuel consumption has has led to the development of waste plastic to fuel conversion technology. Pyrolysis technology shows great potential in recovering liquid oil from plastic waste through thermal and catalytic degradation processes. Catalytic pyrolysis process has advantages over thermal degradation in terms of energy consumption, reaction time and oil grade. The choice of catalyst plays a dominant role in determinating reaction temperature, time, and product distribution. This paper reviews various types of catalysts, including fluid cracking catalyst (FCC), zeolites based catalysts, silica-alumina catalysts, and reforming catalysts, and the impact of various parameters include the mode of contact with plastic solid wastes - direct phase contact of catalyst (either liquid or solid), and vapor phase contact of catalyst, choice of catalyst, catalyst to polymer ratio, and acid-base nature of the catalyst on the product dispersion. The product distribution obtained from catalytic pyrolysis of different types of plastics such as polyethylene, polypropylene, polystyrene, polyethylene terephthalate, and polyvinylchloride using ZSM – 5 and red mud catalysts at different temperatures are as follows: 56.9 wt%(liquid), 40.4 wt%(gases), 3.2 wt%(char) at 450 0C in the presence of 10 wt% of Zeolite Socony Mobil − 5 (ZSM – 5) catalyst and 57 wt% (liquid), 41.3 wt% (gases), 1.7 wt% (char) at temperature 500 0C in the presence of 10 wt% of red mud as a catalyst. When catalytic pyrolysis is applied to municipal plastic waste (a heterogenous plastic waste) using 50% natural zeolite as a catalyst at 450 0C the distribution is 50 wt% (liquid), 34 wt% (gases), and 16 wt% of char Although there is a negligible difference in the product distribution of thermoplastics, the use of red mud as a catalyst results in increased energy consumption., highlighting the impact of the acidic and basic characteristics of catalysts. In case of heterogenous feedstock i.e., mixed plastic highly acidic catalysts are used to achieve the desired product distribution.

Modelling the barriers to sustainable waste management in the plastic-manufacturing industry: An emerging economy perspective

Sustainable waste management (SWM) is an important goal for the plastic manufacturing industry, which is aiming toward enhancing its economic, environmental, and social sustainability in recent years. However, plastic manufacturing industries in developing countries like Bangladesh are yet to establish efficient SWM systems despite the amount of solid plastic waste continually rising across all sectors. This paper investigates the underexplored barriers to implementing SWM in the Bangladeshi plastic industry. First, it employs the Delphi method to identify the 16 most relevant barriers to SWM through a literature review and expert feedback. Then, using an integrated grey theory and decision-making trial and evaluation laboratory (DEMATEL) method-based framework, it evaluates these 16 barriers to examine their interrelationships in the context of emerging economies. The findings show that the five most significant barriers are as follows: lack of awareness of and knowledge about plastic waste disposal, lack of compliant waste management, lack of a sense of environmental responsibility on the part of manufacturers, lack of systematic waste collection and effective dumping-ground utilization and lack of proper environmental policies, legislations, and regulations. This study presents valuable insights that can deeply contribute to the literature on SWM, enabling scholars, policymakers, and industrial managers to practice sustainability more effectively in the plastic manufacturing industry.

Towards a lumped approach for solid plastic waste gasification: Polyethylene and polypropylene pyrolysis

In a circular economy perspective, solid plastic wastes (SPW) can become a valuable source of chemicals, energy vectors and fuels through pyrolysis, gasification, and partial oxidation technologies, but their modelling requires first the definition of suitable condensed phase pyrolysis mechanisms for each constituent. This work proposes a semi-detailed kinetic model for polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP) pyrolysis based on the functional group approach implemented for polyvinylchloride (PVC) and biomass pyrolysis to consistently address mixture modelling. This approach distinguishes polymeric chains in High Molecular Weight species, represented through their chemical functionalities, and Low Molecular Weight species, described with accuracy comparable to literature detailed models, employing the reaction classes proposed in the scientific literature. Several validated lumping techniques are introduced to reduce the model computational cost, and the resulting liquid-phase model accounts for 74 species for PE and 126 species for PP. Model validation is carried out by an extensive comparison with experimental data proving the soundness of the approach and the model capability of predicting mass-loss and product distribution profiles with similar accuracy to more expensive detailed models from the literature. The proposed condensed phase approach can be extended to other polymers and coupled with other existing subsets in the CRECK kinetic framework (e.g., biomass, PVC) paving the way for unravelling mixture interactions and secondary cracking and/or gasification reactions. The model here proposed is a powerful tool to support design and optimization of SPW thermochemical recycling technologies.

Opportunities for environmental sustainability in dentistry

Introduction : Life on Earth is at risk due to human activity. It is estimated that daily the world generates 3.5 million tons of plastic and other solid waste. The sea levels are rising, the pH level of the oceans is decreasing, deforestation is the main cause for the release of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. Acknowledging these facts businesses, including dental practices, can make decisions for reducing the consequences on the climate. Aim: The aim of the present study is to examine the types of materials and methods contributing to the development of sustainable and resource-efficient dental practices. Materials and Methods : For the period September 2021–February 2022, in the available database (PubMed, BioMed Central, ScienceDirect, Scopus, Web of Science, Embase), a systematic analysis of scientific publications investigating the ecologically friendly resources methods used in dentistry was conducted. Results : In recent years, technology has developed rapidly, thus allowing the replacement of obsolete with new environmentally friendly methods. It is now possible to use computer technologies, new materials, and approaches in the treatment. Conclusion : It has been concluded from the conducted research that it is required to use sustainable materials and methods in dentistry. The correct approach and patient instruction aid in reducing the negative impact on the environment.

Automobile fuels (diesel and petrol) from plastic pyrolysis oil—Production and characterisation

Plastics like high-density polyethylene (HDPE), polystyrene (PS), and Polypropylene (PP) constitute a large portion of municipal solid waste. Plastics can be pyrolysed for reuse, but the end-product qualities are critical to industry refining processes. Pilot-scale pyrolysis and vacuum distillation were used to thermally degrade the plastics and convert it to petrol (gasoline) and diesel. Batch pyrolysis of HDPE, PS, and PP at 540 oC yielded plastic pyrolysis crude oils. The crude oil was separated into different fractions starting with distillation temperatures of less than 170 OC, 170 to 380 °C, and above 380 °C. The quality of the produced crude oil, gasoline, and diesel cuts was evaluated analytically according to the fuel specifications. This study demonstrated that pyrolysis of plastics can convert up to 80% of solids by weight) into liquid crude oil. HDPE pyrolysis produces lower quantities of oil due to the production of wax. A high calorific value (38.1 to 42.9 MJ/kg) similar to fossil fuels indicates that the liquid product of plastic pyrolysis could be a viable energy source. Plastic pyrolysis crude oil from PS mostly yielded gasoline at around 70% by weight, while HDPE and PP yield predominantly diesel at more than 50% by weight. The distilled oil characterisation results were outstanding, confirming that the quality of produced petrol and diesel from plastics pyrolysis oil suppress minimum specifications for automotive fuel standards. The cetane index of HDPE and PP diesel was found to be 60 and 55 respectively, significantly above the required value of 46 for automotive diesel. Higher heating values of most petrol cuts were in the range of 41.1 to 44.6 MJ/kg. These and other fuel qualities are within or near the approved range for automotive fuel. Thus, the findings can be used to build a foundation for the industrial manufacture of automotive quality fuels from plastic solid waste.

Plastic Waste Generation and Management in Thoi Lai District, Can Tho City, Vietnam

The objective of this study was to assess the current situation of generation and management of plastic waste in Thoi Lai district, Can Tho city, Vietnam through collecting domestic solid waste samples from 30 households and interviewing 150 households using questionaires. The results showed that the average amount of domestic solid waste was 0.3 kg/person/day, in which the plastic waste accounted for 11.7% with generation rate of 0.035 kg/person/day. Shopping bags were dominant accounting for 34.7%, single-use plastic products accounting for 18.5% and food packaging plastic bags accounting for 9.51%. The generation rates of domestic solid waste and plastic waste had positive correlation with household’s size and income. In addition, the rate of plastic waste generation also appeared to have a relationship with the characteristics of the study area. Plastic waste has not been classified but it is mixed with other domestic solid waste. Knowledge of plastic waste impact has not been widely propagated in the community. Therefore, appropriate measures should be implemented to reduce municipal waste and plastic wastes.

The role of solid plastic waste recycling operations in achieving sustainable development

Environmental issues have become at the forefront of international concern. Therefore, this concern has been reflected in most of the world’s policies through activating rational environmental policies to achieve sustainable development between the requirements of economic and social development, and the preservation of natural resources and ensuring their survival and preserving the right of future generations. The problem of the accumulation of solid plastic waste is one of the most difficult and complex problems in Egypt, because plastic materials are widely used as they are characterized by being of light weight, multi purpose, water resistant. This research aims to measure the impact of the recycling operations of solid plastic waste on the economy SWOT analysis for the year 2021.

Cascade degradation and upcycling of polystyrene waste to high-value chemicals

Plastic waste represents one of the most urgent environmental challenges facing humankind. Upcycling has been proposed to solve the low profitability and high market sensitivity of known recycling methods. Existing upcycling methods operate under energy-intense conditions and use precious-metal catalysts, but produce low-value oligomers, monomers, and common aromatics. Herein, we report a tandem degradation-upcycling strategy to exploit high-value chemicals from polystyrene (PS) waste with high selectivity. We first degrade PS waste to aromatics using ultraviolet (UV) light and then valorize the intermediate to diphenylmethane. Low-cost AlCl3 catalyzes both the reactions of degradation and upcycling at ambient temperatures under atmospheric pressure. The degraded intermediates can advantageously serve as solvents for processing the solid plastic wastes, forming a self-sustainable circuitry. The low-value-input and high-value-output approach is thus substantially more sustainable and economically viable than conventional thermal processes, which operate at high-temperature, high-pressure conditions and use precious-metal catalysts, but produce low-value oligomers, monomers, and common aromatics. The cascade strategy is resilient to impurities from plastic waste streams and is generalizable to other high-value chemicals (e.g., benzophenone, 1,2-diphenylethane, and 4-phenyl-4-oxo butyric acid). The upcycling to diphenylmethane was tested at 1-kg laboratory scale and attested by industrial-scale techno-economic analysis, demonstrating sustainability and economic viability without government subsidies or tax credits.

Processing and utilization of the solid plastic waste oil as the sustainable substitute for fossil fuel for the CI engine from microwave assisted pyrolysis process

The fossil fuel crisis can be effectively tackled by the use of alternative fuels. Among the variety of biofuels, production of the biodiesel from the plastic waste seems much more attractive. Conversion of plastic waste into sustainable biodiesel plays a major role in combating the serious concern over the depletion of fossil fuels. The current research paper deals and explores the production of biodiesel from pyrolysis and transesterification method. Further the procured biodiesel was tested for performance and emission characteristics by varying the engines load. Microwave assisted pyrolysis process has been used to for obtaining the bio-oil from the plastic waste. All experimental tests were conducted in a naturally aspirated-inline, direct injection diesel engine at different engine speeds at constant load condition. The performance of the engine measured via Brake Power (BP), Brake Torque (BT), Brake Thermal Efficiency (BTE) and the emission are calculated via Carbon monoxide (CO), Carbon dioxide (CO2) and Nitrogen oxide (NO). Each test blends WPO10, WPO20 and WPO30 were tested for the above parameters at the engine speed of 1000 rpm to 3000 rpm. All the procured results were comparatively examined with neat diesel. From the results, it is found that the brake power, brake torque and brake thermal efficiency were little lower for all taken blends compared to pure diesel. However, the major problem of emitting CO was considerably reduced while using plastic fuel blends. The CO2 and NO emission were increased. There is no evidence of increase in the thermal efficiency due to the lower calorific value of the pyrolysis oil. Further, the viscosity and the poor presence of oxygen molecules reduced the overall combustion process which leads to high emission rates.

Sustainable Enhancement of Concrete by Using Waste-Plastic Food -Packages as Economic and Environmentally Friendly Fibers, A Review.

Among possible solutions for a cleaner environment is reduction of using non-biodegradable materials to reduce the waste. Solid plastic waste is considered the most important kind of waste in the world, due to its non-decadence and its low organic decomposability. Therefore, it was advised to use this waste as reinforcing materials for concrete units, as it was used as a substitute for moraine in certain proportions and also as reinforcing fibers for concrete. This paper is a review of research investigations that focused on and highlighted the improvement of concrete by recycling waste-plastic food-package and using them as reinforcing fibers for concrete specimens. The impact of plastic waste fibers (PWFs) on workability, compressibility resistance, tensibility resistance, bending resistance, and elastic modulus are demonstrated. It has been noted that the fresh characteristics of concrete decline when mixing plastic fibers with concrete mixtures, while hardened characteristics could be improved by utilizing specific proportion of these fibers

Secondary recycled polyvinylidene–limestone composite in 4D printing applications for heritage structures: Rheological, thermal, mechanical, spectroscopic, and morphological analysis

Polymer 3D printing has motivated researchers toward the use of this technology for the maintenance and repair of heritage structures. This results in the exploration of different thermoplastic composites as smart materials having properties like programmable features (one-way, two-way), sensing, etc. Also, the excessive use of thermoplastics in various fields has resulted in plastic solid waste management issues. Several studies have been reported on plastic solid waste management with 3D printing. But hitherto little has been reported on the use of heritage site debris as reinforcement in the thermoplastic matrix for addressing issues of plastic solid waste management as well as for inducing controlled 4D capabilities; for better maintenance and repair of the heritage site with shorter maintenance and repair time. The present study is focused on secondary (2˚) recycling of polyvinylidene fluoride thermoplastic material by reinforcing limestone (CaCO3 of 220 mesh size as per American Foundry Society (AFS)) collected as debris from heritage site for 3D printing applications followed by an analysis of its possible 4D capabilities. Different compositions/proportions of polyvinylidene fluoride–limestone were explored for acceptable rheological (melt flow index and viscosity), thermal (based on differential scanning calorimetry), mechanical (based on universal testing machine), and spectroscopic properties (based on attenuated total reflection-Fourier transformed infrared and photoluminescence). Piezoelectric property analysis of 3D printable composition/proportion and shape-memory effect of each composition/proportion was performed to investigate the 4D characteristics of the proposed composite. The results of the study suggest that polyvinylidene fluoride–6% limestone is a better composition/ proportion with acceptable rheological, thermal, and mechanical properties (melt flow index 2.429 g/10 min, viscosity 12742.9 Pa-s, thermal heat capacity 31.66 Jg−1, and Young's modulus 286.56 MPa) for selected heritage structures. For 4D capabilities, piezoelectric coefficient (D33 21.79 pC/N) and shape recovery (44.31%) have been ascertained for the best composition/ proportion selected. Further morphological analysis has been reported to support the test results.

Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) Bottle-to-Bottle Recycling for the Beverage Industry: A Review.

Disposal of plastic waste has become a widely discussed issue, due to the potential environmental impact of improper waste disposal. Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) packaging accounted for 44.7% of single-serve beverage packaging in the US in 2021, and 12% of global solid waste. A strategic solution is needed to manage plastic packaging solid waste. Major beverage manufacturers have pledged to reduce their environmental footprint by taking steps towards a sustainable future. The PET bottle has several properties that make it an environmentally friendly choice. The PET bottle has good barrier properties as its single-layer, mono-material composition allows it to be more easily recycled. Compared to glass, the PET bottle is lightweight and has a lower carbon footprint in production and transportation. With modern advancements to decontamination processes in the recycling of post-consumer recycled PET (rPET or PCR), it has become a safe material for reuse as beverage packaging. It has been 30 years since the FDA first began certifying PCR PET production processes as compliant for production of food contact PCR PET, for application within the United States. This article provides an overview of PET bottle-to-bottle recycling and guidance for beverage manufacturers looking to advance goals for sustainability.

Evaluation of Istanbul from the environmental components' perspective: what has changed during the pandemic?

This study aims to determine the 1-year change over the pandemic period in Istanbul, the megacity with the highest population in Turkey, based on environmental components. Among the environmental topics, water consumption habits, changes in air quality, changes due to noise elements, and most importantly, the changes in usage habits of disposable plastic materials that directly affect health have been revealed. The results obtained showed that, in Istanbul, 8.1 × 108 gloves should be considered waste, and considering the population living in districts along coastal areas, the number of waste masks that are likely to end up in the sea was 325.648 pieces/day. The results of the air quality and noise measurements during the pandemic showed that reductions in parallel with human activities were recorded with the lockdown effect. The average noise values of the districts along both sides of the Bosporus, where urbanization is concentrated, were between 50 and 59 dB. The precautions taken during the pandemic have had an effective role in reducing air pollution in Istanbul. In the measurements, the parameters with effective reductions were PM10 (7–47%), PM2.5 (13–48%), NO2 (13–38%), and SO2 (10–56%). As a result, Istanbul’s year of changes during the pandemic period, in terms of water, air, noise, and solid plastic wastes, which are the most important components of the environment, is presented.Supplementary InformationThe online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10661-022-10105-9.

Pollution Characteristics and Health Risk Assessment of Phthalate Esters in PSW Recycling Sites: A Typical Case Study.

The concentrations of six priority phthalate esters (PAEs) in 700 soil samples and 110 sediment samples from an area in China containing plastic solid waste (PSW) recycling sites were determined. The total concentrations of the six PAEs in soil and sediment were not detected - 274 and not detected - 597mgkg-1, respectively, and the mean concentrations in soil and sediment were 14.4 and 31.7mgkg-1, respectively. The dominant PAEs were di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate and di-n-butyl phthalate. PAEs were detected in soil collected from the surface to 0.5m below ground level around the PSW recycling sites, and the concentrations were markedly higher in these areas than at other polluted sites. PSW recycling is an important source of PAEs to soil and sediment. The di(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate concentrations in soil were higher than the relevant concentrations that pose environmental risks for sensitive land uses and non-sensitive land uses (42 and 121mgkg-1, respectively), indicating emissions of PAEs from PSW recycling sites may pose environmental risks. The results indicate that PAE pollution at PSW sites needs to be better controlled and managed.

Analisis Pembuatan Bahan Bakar dari Pirolisis Thermal dan Katalitik Limbah Plastik Low Density Polyethylene

Increasing global warming due to the uncontrolled use of fossil fuels has resulted in climate change which is currently a worldwide concern. Various efforts to use alternative energy have been made to overcome these problems, one of which is Pyrolysis technology to convert solid plastic waste into liquid fuel. Pyrolysis is a heating process, or the working principle is the same as distilling a raw material particle that will change shape from a solid to a gas and then passing through a condenser tube to cool down so that the steam will turn into a liquid. This process generally takes place at temperatures between 500-800°C. The pyrolysis process occurs with the help of heating from LPG gas. From the data obtained, further testing can be carried out on the physical and chemical properties of the pyrolysis oil to determine its characteristics. The physical properties tested included density and viscosity, while the chemical properties tested were the calorific value of the plastic pyrolysis process. The next step is to test the pyrolysis oil using WBT (Water Boiling Test) to determine the performance of the oil stove with pyrolysis oil as fuel. From the results of the efficiency of the stove from the pyrolysis of plastic oil, it is known that the largest input energy (Qin) is obtained in the pyrolysis oil without a catalyst in the first condenser of 2375,291 watts. The result of sensible heat (SH) of the most significant pyrolysis oil sample from pyrolysis without a catalyst in condenser one is 125.4 watts. The highest latent heat value was found in the pyrolysis of natural zeolite catalyst in condenser three at 231.752 watts, while the highest thermal efficiency value of pyrolysis using natural zeolite catalyst in condenser one was 28.39%. Natural zeolite catalysts reduce the liquid and solid products but increase gas products. The catalysts from pyrolysis oil have a darker color than without a catalyst. The cause is the reaction of the catalyst during the pyrolysis process.