| Title | Recycling of Plastics in the United States: Plastic Material Flows and Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) Recycling Processes |
|---|---|
| ID_Doc | 12520 |
| Authors | Smith, RL; Takkellapati, S; Riegerix, RC |
| Title | Recycling of Plastics in the United States: Plastic Material Flows and Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) Recycling Processes |
| Year | 2022 |
| Published | Acs Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering, 10.0, 6 |
| Abstract | As efforts are made toward establishing a circular economy that engages in activities that maintain resources at their highest values for as long as possible, an important aspect is understanding the systems which allow recycling to occur. In this article a common plastic, polyethylene terephthalate, i.e., PET or plastic #1, has been studied because it is recycled at relatively high rates in the U.S. as compared to other plastics. A material flow analysis is described for PET resin showing materials collected, reclaimed for flake, and converted into items with recycled content. Imports/exports, reclaimer residue, and disposal with mismanaged waste are all shown for U.S. flows of PET. Barriers to recycling PET exist in the collecting, sorting, reclaiming, and converting steps, and this article describes them, offers some solutions, and suggests some research that chemists and engineers could focus on to improve the systems. This effort also models sorting at material recovery facilities (MRF) and reclaimers, with detailed descriptions of the material streams involved, to characterize the resource use and emissions from these operations that are key processes in the recycling system. Example results include greenhouse gas intensities of 8.58 kg CO2 equiv per ton of MRF feed and 103.7 kg CO2 equiv per ton of reclaimer PET bale feed. The results can be used in system analyses for various scenarios and as inputs in economic input-output and life cycle assessments. |
| https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9004285 |
Similar Articles
| ID | Score | Article |
|---|---|---|
10909
|
Bobek-Nagy, J; Kurdi, R; Kovács, A; Simon-Stoger, L; Szigeti, M; Varga, C How introduction of deposit-refund system (DRS) changes recycling of non-drinking bottle PET wastes(2023)Express Polymer Letters, 17, 11 | |
| 25296
|
Uekert, T; Singh, A; DesVeaux, JS; Ghosh, T; Bhatt, A; Yadav, G; Afzal, S; Walzberg, J; Knauer, KM; Nicholson, SR; Beckham, GT; Carpenter, AC Technical, Economic, and Environmental Comparison of Closed- Loop Recycling Technologies for Common Plastics(2023)Acs Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering, 11, 3 | |
| 3437
|
Chaudhari, US; Lin, YQ; Thompson, VS; Handler, RM; Pearce, JM; Caneba, G; Muhuri, P; Watkins, D; Shonnard, DR Systems Analysis Approach to Polyethylene Terephthalate and Olefin Plastics Supply Chains in the Circular Economy: A Review of Data Sets and Models(2021)Acs Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering, 9, 22 | |
| 19394
|
Duan, CXY; Wang, Z; Zhou, BZ; Yao, XL Global Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) Plastic Supply Chain Resource Metabolism Efficiency and Carbon Emissions Co-Reduction Strategies(2024)Sustainability, 16.0, 10 | |
| 24907
|
Antonopoulos, I; Faraca, G; Tonini, D Recycling of post-consumer plastic packaging waste in the EU: Recovery rates, material flows, and barriers(2021) | |
| 3417
|
Lee, C; Jang, YC; Choi, K; Kim, B; Song, H; Kwon, Y Recycling, Material Flow, and Recycled Content Demands of Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) Bottles towards a Circular Economy in Korea(2024)Environments, 11, 2 | |
| 6476
|
Brivio, L; Tollini, F PET recycling: Review of the current available technologies and industrial perspectives(2022) | |
| 7956
|
Vollmer, I; Jenks, MJF; Roelands, MCP; White, RJ; van Harmelen, T; de Wild, P; van der Laan, GP; Meirer, F; Keurentjes, JTF; Weckhuysen, BM Beyond Mechanical Recycling: Giving New Life to Plastic Waste(2020)Angewandte Chemie-International Edition, 59, 36 | |
| 28581
|
Albiter, NL; Pérez, OS; Klotz, M; Ganesan, K; Carrasco, F; Dagréou, S; Maspoch, ML; Valderrama, C Implications of the Circular Economy in the Context of Plastic Recycling: The Case Study of Opaque PET(2022)Polymers, 14.0, 21 | |
| 4364
|
Ghosh, T; Avery, G; Bhatt, A; Uekert, T; Walzberg, J; Carpenter, A Towards a circular economy for PET bottle resin using a system dynamics inspired material flow model(2023) |