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A Generic Scenario Analysis of End-of-Life Plastic Management Concerning Chemical Additive Releases
Citation:
Chea, J., A. Lehr, K. Yenkie, J. Stanzione III, AND Gerardo J. Ruiz-Mercado. A Generic Scenario Analysis of End-of-Life Plastic Management Concerning Chemical Additive Releases. The American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) 2022 Annual Meeting, Phoenix, AZ, November 13 - 18, 2022.
Impact/Purpose:
90% of spent plastics found in municipal solid waste (MSW) are either landfilled or incinerated. Chemical additives found in plastics are released during these end-of-life (EoL) pathways. Some of these released chemicals negatively affect the environment and human health. Therefore, drastic improvements to the existing infrastructure for EoL plastic management are needed to limit chemical additive release and exposure resulting from MSW. This conference presentation describes the development of current U.S. EoL processing scenarios to track and estimate releases of plastic additives throughout the plastic EoL stage. A material flow analysis of the plastic life cycle was performed using available U.S. municipal solid waste data to track plastics and chemical additives movement from the manufacturing phase to the EoL stage. This research creates an opportunity to design and promote a safer closed-loop plastic recycling infrastructure to strategically handle chemical additives and support implementing sustainable materials management efforts.
Description:
Plastic demands and production have considerably increased the quantity of spent plastics, out of which over 90% is either landfilled or incinerated. Both methods for handling spent plastics are susceptible to releasing toxic substances that negatively affect air, water, soil, organisms, and public health. Therefore, improvements to the existing infrastructure for plastics management are needed to limit chemical additives release and exposure resulting from the end-of-life (EoL) stage of plastics. This work aims to develop generic EoL management scenarios to track and estimate the potential migration and releases of plastics additives throughout the plastics EoL stage and develop a software tool to evaluate the impacts of various plastics EoL processing techniques (mechanical recycling, incineration, and landfilling) on greenhouse gas emissions, energy footprint, and subsequent environmental releases. The current infrastructure and hypothetical scenarios involving enhanced recycling methods were analyzed. The major releases and emissions for every stage in the EoL phase were quantified, identifying considerable risks to workers and the environment. Subsequently, a python-based software tool was developed to provide insights into the impacts of various plastic recycling techniques. The potential hazards and risks identified in this research create an opportunity to design a safer closed-loop plastics recycling infrastructure to handle chemical additives strategically and support implementing sustainable materials management efforts to transform the U.S. plastics economy from linear to circular.