| Title | Life cycle assessment of recycling metallised food packaging plastics using mechanical, thermal and chemical processes |
|---|---|
| ID_Doc | 15551 |
| Authors | Yousef, S; Stasiulaitiene, I |
| Title | Life cycle assessment of recycling metallised food packaging plastics using mechanical, thermal and chemical processes |
| Year | 2024 |
| Published | Heliyon, 10, 16 |
| Abstract | Single treatment of metallised food packaging plastics waste (MFPW) has shown disappointing results with recycling rate <20 % due to its complex structure consisting of 10 % aluminium (Al) and 90 % mixed plastic films made of PE, PP, PS, PET, etc. Besides, it is generating many emissions and residues that must be landfilled making it difficult to integrate them into the circular economy. Therefore, a multi-stage recycling (MSR) approach has recently been developed using several sequential mechanical, thermal and chemical processes to recover energy and Al from MFPW with additional revenue for recycling plant operators. The thermal treatment helps to decompose the plastic fraction into wax or oil, gaseous, and solid residue (SR) composed of Al and coal, while the mechanical process can be used as a pre-treatment of MFPW feedstock and SR. Finally, the chemical treatment (leaching and functionalization) can be used to extract Al from SR and to refine coal into carbon microparticles (CPs), respectively. In order to investigate the environmental performance of the proposed MSR system, this research was developed. The investigation was performed using SimaPro life cycle analysis (LCA) tool according to ISO 14040/44 Standards and the impact assessment method is ReCiPe 2016. Five different scenarios were proposed in the constructed LCA layout, namely, conversion of MFPW to a) wax and gas (pyrolysis), b) wax, gas, and aluminium chloride (AlCl3) (pyrolysis and leaching), c) wax, gas, AlCl3, and CPs (pyrolysis, leaching, and functionalization), and d) oil, gas, AlCl3, and CPs (catalytic pyrolysis, leaching, and functionalization). Besides, the oil produced from catalytic pyrolysis is used for generation of electricity (scenario e). The results showed that wax and gas recovery scenario (a) has better environmental potential and environmental benefits compared to incineration practice. The results did not change much after extraction of Al and CPs (scenario b, c), with a few increasing by 2-4% in the total score. While a lot of environmental burdens from upgrading and utilization (Scenario d, e) were recorded, reaching 79 % due to the huge amount of the catalyst was used. Thus, MSR systems have bigger environmental benefits, however, the chemical and catalytic processes still need to be further improved to reduce the effect of terrestrial acidification. |
Similar Articles
| ID | Score | Article |
|---|---|---|
17052
|
Jeswani, H; Krüger, C; Russ, M; Horlacher, M; Antony, F; Hann, S; Azapagic, A Life cycle environmental impacts of chemical recycling via pyrolysis of mixed plastic waste in comparison with mechanical recycling and energy recovery(2021) | |
| 17200
|
Gracida-Alvarez, UR; Benavides, PT; Lee, US; Wang, MC Life-cycle analysis of recycling of post-use plastic to plastic via pyrolysis(2023) | |
| 26343
|
Davidson, MG; Furlong, RA; McManus, MC Developments in the life cycle assessment of chemical recycling of plastic waste e A review(2021) | |
| 21326
|
Solis, M; Silveira, S Technologies for chemical recycling of household plastics - A technical review and TRL assessment(2020) | |
| 20623
|
Stallkamp, C; Hennig, M; Volk, R; Richter, F; Bergfeldt, B; Tavakkol, S; Schultmann, F; Stapf, D Economic and environmental assessment of automotive plastic waste end-of-life options: Energy recovery versus chemical recycling(2023)Journal Of Industrial Ecology, 27, 5 | |
| 13006
|
Khan, MMH; Havukainen, J; Niini, A; Leminen, V; Horttanainen, M Consequential life-cycle assessment of treatment options for repulping reject from liquid packaging board waste treatment(2023) | |
| 22824
|
Dogu, O; Pelucchi, M; Van de Vijver, R; Van Steenberge, PHM; D'hooge, DR; Cuoci, A; Mehl, M; Frassoldati, A; Faravelli, T; Van Geem, KM The chemistry of chemical recycling of solid plastic waste via pyrolysis and gasification: State-of-the-art, challenges, and future directions(2021) | |
| 27860
|
Urciuolo, M; Migliaccio, R; Chirone, R; Bareschino, P; Mancusi, E; Pepe, F; Ruoppolo, G Thermal and Catalytic Pyrolysis of Real Plastic Solid Waste as a Sustainable Strategy for Circular Economy(2023)Combustion Science And Technology, 195.0, 14 | |
| 1303
|
Schwarz, AE; Ligthart, TN; Bizarro, DG; De Wild, PD; Vreugdenhil, B; van Harmelen, TV Plastic recycling in a circular economy; determining environmental performance through an LCA matrix model approach(2021) | |
| 27253
|
Ferrara, C; Scarfato, P; Ferraioli, R; Apicella, A; Incarnato, L; De Feo, G Environmental sustainability assessment of different end-of-life scenarios for the pulper rejects produced in the paper recycling process(2023) |