articleACS Sustainable Chemistry & EngineeringJan 12, 2023HYBRID OA

Technical, Economic, and Environmental Comparison of Closed-Loop Recycling Technologies for Common Plastics

TUTaylor UekertASAvantika SinghJSJason S. DesVeauxTGTapajyoti GhoshABArpit Bhatt

National Laboratory of the Rockies

Indexed incrossref

Abstract

Over 400 million metric tons of plastic waste are generated globally each year, resulting in pollution and lost resources. Recycling strategies can recapture this wasted material, but there is a lack of quantitative and transparent data on the capabilities and impacts of these processes. Here, we develop a data set of material quality, material retention, circularity, contamination tolerance, minimum selling price, greenhouse gas emissions, energy use, land use, toxicity, waste generation, and water use metrics for closed-loop polymer recycling technologies, including mechanical recycling and solvent-based dissolution of polyethylene, polyethylene terephthalate (PET), and polypropylene, as well as enzymatic…

Citation impact

367
total citations
FWCI
25.12
Percentile
100%
References
36
Citations per year

Authors

12

Topics & keywords

Topics
Keywords
  • Environmental science
  • Waste management
  • Metric (unit)
  • Life-cycle assessment
  • Work (physics)
  • Greenhouse gas
  • Waste-to-energy
  • Baseline (sea)
UN Sustainable Development Goals
  • Responsible consumption and production
No related works found for this paper.

Funding