TY - GEN
T1 - Environmental and Economic Implications of Emerging Plastic Recycling Technologies
AU - Uekert, Taylor
AU - DesVeaux, Jason
AU - Carpenter, Birdie
AU - Yadav, Geetanjali
AU - Afzal, Shaik
AU - Ghosh, Tapajyoti
AU - Walzberg, Julien
AU - Athaley, Abhay
AU - Mailaram, Swarnalatha
AU - Greener, Oliver
AU - Knauer, Kat
AU - Beckham, Gregg
PY - 2023
Y1 - 2023
N2 - Recycling will play a crucial role in mitigating plastic pollution and promoting a circular economy for polymers. Quantitative analysis can help guide the optimization and implementation of these plastic management strategies, enabling increased circularity while minimizing costs, energy use, greenhouse gas emissions, and other environmental impacts. This talk will outline the Bio-Optimized Technologies to keep Thermoplastics out of Landfills and the Environment (BOTTLE) Consortium's approach to analysis-guided plastic recycling research. Stringent process modelling, life cycle assessment, and techno-economic analysis are used to benchmark the technical feasibility, environmental impacts, and costs of chemical and biological recycling technologies in comparison to conventional fossil fuel-based plastic manufacturing. Across emerging recycling strategies, several key challenges become apparent - including plastic feedstock pretreatment requirements, high energy or chemical use, and recycled plastic yields and quality - highlighting opportunities for future innovation. Through this consistent and in-depth analysis approach, BOTTLE aims to provide the plastics community with key metrics and insights to drive plastic recycling innovation towards a more sustainable and circular economy.
AB - Recycling will play a crucial role in mitigating plastic pollution and promoting a circular economy for polymers. Quantitative analysis can help guide the optimization and implementation of these plastic management strategies, enabling increased circularity while minimizing costs, energy use, greenhouse gas emissions, and other environmental impacts. This talk will outline the Bio-Optimized Technologies to keep Thermoplastics out of Landfills and the Environment (BOTTLE) Consortium's approach to analysis-guided plastic recycling research. Stringent process modelling, life cycle assessment, and techno-economic analysis are used to benchmark the technical feasibility, environmental impacts, and costs of chemical and biological recycling technologies in comparison to conventional fossil fuel-based plastic manufacturing. Across emerging recycling strategies, several key challenges become apparent - including plastic feedstock pretreatment requirements, high energy or chemical use, and recycled plastic yields and quality - highlighting opportunities for future innovation. Through this consistent and in-depth analysis approach, BOTTLE aims to provide the plastics community with key metrics and insights to drive plastic recycling innovation towards a more sustainable and circular economy.
KW - circular economy
KW - life cycle assessment
KW - plastic
KW - recycling
KW - techno-economic analysis
M3 - Presentation
T3 - Presented at the American Chemical Society (ACS) Fall Meeting, 13-17 August 2023, San Francisco, California
ER -
