A review on value-addition to plastic waste towards achieving a circular economy

Manish Kumar; Sachin Krushna Bhujbal; Kirtika Kohli; Ravindra Prajapati; Brajendra K Sharma; Ankush D Sawarkar; Kumar Abhishek; Shiv Bolan; Pooja Ghosh; M B Kirkham; Lokesh P Padhye; Ashok Pandey; Meththika Vithanage; Nanthi Bolan

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.171106

A review on value-addition to plastic waste towards achieving a circular economy

Sci Total Environ. 2024 Apr 15:921:171106. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.171106. Epub 2024 Feb 21.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Amity Institute of Environmental Sciences, Amity University, Noida, India. Electronic address: manishkumar.bt@gmail.com.
² Centre for Rural Development and Technology, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, New Delhi 110016, India.
³ Distillate and Heavy Oil Processing Division, CSIR-Indian Institute of Petroleum, Dehradun 248005, India.
⁴ Prairie Research Institute-Illinois Sustainable Technology Center, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, IL 61820, USA.
⁵ Prairie Research Institute-Illinois Sustainable Technology Center, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, IL 61820, USA; United States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service Eastern Regional Research Center Sustainable Biofuels and Co-Products Research Unit, 600 E. Mermaid Ln., Wyndmoor, PA 19038, USA.
⁶ Department of Information Technology, Shri Guru Gobind Singhji Institute of Engineering and Technology (SGGSIET), Nanded, Maharashtra 431 606, India.
⁷ Department of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Government of Bihar, Patna, India.
⁸ UWA School of Agriculture and Environment, The University of Western Australia, Perth, WA 6001, Australia; The UWA Institute of Agriculture, The University of Western Australia, Perth, WA 6001, Australia.
⁹ Centre for Rural Development and Technology, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, New Delhi 110016, India; Department of Environmental and Biological Sciences, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio 70211, Finland.
¹⁰ Department of Agronomy, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS, USA.
¹¹ Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, The University of Auckland, Auckland 1010, New Zealand.
¹² Centre for Innovation and Translational Research, CSIR-Indian Institute of Toxicology Research, Lucknow 226 001, India; Kyung Hee University, Kyung Hee Dae Ro 26, Seoul 02447, Republic of Korea; Sustainability Cluster, School of Engineering, University of Petroleum and Energy Studies, Dehradun 248 007, Uttarakhand, India; Centre for Energy and Environmental Sustainability, Lucknow 226029, India.
¹³ The UWA Institute of Agriculture, The University of Western Australia, Perth, WA 6001, Australia; Ecosphere Resilience Research Center, Faculty of Applied Sciences, University of Sri Jayewardenepura, Nugegoda 10250, Sri Lanka.
¹⁴ UWA School of Agriculture and Environment, The University of Western Australia, Perth, WA 6001, Australia; The UWA Institute of Agriculture, The University of Western Australia, Perth, WA 6001, Australia. Electronic address: nanthi.bolan@uwa.edu.au.

PMID: 38387564
DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.171106

Abstract

Plastic and mixed plastic waste (PW) has received increased worldwide attention owing to its huge rate of production, high persistency in the environment, and unsustainable waste management practices. Therefore, sustainable PW management and upcycling approaches are imperative to achieve the objectives of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Numerous recent studies have shown the application and feasibility of various PW conversion techniques to produce materials with better economic value. Within this framework, the current review provides an in-depth analysis of cutting-edge thermochemical technologies such as pyrolysis, gasification, carbonization, and photocatalysis that can be used to value plastic and mixed PW in order to produce energy and industrial chemicals. Additionally, a thorough examination of the environmental impacts of contemporary PW upcycling techniques and their commercial feasibility through life cycle assessment (LCA) and techno-economical assessment are provided in this review. Finally, this review emphasizes the opportunities and challenges accompanying with existing PW upcycling techniques and deliver recommendations for future research works.

Keywords: Fuels and chemicals; PW (PW); Plastic char; Plastic valorization; Value-added products.

Publication types

Review