Content area
Full Text
J Mater Cycles Waste Manag (2012) 14:301307 DOI 10.1007/s10163-012-0069-6
SPECIAL FEATURE: ORIGINAL ARTICLE Chemical Feedstock Recycling 9
Preliminary assessment of plastic waste valorization via sequential pyrolysis and catalytic reforming
Diego Iribarren Javier Dufour David P. Serrano
Received: 29 October 2011 / Accepted: 18 June 2012 / Published online: 24 July 2012 Springer 2012
Abstract In this article, a life cycle assessment approach is used to carry out a preliminary assessment of the environmental and energy performance of a specic chemical recycling and recovery system that supplies a variety of petrochemical blendstocks through the sequential pyrolysis and catalytic reforming of plastic wastes. Characterization results are presented for a selection of seven impact categories: abiotic depletion, global warming, acidication, eutrophication, ozone layer depletion, photochemical oxidant formation and cumulative non-renewable energy demand. From a combined environmental and energy perspective, the results suggest the suitability of this system for plastic waste valorization. However, improvement actions aimed at reducing the thermal energy demand and mitigating direct emissions to the air should be undertaken. Furthermore, the environmental proles of the proposed petrochemical blendstocks are compared with those of conventional energy products. A comparison among this chemical recycling and recovery system and two conventional management practices (municipal incineration and landlling) is also addressed. The results show that the considered system could entail relevant environmental and energy benets when compared to conventional energy systems and waste management strategies.
Keywords Chemical recycling and recovery
Cumulative energy demand Environmental impact
Life cycle assessment Plastic waste
Introduction
The wide range of applications presented by plastic materials has led to high consumption levels of these materials worldwide. As a result, the management of plastic wastes has arisen as a key environmental concern that should be faced on the basis of a well-balanced choice of options, including reuse, mechanical recycling, chemical recycling and recovery, and direct energy recovery through combustion [1, 2]. In particular, chemical recycling and recovery is a valorization strategy based on thermochemical processes for the conversion of waste polymers into hydrocarbon products to be used as fuels [3]. Although only a low percentage of plastic wastes are processed by chemical recycling and recoverywhich is closely linked to unfavourable investment coststhis management alternative is expected to play a leading role in the future, due to the...