Determinants of recycling common types of plastic product waste in environmental horticulture industry: The case of Georgia.

Science.gov (United States)

Meng, Ting; Klepacka, Anna M; Florkowski, Wojciech J; Braman, Kristine

2016-02-01

Environmental horticulture firms provide a variety of commercial/residential landscape products and services encompassing ornamental plant production, design, installation, and maintenance. The companies generate tons of waste including plastic containers, trays, and greenhouse/field covers, creating the need to reduce and utilize plastic waste. Based on survey data collected in Georgia in 2013, this paper investigates determinants of the environmental horticulture firms' recycling decision (plastic containers, flats, and greenhouse poly). Our findings indicate that the decision to discard vs. recycle plastic containers, flats, and greenhouse poly is significantly influenced by firm scope, size, location, and partnership with recycling providers, as well as whether recycling providers offer additional waste pickup services. Insights from this study are of use to local governments and environmental organizations interested in increasing horticultural firm participation in recycling programs and lowering the volume of plastic destined for landfills. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Plastic solidification system for radioactive waste

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kani, Jiro; Irie, Hiromitsu; Obu, Etsuji; Nakayama, Yasuyuki; Matsuura, Hiroyuki.

1979-01-01

The establishment of a new solidification system is an important theme for recent radioactive-waste disposal systems. The conditions required of new systems are: (1) the volume of the solidified product to be reduced, and (2) the property of the solidified product to be superior to the conventional ones. In the plastic solidification system developed by Toshiba, the waste is first dried and then solidified with thermosetting resin. It has been confirmed that the property of the plastic solidified product is superior to that of the cement-or bitumen-solidified product. Investigation from various phases is being carried on for the application of this method to commercial plants. (author)

Recycling of plastic waste: Presence of phthalates in plastics from households and industry

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pivnenko, Kostyantyn; Eriksen, Marie Kampmann; Martín-Fernández, J. A.

2016-01-01

recognised, the influence of plastic recycling on phthalate content has been hypothesised but not well documented. In the present work we analysed selected phthalates (DMP, DEP, DPP, DiBP, DBP, BBzP, DEHP, DCHP and DnOP) in samples of waste plastics as well as recycled and virgin plastics. DBP, DiBP and DEHP...... product manufacturing (labelling, gluing, etc.) and were not removed following recycling of household waste plastics. Furthermore, DEHP was identified as a potential indicator for phthalate contamination of plastics. Close monitoring of plastics intended for phthalates-sensitive applications...

Pyrolysis of municipal plastic wastes for recovery of gasoline-range hydrocarbons

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Demirbas, Ayhan [Department of Chemical Engineering, Selcuk University, Konya (Turkey)

2004-08-01

This paper describes non-catalytic pyrolysis of plastic waste materials. Three types of waste plastics were used in this study: polystyrene (PS), polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP). Under pyrolysis conditions, plastic wastes can be decomposed into three fractions: gas, liquid and solid residue. The liquid products are usually composed of higher boiling point hydrocarbons. In order to obtain useful gasoline-range hydrocarbons from the pyrolytic oil, fractional distillation is preferred for product separation. More valuable chemical raw materials including benzene, toluene and other condensed aromatic hydrocarbons may be obtained by refining the pyrolytic oil. The results showed that waste PS yielded higher liquid, and waste PE and PP yielded higher gaseous products. The dominant pyrolytic liquid product of PS waste was styrene.

Separate collection of plastic waste, better than technical sorting from municipal solid waste?

Science.gov (United States)

Feil, Alexander; Pretz, Thomas; Jansen, Michael; Thoden van Velzen, Eggo U

2017-02-01

The politically preferred solution to fulfil legal recycling demands is often implementing separate collection systems. However, experience shows their limitations, particularly in urban centres with a high population density. In response to the European Union landfill directive, mechanical biological waste treatment plants have been installed all over Europe. This technology makes it possible to retrieve plastic waste from municipal solid waste. Operators of mechanical biological waste treatment plants, both in Germany and the Netherlands, have started to change their mechanical separation processes to additionally produce plastic pre-concentrates. Results from mechanical biological waste treatment and separate collection of post-consumer packaging waste will be presented and compared. They prove that both the yield and the quality of plastic waste provided as feedstock for the production of secondary plastic raw material are largely comparable. An economic assessment shows which conditions for a technical sorting plant are economically attractive in comparison to separate collection systems. It is, however, unlikely that plastic recycling will ever reach cost neutrality.

Potential use of Plastic Waste as Construction Materials: Recent Progress and Future Prospect

Science.gov (United States)

Kamaruddin, M. A.; Abdullah, M. M. A.; Zawawi, M. H.; Zainol, M. R. R. A.

2017-11-01

Plastic associates products based have been considered as the world most consumer packaging solution. However, substantial quantities of plastic consumption have led to exponential increase of plastic derived waste. Recycling of plastic waste as valued added product such as concrete appears as one of promising solution for alternative use of plastic waste. This paper summarized recent progress on the development of concrete mixture which incorporates plastic wastes as partial aggregate replacement during concrete manufacturing. A collection of data from previous studies that have been researched which employed plastic waste in concrete mixtures were evaluated and conclusions are drawn based on the laboratory results of all the mentioned research papers studied.

Method of plastic solidification of radioactive wastes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Oikawa, Yasuo; Tokimitsu, Fujio.

1986-01-01

Purpose: To prevent occurrence of deleterious cracks to the inside and the surface of solidification products, as well as eliminate gaps between the products and the vessel inner wall upon plastic solidification processing for powdery or granular radioactive wastes. Method: An appropriate amount of thermoplastic resins such as styrenic polymer or vinyl acetate type polymer as a low shrinking agent is added and mixed with unsaturated polyester resins to be mixed with radioactive wastes so as to reduce the shrinkage-ratio to 0 % upon curing reaction. Thus, a great shrinkage upon hardening the mixture is suppressed to prevent the occurrence of cracks to the surface and the inside of the solidification products, as well as prevent the gaps between the inner walls of a drum can vessel and the products upon forming solidification products to the inside of the drum can. The resultant solidification products have a large compression strength and can sufficiently satisfy the evaluation standards as the plastic solidification products of radioactive wastes. (Horiuchi, T.)

Managing plastic waste in urban Kenya: niche innovations in production and recycling

OpenAIRE

Ombis, L.O.

2012-01-01

The problems with plastic waste in Kenyan cities are increasing to alarming levels. Especially disposable packaging made of very light plastic materials continues to burden the environment as well as compromise management capacities for waste by city authorities. In light of this, major cities of Kenya have in the last two decades registered participation of formal and informal private actors with strategies to curtail the flow of plastic waste to the environment. This study argues that such...

ECOLOGICAL AND ECONOMIC SUBSTANTIATION OF SELECTION OF THE METHOD FOR PLASTIC WASTE MANAGEMENT

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

T. P. Shanina

2015-11-01

Full Text Available Analysis of the classifications of plastic waste from production and consumption is made by various criteria. Distinctive features of the specifi ed waste behavior under various treatment methods (deposition at landfill, incineration and recycling are discussed. Clustering of the polymeric waste by hazard categories of the combustion products is performed. The polyvinyl-chlorides and polycarbonates which generate the most hazardous products under  the combustion are singled out in a particular cluster. The qualitative and quantitative descrip- The qualitative and quantitative description of the plastic waste generated in Ukraine from 2011 to 2013 is provided. Grossemissions of the polyvinylchloride and polystyrene waste incineration products are calculated. Evaluation of the environmental damage resulting from implementation of various methods for plastic waste management is based on an environmental tax rate having a compensatory nature. Potential profit from selling the secondary raw materials, produced from plastic waste, is analysed. Ranking of the potential methods for plastic waste management is presented in the context of ecological and economic substantiation: the most preferable method is production of secondary raw materials (recycled resources; the least preferable one is incineration of the specified wastes.

Energy recycling of plastic and rubber wastes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hussain, R.

2003-01-01

Major areas for applications of plastics and rubbers are building and construction, packaging, transportation, automobiles, furniture, house wares, appliances, electrical and electronics. Approximately 20% of all the plastics produced are utilized by the building and construction industry/sup (1-3)/. Categories of polymers mostly used in the above industries include poly (vinyl chloride), polypropylene, polyethylene, polystyrene phenolics, acrylics and urethanes. Tyres and tubes are almost exclusively made up of rubbers. One third of total consumption of plastics finds applications, like films, bottles and packaging, in food-products that have a maximum life-span of two years, after which these find way to waste dumps. As the polymer industry in Pakistan is set to grow very rapidly in the near future the increase in utilization of plastic products in synchronous with the advent of computers and information technology. About 0.60 Kg per capita of waste generated daily in Lahore /(7.14)/ contains considerable quantity of plastics. (AB)

Plastic solidification method for radioactive waste

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tomita, Toshihide; Inakuma, Masahiko.

1992-01-01

Condensed liquid wastes in radioactive wastes are formed by mixing and condensing several kinds of liquid wastes such as liquid wastes upon regeneration of ion exchange resins, floor draining liquid wastes and equipment draining liquid wastes. Accordingly, various materials are contained, and it is found that polymerization reaction of plastics is inhibited especially when reductive material, such as sodium nitrite is present. Then, in the present invention, upon mixing thermosetting resins to radioactive wastes containing reducing materials, an alkaline material is admixed to an unstaturated polyester resin. This can inactivate the terminal groups of unsaturated polyester chain, to prevent the dissociation of the reducing agent such as sodium nitrite. Further, if an unsaturated polyester resin of low acid value and a polymerization initiator for high temperature are used in addition to the alkaline material, the effect is further enhanced, thereby enabling to obtain a strong plastic solidification products. (T.M.)

Thermal recycling of plastic waste using pyrolysis-gasification process for energy production

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Forbit, George Teke

2012-04-04

The disposal of mixed waste in landfills, dump sites and open burning without material and energy recovery leads to resource loss, causes health problems, pollution and littering. Increasing energy demand for industrial and domestic application with rising costs due to scarcity motivates a constant search for alternative clean energy sources. Recovering energy from waste presents various incentives e.g. creating jobs, alleviating poverty, combating and mitigating climate change, protecting the environment and reducing dependence on traditional fuels sources. Hence, plastics end up in landfills, surface waters and ocean bed with serious negative impact on terrestrial and aquatic biodiversity. Plastic waste with high calorific value (36-46MJ/kg) occupies the greatest portion of landfill space. Hence, using an appropriate technology to transform waste plastic to a hot gaseous mixture which is burned in-situ produces enormous amount of energy without pollution. Based on this hypothesis, the study objectives accomplished were to: 1. Characterise, quantify and classify waste fractions and plastic components common in MSW by manual sorting 2. Evaluate options for sustainable plastic waste management especially for developing countries 3. Design, construct, test and optimize an appropriate technology that applies pyrolysis and gasification processes to convert non-PVC plastic waste to energy 4. Assess the efficiency of the technology based on the functioning, the engineering, mass and energy analysis including socioeconomic and environmental impacts An integrated methodology involving review of current literature, field and laboratory experiments on mixed waste and plastic waste analysis was used. In addition, the pyrolysis-gasification technology (PGT) was conceptualised, designed, constructed, tested and optimised at BTU Cottbus, Germany; Lagos, Nigeria and Dschang, Cameroon. Field studies involving natural observation, interviews, personal discussions and visits to

Thermal recycling of plastic waste using pyrolysis-gasification process for energy production

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Forbit, George Teke

2012-04-04

The disposal of mixed waste in landfills, dump sites and open burning without material and energy recovery leads to resource loss, causes health problems, pollution and littering. Increasing energy demand for industrial and domestic application with rising costs due to scarcity motivates a constant search for alternative clean energy sources. Recovering energy from waste presents various incentives e.g. creating jobs, alleviating poverty, combating and mitigating climate change, protecting the environment and reducing dependence on traditional fuels sources. Hence, plastics end up in landfills, surface waters and ocean bed with serious negative impact on terrestrial and aquatic biodiversity. Plastic waste with high calorific value (36-46MJ/kg) occupies the greatest portion of landfill space. Hence, using an appropriate technology to transform waste plastic to a hot gaseous mixture which is burned in-situ produces enormous amount of energy without pollution. Based on this hypothesis, the study objectives accomplished were to: 1. Characterise, quantify and classify waste fractions and plastic components common in MSW by manual sorting 2. Evaluate options for sustainable plastic waste management especially for developing countries 3. Design, construct, test and optimize an appropriate technology that applies pyrolysis and gasification processes to convert non-PVC plastic waste to energy 4. Assess the efficiency of the technology based on the functioning, the engineering, mass and energy analysis including socioeconomic and environmental impacts An integrated methodology involving review of current literature, field and laboratory experiments on mixed waste and plastic waste analysis was used. In addition, the pyrolysis-gasification technology (PGT) was conceptualised, designed, constructed, tested and optimised at BTU Cottbus, Germany; Lagos, Nigeria and Dschang, Cameroon. Field studies involving natural observation, interviews, personal discussions and visits to

Plastic waste depolymerization as a source of energetic heating oils

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wołosiewicz-Głąb Marta

2017-01-01

Full Text Available In the past years there has been an increase in production and consumption of plastics, which are widely used in many areas of life. Waste generated from this material are a challenge for the whole of society, regardless of awareness of sustainable development and its technological progress. Still the method of disposal of plastic waste are focused mainly on their storage and incineration, not using energy contained there. In this paper technology for plastic waste depolymerization with characteristics of fuel oil resulting in the process, as an alternative to traditional energy carriers such as: coal, fine coal or coke used in households will be presented. Oil has a high calorific value and no doubt could replace traditional solutions which use conventional energy sources. Furthermore, the fuel resulting from this process is sulfur-free and chemically pure. The paper presents the installation for plastics waste depolymerization used in selected Polish Institute of Plastics Processing, along with the ability to use the main thermocatalytic transformation product.

Recycling of plastic waste: Presence of phthalates in plastics from households and industry.

Science.gov (United States)

Pivnenko, K; Eriksen, M K; Martín-Fernández, J A; Eriksson, E; Astrup, T F

2016-08-01

Plastics recycling has the potential to substitute virgin plastics partially as a source of raw materials in plastic product manufacturing. Plastic as a material may contain a variety of chemicals, some potentially hazardous. Phthalates, for instance, are a group of chemicals produced in large volumes and are commonly used as plasticisers in plastics manufacturing. Potential impacts on human health require restricted use in selected applications and a need for the closer monitoring of potential sources of human exposure. Although the presence of phthalates in a variety of plastics has been recognised, the influence of plastic recycling on phthalate content has been hypothesised but not well documented. In the present work we analysed selected phthalates (DMP, DEP, DPP, DiBP, DBP, BBzP, DEHP, DCHP and DnOP) in samples of waste plastics as well as recycled and virgin plastics. DBP, DiBP and DEHP had the highest frequency of detection in the samples analysed, with 360μg/g, 460μg/g and 2700μg/g as the maximum measured concentrations, respectively. Among other, statistical analysis of the analytical results suggested that phthalates were potentially added in the later stages of plastic product manufacturing (labelling, gluing, etc.) and were not removed following recycling of household waste plastics. Furthermore, DEHP was identified as a potential indicator for phthalate contamination of plastics. Close monitoring of plastics intended for phthalates-sensitive applications is recommended if recycled plastics are to be used as raw material in production. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Managing plastic waste in urban Kenya: niche innovations in production and recycling

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Ombis, L.O.

2012-01-01

The problems with plastic waste in Kenyan cities are increasing to alarming levels. Especially disposable packaging made of very light plastic materials continues to burden the environment as well as compromise management capacities for waste by city authorities. In light of this, major cities

Recycling potential of post-consumer plastic packaging waste in Finland.

Science.gov (United States)

Dahlbo, Helena; Poliakova, Valeria; Mylläri, Ville; Sahimaa, Olli; Anderson, Reetta

2018-01-01

composition study only on mixed MSW plastic fraction. In order to obtain more precise figures of the recycling potential of post-consumer plastic packaging, more studies should be performed on both the quantities and the qualities of plastic wastes. The mechanical and rheological test results indicated that even plastic wastes originating from the mixed MSW, can be useful raw materials. Recycled HDPE showed a smaller decline in the mechanical properties than recycled PP. The origin and processing method of waste plastic seemed to have less effect on the mechanical quality than the type of plastic. The applicability of a plastic waste for a product needs to be assessed case by case, due to product specific quality requirements. In addition to mechanical properties, the chemical composition of plastic wastes is of major importance, in order to be able to restrict hazardous substances from being circulated undesirably. In addition to quantity and quality of plastic wastes, the sustainability of the whole recycling chain needs to be assessed prior to launching operations so that the chain can be optimized to generate both environmental and economic benefits to society and operators. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Pyrolysis of plastic packaging waste: A comparison of plastic residuals from material recovery facilities with simulated plastic waste.

Science.gov (United States)

Adrados, A; de Marco, I; Caballero, B M; López, A; Laresgoiti, M F; Torres, A

2012-05-01

Pyrolysis may be an alternative for the reclamation of rejected streams of waste from sorting plants where packing and packaging plastic waste is separated and classified. These rejected streams consist of many different materials (e.g., polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), polystyrene (PS), polyvinyl chloride (PVC), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), aluminum, tetra-brik, and film) for which an attempt at complete separation is not technically possible or economically viable, and they are typically sent to landfills or incinerators. For this study, a simulated plastic mixture and a real waste sample from a sorting plant were pyrolyzed using a non-stirred semi-batch reactor. Red mud, a byproduct of the aluminum industry, was used as a catalyst. Despite the fact that the samples had a similar volume of material, there were noteworthy differences in the pyrolysis yields. The real waste sample resulted, after pyrolysis, in higher gas and solid yields and consequently produced less liquid. There were also significant differences noted in the compositions of the compared pyrolysis products. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

From waste plastics to industrial raw materials: A life cycle assessment of mechanical plastic recycling practice based on a real-world case study.

Science.gov (United States)

Gu, Fu; Guo, Jianfeng; Zhang, Wujie; Summers, Peter A; Hall, Philip

2017-12-01

Mechanical recycling of waste plastics is an environmental solution to the problem of waste plastic disposal, and has already become a common practice in industry. However, limited information can be found on either the industralised plastic recycling or the recycled materials, despite the use of recycled plastics has already extended to automobile production. This study investigates the life cycle environmental impacts of mechanical plastic recycling practice of a plastic recycling company in China. Waste plastics from various sources, such as agricultural wastes, plastic product manufacturers, collected solid plastic wastes and parts dismantled from waste electric and electronic equipments, are processed in three routes with products end up in different markets. The results of life cycle assessments show that the extrusion process has the largest environmental impacts, followed by the use of fillers and additives. Compared to production of virgin plastics and composites, the mechanical recycling is proved to be a superior alternative in most environmental aspects. Substituting virgin plastic composites with recycled plastic composites has achieved the highest environmental benefits, as virgin composite production has an impact almost 4 times higher that of the recycled composite production in each ReCiPe endpoint damage factor. Sensitivity analysis shows that the coverage of collecting network contribute affect little to overall environmental impact, and centralisation plays an important role in reducing overall environmental impacts. Among the fillers and additives, impact modifiers account for the most significant contributions to the environmental impacts of recycled composites. This study provides necessary information about the existing industrialised plastic recycling practice, and recommendations are given. Research implications are presented with the purpose to achieve higher substitution rate and lower environmental impact. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B

Study of plastic solidification process on solid radioactive waste treatment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jing Weiguan; Zhang Yinsheng; Qian Wenju

1994-01-01

Comparisons between the plastic solidification conditions of incinerated ash and waste cation resin by using thermosetting plastic polyvinyl chloride (PVC), polystyrene (PS) and polyethylene (PE), and identified physico-chemical properties and irradiation resistance of solidified products were presented. These solidified products have passed through different tests as compression strength, leachability, durability, stability, permeability and irradiation resistance (10 6 Gy) etc. The result showed that the solidified products possessed stable properties and met the storage requirement. The waste tube of radioimmunoassay, being used as solidification medium to contain incinerated ash, had good mechanical properties and satisfactory volume reduction. This process may develop a new way for disposal solid radioactive waste by means of re-using waste

THE EFFECT OF AMOUNT OF NATURAL ZEOLIT CATALYST IN PRODUCT OF POLYPROPILENE (PP PLASTIC WASTE PYROLYSIS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

khalimatus sa'diyah

2015-12-01

Full Text Available To overcome the waste problem, especially plastic waste , environmental concerned scientists from various disciplines have conducted various research and actions. Catalytic pyrolysis processes was chosen as an alternative method to recycle plastic waste. The purpose of this experiment was to determine the effect of natural zeolit catalyst on the pyrolysis process with oxygen-free conditions to obtain maximum hydrocarbon compounds (gasoline fraction in C5-C9. The process of pyrolysis was conducted in 3.5 dm3 unstirred stainless steel semi-batch reactor. This process operated at atmospheric pressure with nitrogen injection. Plastic waste that used in this particular paper was 50 grams of polypropylene (PP. In pyrolysis process, natural zeolite catalysts was added 2,5 gram (5% weight of natural zeolite per weight of plastic waste samples, 5 gram (10% , and 10 gram (20%. Temperature of pyrolysis was 450°C and were maintained until 30 minutes. Steam that produced from pyrolisis was condensed and analysed by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC-MS to determine yield of hydrocarbons produced. From the analysis of GC-MS, liquid products of pyrolysis contained lots of aromatic hydrocarbons. The optimal amount of catalyst that produce liquid with hydrocarbon compound that has the quality of gasoline was 10 gram (20% with ≤C9 composition as 29,16% n-paraffin, 9,22% cycloparaffin, and 61,64% aromatics.

Products derived from waste plastics (PC, HIPS, ABS, PP and PA6) via hydrothermal treatment: Characterization and potential applications.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhao, Xuyuan; Zhan, Lu; Xie, Bing; Gao, Bin

2018-05-26

In this study, hydrothermal method was applied for the treatment of five typical waste plastics (PC, HIPS, ABS, PP and PA6). The hydrothermal products of oils and solid residues were analyzed for the product slate and combustion behaviors. Some predominant chemical feedstock were detected in the oils, such as phenolic compounds and bisphenol A (BPA) in PC oils, single-ringed aromatic compounds and diphenyl-sketetons compounds in HIPS and ABS oils, alkanes in PP oils, and caprolactam (CPL) in PA6 oils. The hydrothermal solid residues were subjected to DSC analysis. Except the solid residues of PA6, all the solid residues had enormous improvement on the enthalpy of combustion. The solid residues of PC had the maximum promotion up to 576.03% compared to the raw material. The hydrothermal treatment significantly improved the energy density and facilitated effective combustion. Meanwhile, the glass fiber was recovered from the PA6 plastics. In addition, the combustion behaviors of the uplifting residues were investigated to provide the theoretical foundation for further study of combustion optimization. All the results indicated that the oils of waste plastics after hydrothermal treatment could be used as chemical feedstock; the solid residues of waste plastics after hydrothermal treatment could be used as potentially clean and efficient solid fuels. The hydrothermal treatment for various waste plastics was verified as a novel waste-to-energy technique. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Assessment of plastic packaging waste : material origin, methods, properties

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Luijsterburg, B.J.; Goossens, J.G.P.

2014-01-01

The global plastics production has increased annually and a substantial part is used for packaging (in Europe 39%). Most plastic packages are discarded after a relatively short service life and the resulting plastic packaging waste is subsequently landfilled, incinerated or recycled. Laws of several

Production of high-calorie energy briquettes from bark waste, plastic and oil

Science.gov (United States)

Suwinarti, W.; Amirta, R.; Yuliansyah

2018-04-01

Bark is the waste generated from the utilization of plantation timber, while plastics and oil waste are produced from daily human activity. These waste has the potential to be used as energy briquettes raw materials, especially for fuel in power plants. It would be worth very strategic for the environment and the welfare of society, considering that at this time we are not yet fully capable of well managing all three waste types. On the other hands most of the power plants that operate today still use diesel and coal as fuel. Therefore, the best composition of mixing bark, plastic and oil will be studied as well as its influence on the physical and chemical quality of the briquettes produced. The results show that the addition of the oil waste (70%) and used plastic (30%) as additive give effect to the performance of the briquette formation with the highest calorific value of 33.56 MJ/kg.

Waste Plastic Converting into Hydrocarbon Fuel Materials

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sarker, Moinuddin; Mamunor Rashid, Mohammad; Molla, Mohammad

2010-09-15

The increased demand and high prices for energy sources are driving efforts to convert organic compounds into useful hydrocarbon fuels. Although much of this work has focused on biomass, there are strong benefits to deriving fuels from waste plastic material. Natural State Research Inc. (NSR) has invented a simple and economically viable process to decompose the hydrocarbon polymers of waste plastic into the shorter chain hydrocarbon of liquid fuel (patent pending). The method and principle of the production / process will be discussed. Initial tests with several widely used polymers indicate a high potential for commercialization.

'Like new': plastic wastes regeneration by radiation induced grafting

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Laizier, J.; Gaussens, G.; Lemaire, F.

1978-01-01

The reclaiming and the recycling of plastic wastes is made especially difficult when those wastes are a mixture of various plastics; this is due to the incompatibility of the polymers. The radiation induced grafting allows to overcome this incompatibility. Results are given which shows that, for various mixtures of reclaimed polyethylene, PVC and polystyrene, an improvement of the properties of the processed blends is obtained by grafting the mixtures of wastes by a suitable polymer; the obtained properties of those regenerated plastic blends are enough attractive from the technical point of view to open a market to those products with a reasonable economical value [fr

Recycling of plastic waste: Presence of phthalates in plastics from households and industry

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pivnenko, Kostyantyn; Eriksen, Marie Kampmann; Martín-Fernández, J. A.

2016-01-01

Plastics recycling has the potential to substitute virgin plastics partially as a source of raw materials in plastic product manufacturing. Plastic as a material may contain a variety of chemicals, some potentially hazardous. Phthalates, for instance, are a group of chemicals produced in large...... recognised, the influence of plastic recycling on phthalate content has been hypothesised but not well documented. In the present work we analysed selected phthalates (DMP, DEP, DPP, DiBP, DBP, BBzP, DEHP, DCHP and DnOP) in samples of waste plastics as well as recycled and virgin plastics. DBP, DiBP and DEHP...

Flash Cracking Reactor for Waste Plastic Processing

Science.gov (United States)

Timko, Michael T.; Wong, Hsi-Wu; Gonzalez, Lino A.; Broadbelt, Linda; Raviknishan, Vinu

2013-01-01

Conversion of waste plastic to energy is a growing problem that is especially acute in space exploration applications. Moreover, utilization of heavy hydrocarbon resources (wastes, waxes, etc.) as fuels and chemicals will be a growing need in the future. Existing technologies require a trade-off between product selectivity and feedstock conversion. The objective of this work was to maintain high plastic-to-fuel conversion without sacrificing the liquid yield. The developed technology accomplishes this goal with a combined understanding of thermodynamics, reaction rates, and mass transport to achieve high feed conversion without sacrificing product selectivity. The innovation requires a reaction vessel, hydrocarbon feed, gas feed, and pressure and temperature control equipment. Depending on the feedstock and desired product distribution, catalyst can be added. The reactor is heated to the desired tempera ture, pressurized to the desired pressure, and subject to a sweep flow at the optimized superficial velocity. Software developed under this project can be used to determine optimal values for these parameters. Product is vaporized, transferred to a receiver, and cooled to a liquid - a form suitable for long-term storage as a fuel or chemical. An important NASA application is the use of solar energy to convert waste plastic into a form that can be utilized during periods of low solar energy flux. Unlike previous work in this field, this innovation uses thermodynamic, mass transport, and reaction parameters to tune product distribution of pyrolysis cracking. Previous work in this field has used some of these variables, but never all in conjunction for process optimization. This method is useful for municipal waste incinerator operators and gas-to-liquids companies.

Reduction experiment of iron scale by adding waste plastics.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Chongmin; Chen, Shuwen; Miao, Xincheng; Yuan, Hao

2009-01-01

The special features of waste plastics in China are huge in total amount, various in type and dispersive in deposition. Therefore, it is necessary to try some new ways that are fit to Chinese situation for disposing waste plastics as metallurgical raw materials more effectively and flexibly. Owing to its high ferrous content and less impurity, the iron scale became ideal raw material to produce pure iron powder. One of the methods to produce pure iron powder is Hoganas Method, by which, after one or multistage of reduction steps, the iron scale can be reduced pure iron powder. However, combining utilization of waste plastics and iron powder production, a series of reduction experiments were arranged and investigated, which is hoped to take use of both thermal and chemical energy contained in waste plastics as well as to improve the reducing condition of iron scale, and hence to develop a new metallurgical way of disposing waste plastics. The results show that under these experimental conditions, the thermal-decomposition of water plastics can conduce to an increase of porosity in the reduction systems. Moreover, better thermodynamics and kinetics conditions for the reduction of scale can be reached. As a result, the reduction rate is increased.

Alkaline Depolymerization of Polyethylene Terephthalate Plastic Waste

OpenAIRE

Ammar F. Abbas

2016-01-01

Depolymerization reaction is considered one of the most significant ways of converting waste polyethylene terephthalate in to terephthalic acid. The water polyethylene terephthalate bottle waste was collected from different places in Baghdad. The collection step shows that there is plenty amount of polyethylene terephthalate suitable to be an important source of terephthalic acid production.PET plastic waste conversion to terephthalic acid by depolymerization process was examined. The effect ...

Plastic solid waste utilization technologies: A Review

Science.gov (United States)

Awasthi, Arun Kumar; Shivashankar, Murugesh; Majumder, Suman

2017-11-01

Plastics are used in more number of applications in worldwide and it becomes essential part of our daily life. In Indian cities and villages people use the plastics in buying vegetable as a carry bag, drinking water bottle, use of plastic furniture in home, plastics objects uses in kitchen, plastic drums in packing and storage of the different chemicals for industrial use, use plastic utensils in home and many more uses. After usage of plastics it will become part of waste garbage and create pollution due to presence of toxic chemicals and it will be spread diseases and give birth to uncontrolled issues in social society. In current scenario consumption of plastic waste increasing day by day and it is very difficult to manage the plastic waste. There are limited methodologies available for reutilization of plastic waste again. Such examples are recycling, landfill, incineration, gasification and hydrogenation. In this paper we will review the existing methodologies of utilization of plastic waste in current scenario

Production, use, and fate of all plastics ever made.

Science.gov (United States)

Geyer, Roland; Jambeck, Jenna R; Law, Kara Lavender

2017-07-01

Plastics have outgrown most man-made materials and have long been under environmental scrutiny. However, robust global information, particularly about their end-of-life fate, is lacking. By identifying and synthesizing dispersed data on production, use, and end-of-life management of polymer resins, synthetic fibers, and additives, we present the first global analysis of all mass-produced plastics ever manufactured. We estimate that 8300 million metric tons (Mt) as of virgin plastics have been produced to date. As of 2015, approximately 6300 Mt of plastic waste had been generated, around 9% of which had been recycled, 12% was incinerated, and 79% was accumulated in landfills or the natural environment. If current production and waste management trends continue, roughly 12,000 Mt of plastic waste will be in landfills or in the natural environment by 2050.

PROFILE OF PLASTIC WATER BOTTLES WASTES PROCESSING BUSINESS UNIT FOR WASTE PICKERS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Herijanto P.

2017-09-01

Full Text Available Used plastic water bottles waste pickers can be categorized as one of the informal sector’s component. They work for themselves by picking up used water bottles and selling them to the waste collectors. The problem to be solved in this research is How the Most Appropriate Used Plastic Water Bottles Business Model for Waste Pickers Is that enables them to be categorized as formal sector. From the result of the interview with 120 waste pickers, 96 results were qualified to be analyzed. The interview was located in several waste collectors, which were visited by waste pickers at certain hours. The data were analyzed descriptively based on six business aspects. Specifically for production facilities, Quality Function Deployment (QFD and Value Engineering (VE analysis were performed. The results of the analysis indicate that the business is practicable for waste pickers and has the potential to enable them run a formal business sector.

Life cycle assessment of post-consumer plastics production from waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) treatment residues in a Central European plastics recycling plant

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wäger, Patrick A.; Hischier, Roland

2015-01-01

Plastics play an increasingly important role in reaching the recovery and recycling rates defined in the European WEEE Directive. In a recent study we have determined the life cycle environmental impacts of post-consumer plastics production from mixed, plastics-rich WEEE treatment residues in the Central European plant of a market-leading plastics recycler, both from the perspective of the customers delivering the residues and the customers buying the obtained post-consumer recycled plastics. The results of our life cycle assessments, which were extensively tested with sensitivity analyses, show that from both perspectives plastics recycling is clearly superior to the alternatives considered in this study (i.e. municipal solid waste incineration (MSWI) and virgin plastics production). For the three ReCiPe endpoint damage categories, incineration in an MSWI plant results in an impact exceeding that of the examined plastics recycling facility each by about a factor of 4, and the production of virgin plastics has an impact exceeding that of the post-consumer recycled (PCR) plastics production each by a factor of 6–10. On a midpoint indicator level the picture is more differentiated, showing that the environmental impacts of the recycling options are lower by 50% and more for almost all impact factors. While this provides the necessary evidence for the environmental benefits of plastics recycling compared to existing alternatives, it can, however, not be taken as conclusive evidence. To be conclusive, future research will have to address the fate of hazardous substances in the outputs of such recycling systems in more detail. - Highlights: • LCA of plastics production from plastics-rich WEEE treatment residues • Multiple stakeholder perspectives addressed via different research questions • Plastics production from WEEE treatment residues clearly superior to alternatives • Robust results as demonstrated by extensive sensitivity analyses

Life cycle assessment of post-consumer plastics production from waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) treatment residues in a Central European plastics recycling plant

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wäger, Patrick A., E-mail: patrick.waeger@empa.ch; Hischier, Roland

2015-10-01

Plastics play an increasingly important role in reaching the recovery and recycling rates defined in the European WEEE Directive. In a recent study we have determined the life cycle environmental impacts of post-consumer plastics production from mixed, plastics-rich WEEE treatment residues in the Central European plant of a market-leading plastics recycler, both from the perspective of the customers delivering the residues and the customers buying the obtained post-consumer recycled plastics. The results of our life cycle assessments, which were extensively tested with sensitivity analyses, show that from both perspectives plastics recycling is clearly superior to the alternatives considered in this study (i.e. municipal solid waste incineration (MSWI) and virgin plastics production). For the three ReCiPe endpoint damage categories, incineration in an MSWI plant results in an impact exceeding that of the examined plastics recycling facility each by about a factor of 4, and the production of virgin plastics has an impact exceeding that of the post-consumer recycled (PCR) plastics production each by a factor of 6–10. On a midpoint indicator level the picture is more differentiated, showing that the environmental impacts of the recycling options are lower by 50% and more for almost all impact factors. While this provides the necessary evidence for the environmental benefits of plastics recycling compared to existing alternatives, it can, however, not be taken as conclusive evidence. To be conclusive, future research will have to address the fate of hazardous substances in the outputs of such recycling systems in more detail. - Highlights: • LCA of plastics production from plastics-rich WEEE treatment residues • Multiple stakeholder perspectives addressed via different research questions • Plastics production from WEEE treatment residues clearly superior to alternatives • Robust results as demonstrated by extensive sensitivity analyses.

A review on thermal and catalytic pyrolysis of plastic solid waste (PSW).

Science.gov (United States)

Al-Salem, S M; Antelava, A; Constantinou, A; Manos, G; Dutta, A

2017-07-15

Plastic plays an important role in our daily lives due to its versatility, light weight and low production cost. Plastics became essential in many sectors such as construction, medical, engineering applications, automotive, aerospace, etc. In addition, economic growth and development also increased our demand and dependency on plastics which leads to its accumulation in landfills imposing risk on human health, animals and cause environmental pollution problems such as ground water contamination, sanitary related issues, etc. Hence, a sustainable and an efficient plastic waste treatment is essential to avoid such issues. Pyrolysis is a thermo-chemical plastic waste treatment technique which can solve such pollution problems, as well as, recover valuable energy and products such as oil and gas. Pyrolysis of plastic solid waste (PSW) has gained importance due to having better advantages towards environmental pollution and reduction of carbon footprint of plastic products by minimizing the emissions of carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide compared to combustion and gasification. This paper presents the existing techniques of pyrolysis, the parameters which affect the products yield and selectivity and identify major research gaps in this technology. The influence of different catalysts on the process as well as review and comparative assessment of pyrolysis with other thermal and catalytic plastic treatment methods, is also presented. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Chemical recycling of mixed waste plastics by selective pyrolysis

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tatsumoto, K.; Meglen, R.; Evans, R. [National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Golden, CO (United States)

1995-05-01

The goal of this work is to use selective pyrolysis to produce high-value chemicals from waste plastics mixtures. Selectivity is achieved by exploiting differences in reaction rates, catalysis, and coreactants. Target wastes are molecular mixtures such as; blends or composites, or mixtures from manufactured products such as; carpets and post-consumer mixed-plastic wastes. The experimental approach has been to use small-scale experiments using molecular beam mass spectrometry (MBMS), which provides rapid analysis of reaction products and permits rapid screening of process parameters. Rapid screening experiments permit exploration of many potential waste stream applications for the selective pyrolysis process. After initial screening, small-scale, fixed-bed and fluidized-bed reactors are used to provide products for conventional chemical analysis, to determine material balances, and to test the concept under conditions that will be used at a larger scale. Computer assisted data interpretation and intelligent chemical processing are used to extract process-relevant information from these experiments. An important element of this project employs technoeconomic assessments and market analyses of durables, the availability of other wastes, and end-product uses to identify target applications that have the potential for economic success.

Recycling of plastic waste: Screening for brominated flame retardants (BFRs).

Science.gov (United States)

Pivnenko, K; Granby, K; Eriksson, E; Astrup, T F

2017-11-01

Flame retardants are chemicals vital for reducing risks of fire and preventing human casualties and property losses. Due to the abundance, low cost and high performance of bromine, brominated flame retardants (BFRs) have had a significant share of the market for years. Physical stability on the other hand, has resulted in dispersion and accumulation of selected BFRs in the environment and receiving biota. A wide range of plastic products may contain BFRs. This affects the quality of waste plastics as secondary resource: material recycling may potentially reintroduce the BFRs into new plastic product cycles and lead to increased exposure levels, e.g. through use of plastic packaging materials. To provide quantitative and qualitative data on presence of BFRs in plastics, we analysed bromophenols (tetrabromobisphenol A (TBBPA), dibromophenols (2,4- and 2,6-DBP) and 2,4,6-tribromophenol (2,4,6-TBP)), hexabromocyclododecane stereoisomers (α-, β-, and γ-HBCD), as well as selected polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) in samples of household waste plastics, virgin and recycled plastics. A considerable number of samples contained BFRs, with highest concentrations associated with acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS, up to 26,000,000ngTBBPA/g) and polystyrene (PS, up to 330,000ng∑HBCD/g). Abundancy in low concentrations of some BFRs in plastic samples suggested either unintended addition in plastic products or degradation of higher molecular weight BFRs. The presence of currently restricted flame retardants (PBDEs and HBCD) identified in the plastic samples illustrates that circular material flows may be contaminated for extended periods. The screening clearly showed a need for improved documentation and monitoring of the presence of BFRs in plastic waste routed to recycling. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Environment friendly solutions of plastics waste management

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pirzada, F.N.; Riffat, T.; Pirzada, M.D.S.

1997-01-01

The use of plastics is growing worldwide. Consequently, the volume of plastic waste is also increasing. Presently, more than 100 million tons per year of plastic is being produced globally. In U.S. alone more than 10 million tons of plastic is being dumped in landfills as waste, where it can persist for decades. This has resulted in exhausting old landfills. Public awareness on environment is also making it difficult to find new sites for landfills. This has led to increased emphasis on treatment and recycling of plastic wastes. Volume reduction of plastic waste has some unique problems. They arise from the intrinsic chemical inertness of polymeric materials and toxic nature of their degradation byproducts. The paper reviews the present state of plastic waste management including land filling, incineration and recycling technologies. The technical problems associated with each of these processes have been discussed. There is also brief description of ongoing R and D for finding improved methods of plastic waste handling with their promises and problems. The role of tougher legislation in developing better recycling methods and degradable plastics has also been evaluated. The claims made by the proponents of degradable polymers have also been critically reviewed. (authors)

Investigation Of HDPE Plastic Waste Aggregate On The Properties Of Concrete

OpenAIRE

A. M. Mustafa Al Bakri; S. Mohammad Tamizi; A. R. Rafiza; Y. Zarina

2011-01-01

Quantities of polymer wastes have increased in recent years due to increases in industrialization and the rapid improvement in the standard of living. In Malaysia, most polymer wastes are abandoned and not recycled, causing serious problems, such as the waste of natural resources and environmental pollution. Polymer products, such as synthetic fibers, plastics, and rubber, are made from petrochemical compounds, and they degrade extremely slowly in the natural environment. Plastic materials ar...

Sustainable Steel Carburization by Using Snack Packaging Plastic Waste as Carbon Resources

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Songyan Yin

2018-01-01

Full Text Available In recent years, the research regarding waste conversion to resources technology has attracted growing attention with the continued increase of waste accumulation issues and rapid depletion of natural resources. However, the study, with respect to utilizing plastics waste as carbon resources in the metals industry, is still limited. In this work, an environmentally friendly approach to utilize snack packaging plastic waste as a valuable carbon resources for steel carburization is investigated. At high temperature, plastic waste could be subject to pyrolytic gasification and decompose into small molecular hydrocarbon gaseous products which have the potential to be used as carburization agents for steel. When heating some snack packaging plastic waste and a steel sample together at the carburization temperature, a considerable amount of carbon-rich reducing gases, like methane, could be liberated from the plastic waste and absorbed by the steel sample as a carbon precursor for carburization. The resulting carburization effect on steel was investigated by optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, electron probe microanalyzer, and X-ray photoelectron spectrometer techniques. These investigation results all showed that snack packaging plastic waste could work effectively as a valuable carbon resource for steel carburization leading to a significant increase of surface carbon content and the corresponding microstructure evolution in steel.

Life cycle assessment of post-consumer plastics production from waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) treatment residues in a Central European plastics recycling plant.

Science.gov (United States)

Wäger, Patrick A; Hischier, Roland

2015-10-01

Plastics play an increasingly important role in reaching the recovery and recycling rates defined in the European WEEE Directive. In a recent study we have determined the life cycle environmental impacts of post-consumer plastics production from mixed, plastics-rich WEEE treatment residues in the Central European plant of a market-leading plastics recycler, both from the perspective of the customers delivering the residues and the customers buying the obtained post-consumer recycled plastics. The results of our life cycle assessments, which were extensively tested with sensitivity analyses, show that from both perspectives plastics recycling is clearly superior to the alternatives considered in this study (i.e. municipal solid waste incineration (MSWI) and virgin plastics production). For the three ReCiPe endpoint damage categories, incineration in an MSWI plant results in an impact exceeding that of the examined plastics recycling facility each by about a factor of 4, and the production of virgin plastics has an impact exceeding that of the post-consumer recycled (PCR) plastics production each by a factor of 6-10. On a midpoint indicator level the picture is more differentiated, showing that the environmental impacts of the recycling options are lower by 50% and more for almost all impact factors. While this provides the necessary evidence for the environmental benefits of plastics recycling compared to existing alternatives, it can, however, not be taken as conclusive evidence. To be conclusive, future research will have to address the fate of hazardous substances in the outputs of such recycling systems in more detail. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The waste-to-energy framework for integrated multi-waste utilization: Waste cooking oil, waste lubricating oil, and waste plastics

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Singhabhandhu, Ampaitepin; Tezuka, Tetsuo [Energy Economics Laboratory, Department of Socio-Environmental Energy Science, Graduate School of Energy Science, Kyoto University, Yoshida-honmachi, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8501 (Japan)

2010-06-15

Energy generation by wastes is considered one method of waste management that has the benefit of energy recovery. From the waste-to-energy point of view, waste cooking oil, waste lubricating oil, and waste plastics have been considered good candidates for feedstocks for energy conversion due to their high heating values. Compared to the independent management of these three wastes, the idea of co-processing them in integration is expected to gain more benefit. The economies of scale and the synergy of co-processing these wastes results in higher quality and higher yield of the end products. In this study, we use cost-benefit analysis to evaluate the integrated management scenario of collecting the three wastes and converting them to energy. We report the total heat of combustion of pyrolytic oil at the maximum and minimum conversion rates, and conduct a sensitivity analysis in which the parameters of an increase of the electricity cost for operating the process and increase of the feedstock transportation cost are tested. We evaluate the effects of economy of scale in the case of integrated waste management. We compare four cases of waste-to-energy conversion with the business as usual (BAU) scenario, and our results show that the integrated co-processing of waste cooking oil, waste lubricating oil, and waste plastics is the most profitable from the viewpoints of energy yield and economics. (author)

Forecasting waste compositions: A case study on plastic waste of electronic display housings.

Science.gov (United States)

Peeters, Jef R; Vanegas, Paul; Kellens, Karel; Wang, Feng; Huisman, Jaco; Dewulf, Wim; Duflou, Joost R

2015-12-01

Because of the rapid succession of technological developments, the architecture and material composition of many products used in daily life have drastically changed over the last decades. As a result, well-adjusted recycling technologies need to be developed and installed to cope with these evolutions. This is essential to guarantee continued access to materials and to reduce the ecological impact of our material consumption. However, limited information is currently available on the material composition of arising waste streams and even less on how these waste streams will evolve. Therefore, this paper presents a methodology to forecast trends in the material composition of waste streams. To demonstrate the applicability and value of the proposed methodology, it is applied to forecast the evolution of plastic housing waste from flat panel display (FPD) TVs, FPD monitors, cathode ray tube (CRT) TVs and CRT monitors. The results of the presented forecasts indicate that a wide variety of plastic types and additives, such as flame retardants, are found in housings of similar products. The presented case study demonstrates that the proposed methodology allows the identification of trends in the evolution of the material composition of waste streams. In addition, it is demonstrated that the recycling sector will need to adapt its processes to deal with the increasing complexity of plastics of end-of-life electronic displays while respecting relevant directives. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Selection of polychlorinated plastics in plastic waste by X-ray fluorescence method

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kumasaki, H.; Shinozaki, Y.

1979-01-01

The X-ray fluorescence method using a small source of 55 Fe was examined and found to be applicable for the selection of polychlorinated plastics from plastic waste in model areas in Tokyo designated for investigating their content in the waste. The weight ratios of soft and hard polychlorinated plastics to the total plastic waste estimated by this method were found to be 15.6% and 0.29% respectively. These values agree well with the results obtained with the Beilstein method. (author)

Production of Methane and Water from Crew Plastic Waste

Science.gov (United States)

Captain, Janine; Santiago, Eddie; Parrish, Clyde; Strayer, Richard F.; Garland, Jay L.

2008-01-01

Recycling is a technology that will be key to creating a self sustaining lunar outpost. The plastics used for food packaging provide a source of material that could be recycled to produce water and methane. The recycling of these plastics will require some additional resources that will affect the initial estimate of starting materials that will have to be transported from earth, mainly oxygen, energy and mass. These requirements will vary depending on the recycling conditions. The degredation products of these plastics will vary under different atmospheric conditions. An estimate of the the production rate of methane and water using typical ISRU processes along with the plastic recycling will be presented.

Tribo-charging properties of waste plastic granules in process of tribo-electrostatic separation.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Jia; Wu, Guiqing; Xu, Zhenming

2015-01-01

Plastic products can be found everywhere in people's daily life. With the consistent growth of plastic consumption, more and more plastic waste is generated. Considering the stable chemical and physics characteristics of plastic, regular waste management methods are not suitable for recycling economic strategy of each government, which has become a serious environmental problem. Recycling plastic waste is considered to be the best way to treat it, because it cannot only deduce the waste but also save the energy to produce new virgin plastic. Tribo-electrostatic separation is strongly recommended for plastic separation as it can preserve the original properties of plastic and has little additional pollution. In this study, plastic granules are generated by crushing plastic waste in waste electric and electronic equipment. The tribo-charging properties of plastic waste were studied by vibrating tribo-charging and cyclone tribo-charging. The triboelectric series obtained by vibrating was: (-)-PE-PS-PC-PVC-ABS-PP-(+), while the triboelectric series obtained by cyclone was (-)-PE-PS-PC-PVC-ABS-PP-(+). Further, the cyclone charging was more effective and stable than vibrating charging. The impact factors experiments showed that small particle size was better changed than large ones and were more suitable recycled by tribo-electrostatic separation. High relative humidity was identified as impede charging effect. The results of this study will help defining the operating parameters of subsequent separator. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A review of plastic waste biodegradation.

Science.gov (United States)

Zheng, Ying; Yanful, Ernest K; Bassi, Amarjeet S

2005-01-01

With more and more plastics being employed in human lives and increasing pressure being placed on capacities available for plastic waste disposal, the need for biodegradable plastics and biodegradation of plastic wastes has assumed increasing importance in the last few years. This review looks at the technological advancement made in the development of more easily biodegradable plastics and the biodegradation of conventional plastics by microorganisms. Additives, such as pro-oxidants and starch, are applied in synthetic materials to modify and make plastics biodegradable. Recent research has shown that thermoplastics derived from polyolefins, traditionally considered resistant to biodegradation in ambient environment, are biodegraded following photo-degradation and chemical degradation. Thermoset plastics, such as aliphatic polyester and polyester polyurethane, are easily attacked by microorganisms directly because of the potential hydrolytic cleavage of ester or urethane bonds in their structures. Some microorganisms have been isolated to utilize polyurethane as a sole source of carbon and nitrogen source. Aliphatic-aromatic copolyesters have active commercial applications because of their good mechanical properties and biodegradability. Reviewing published and ongoing studies on plastic biodegradation, this paper attempts to make conclusions on potentially viable methods to reduce impacts of plastic waste on the environment.

Lightweight Brick by Carbon Ash from The Mixed Plastic Waste Treatment Plant

OpenAIRE

Chen Kuo-Wei

2016-01-01

This study was designed to investigate the mixed plastic waste from the production of light carbon ash bricks performance. The mixed waste plastic pyrolysis process generated waste - Carbon ash. After extrusion, a Lightweight brick was made by carbon ash, additive and Cement mortar. In general, the set compressive strength and insulation effect of lightweight bricks with carbon ash proportion for significant impact. The set water absorption and thermal conductivity of lightweight bricks with ...

Conversion of hazardous plastic wastes into useful chemical products.

Science.gov (United States)

Siddiqui, Mohammad Nahid

2009-08-15

Azoisobutylnitrile (AIBN) initiator was used in the treatment of most widely used domestic plastics in lieu of catalysts. The pyrolysis of low-density polyethylene (LDPE), high-density polyethylene (HDPE), polypropylene (PP), poly-ethylene terephthalate (PET) and polystyrene (PS) plastics with azoisobutylnitrile was carried out individually under nitrogen atmosphere. A series of single (plastic/AIBN) and binary (mixed plastics/AIBN) reactions were carried out in a 25-cm(3) micro-autoclave reactor. The optimum conditions selected for this study were: 5% AIBN by weight of total plastics, 60 min, 650 psi and 420 degrees C. It was found that HDPE, LDPE, PP underwent to a maximum cracking and produced highest amounts of liquid and gaseous products. Pyrolysis of PET and PS plastics with AIBN afforded comparatively significant amount of insoluble organic materials. In other reactions, fixed ratios of mixed plastics were pyrolyzed with AIBN that afforded excellent yields of liquid hydrocarbons. This result shows a very significant increase in the liquid portions of the products on using AIBN in the pyrolysis of plastics. The use of AIBN in the pyrolysis of plastics is seems to be feasible and an environmental friendly alternative to catalytic process for maximizing the liquid fuels or chemical feed stocks in higher amounts.

Conversion of hazardous plastic wastes into useful chemical products

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Siddiqui, Mohammad Nahid

2009-01-01

Azoisobutylnitrile (AIBN) initiator was used in the treatment of most widely used domestic plastics in lieu of catalysts. The pyrolysis of low-density polyethylene (LDPE), high-density polyethylene (HDPE), polypropylene (PP), poly-ethylene terephthalate (PET) and polystyrene (PS) plastics with azoisobutylnitrile was carried out individually under nitrogen atmosphere. A series of single (plastic/AIBN) and binary (mixed plastics/AIBN) reactions were carried out in a 25-cm 3 micro-autoclave reactor. The optimum conditions selected for this study were: 5% AIBN by weight of total plastics, 60 min, 650 psi and 420 o C. It was found that HDPE, LDPE, PP underwent to a maximum cracking and produced highest amounts of liquid and gaseous products. Pyrolysis of PET and PS plastics with AIBN afforded comparatively significant amount of insoluble organic materials. In other reactions, fixed ratios of mixed plastics were pyrolyzed with AIBN that afforded excellent yields of liquid hydrocarbons. This result shows a very significant increase in the liquid portions of the products on using AIBN in the pyrolysis of plastics. The use of AIBN in the pyrolysis of plastics is seems to be feasible and an environmental friendly alternative to catalytic process for maximizing the liquid fuels or chemical feed stocks in higher amounts.

Theoretical Framework for Plastic Waste Management in Ghana through Extended Producer Responsibility: Case of Sachet Water Waste.

Science.gov (United States)

Quartey, Ebo Tawiah; Tosefa, Hero; Danquah, Kwasi Asare Baffour; Obrsalova, Ilona

2015-08-20

Currently, use and disposal of plastic by consumers through waste management activities in Ghana not only creates environmental problems, but also reinforces the notion of a wasteful society. The magnitude of this problem has led to increasing pressure from the public for efficient and practical measures to solve the waste problem. This paper analyses the impact of plastic use and disposal in Ghana. It emphasizes the need for commitment to proper management of the impacts of plastic waste and effective environmental management in the country. Sustainable Solid Waste Management (SSWM) is a critical problem for developing countries with regards to climate change and greenhouse gas emission, and also the general wellbeing of the populace. Key themes of this paper are producer responsibility and management of products at end of life. The paper proposes two theatrical recovery models that can be used to address the issue of sachet waste in Ghana.

Plastic waste in the marine environment: A review of sources, occurrence and effects.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, W C; Tse, H F; Fok, L

2016-10-01

This review article summarises the sources, occurrence, fate and effects of plastic waste in the marine environment. Due to its resistance to degradation, most plastic debris will persist in the environment for centuries and may be transported far from its source, including great distances out to sea. Land- and ocean-based sources are the major sources of plastic entering the environment, with domestic, industrial and fishing activities being the most important contributors. Ocean gyres are particular hotspots of plastic waste accumulation. Both macroplastics and microplastics pose a risk to organisms in the natural environment, for example, through ingestion or entanglement in the plastic. Many studies have investigated the potential uptake of hydrophobic contaminants, which can then bioaccumulate in the food chain, from plastic waste by organisms. To address the issue of plastic pollution in the marine environment, governments should first play an active role in addressing the issue of plastic waste by introducing legislation to control the sources of plastic debris and the use of plastic additives. In addition, plastics industries should take responsibility for the end-of-life of their products by introducing plastic recycling or upgrading programmes. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Pyrolysis of plastic waste using alumina-pumice as catalyst

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Warnijati, S.; Agra, I.B.; Wibowo, W.

2000-01-01

Efforts to convert plastic waste to liquid fuel have been carried out, but the yield was not so promising yet. Various catalysts have been studied to drive the product more to the liquid fuel. In this study, alumina-pumice produced from cheap local materials, was used as catalyst. Solid polyethylene plastic waste was melted in a feed compartment surrounding the tube reactor, and the vapor flowed downward through the catalyst bed which was supported by small glass marbles. Air and water coolers were used to cool and condense the product. Liquid and uncondensable gas were collected in receivers and bottle filled with brine, respectively. The physical properties of a specific liquid product were tested according to the ASTM methods. Liquid and gas products increased with time and temperature, and the rate of liquid and gas formations followed first order reaction. Using 100 g of plastic waste and 40 g of catalyst, the favorable time and temperature of pyrolysis were 105 minutes and 653-673 K, respectively. Under this condition, 86 - 87 % of liquid, 45 - 53 mL/g of gas, and 1% of solid residue were obtained. The quantity of liquid product was higher than the previous work (which was just 70-75 %) and its physical properties were between those of kerosene and diesel oil. The gross heating value of the liquid was 49 796.03 J/g, and the gas burnt with yellow flame and some soot. (Author)

UTILIZATION OF WASTE PLASTIC BOTTLES IN ASPHALT MIXTURE

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

TAHER BAGHAEE MOGHADDAM

2013-06-01

Full Text Available Nowadays, large amounts of waste materials are being produced in the world. One of the waste materials is plastic bottle. Generating disposable plastic bottles is becoming a major problem in many countries. Using waste plastic as a secondary material in construction projects would be a solution to overcome the crisis of producing large amount of waste plastics in one hand and improving the structure’s characteristics such as resistance against cracking on the other hand. This study aimed to investigate the effects of adding plastic bottles in road pavement. Marshall properties as well as specific gravity of asphalt mixture containing different percentages of plastic bottles were evaluated. Besides, Optimum Asphalt Content (OAC was calculated for each percentages of plastic bottles used in the mix. The stiffness and fatigue characteristics of mixture were assessed at OAC value. Results showed that the stability and flow values of asphalt mixture increased by adding waste crushed plastic bottle into the asphalt mixture. Further, it was shown that the bulk specific gravity and stiffness of mixtures increased by adding lower amount of plastic bottles; however, adding higher amounts of plastic resulted in lower specific gravity and mix stiffness. In addition, it was concluded that the mixtures containing waste plastic bottles have lower OAC values compared to the conventional mixture, and this may reduce the amount of asphalt binder can be used in road construction projects. Besides, the mixtures containing waste plastic showed significantly greater fatigue resistance than the conventional mixture.

Determining the amount of waste plastics in the feed of Austrian waste-to-energy facilities.

Science.gov (United States)

Schwarzböck, Therese; Van Eygen, Emile; Rechberger, Helmut; Fellner, Johann

2017-02-01

Although thermal recovery of waste plastics is widely practiced in many European countries, reliable information on the amount of waste plastics in the feed of waste-to-energy plants is rare. In most cases the amount of plastics present in commingled waste, such as municipal solid waste, commercial, or industrial waste, is estimated based on a few waste sorting campaigns, which are of limited significance with regard to the characterisation of plastic flows. In the present study, an alternative approach, the so-called Balance Method, is used to determine the total amount of plastics thermally recovered in Austria's waste incineration facilities in 2014. The results indicate that the plastics content in the waste feed may vary considerably among different plants but also over time. Monthly averages determined range between 8 and 26 wt% of waste plastics. The study reveals an average waste plastics content in the feed of Austria's waste-to-energy plants of 16.5 wt%, which is considerably above findings from sorting campaigns conducted in Austria. In total, about 385 kt of waste plastics were thermally recovered in all Austrian waste-to-energy plants in 2014, which equals to 45 kg plastics cap -1 . In addition, the amount of plastics co-combusted in industrial plants yields a total thermal utilisation rate of 70 kg cap -1  a -1 for Austria. This is significantly above published rates, for example, in Germany reported rates for 2013 are in the range of only 40 kg of waste plastics combusted per capita.

Potential of Electronic Plastic Waste as a Source of Raw Material and Energy Recovery

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Norazli Othman; Nor Ezlin Ahmad Basri; Lariyah Mohd Sidek

2009-01-01

Nowadays, the production of electronic equipment is one of the fastest growing industrial activities in this world. The increase use of plastic in this sector resulted in an increase of electronic plastic waste. Basically, electronic plastic material contains various chemical elements which act as a flame retardant when electronic equipment is operated. In general, the concept of recycling electronic plastic waste should be considered in order to protect the environment. For this purpose, research has been conducted to different resins of electronic plastic waste to identify the potential of electronic plastic waste as a source of raw material and energy recovery. This study was divided into two part for example determination of physical and chemical characteristics of plastic resins and calculation of heating value for plastic resins based on Dulong formula. Results of this research show that the average calorific value of electronic waste is 30,872.42 kJ/ kg (7,375 kcal/ kg). The emission factor analysis showed that the concentration of emission value that might occur during waste management activities is below the standard set by the Environment Quality Act 1974. Basically, this research shows that electronic plastic waste has the potential to become the source of raw material and energy recovery. (author)

Fluidized-Bed Gasification of Plastic Waste, Wood, and Their Blends with Coal

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lucio Zaccariello

2015-08-01

Full Text Available The effect of fuel composition on gasification process performance was investigated by performing mass and energy balances on a pre-pilot scale bubbling fluidized bed reactor fed with mixtures of plastic waste, wood, and coal. The fuels containing plastic waste produced less H2, CO, and CO2 and more light hydrocarbons than the fuels including biomass. The lower heating value (LHV progressively increased from 5.1 to 7.9 MJ/Nm3 when the plastic waste fraction was moved from 0% to 100%. Higher carbonaceous fines production was associated with the fuel containing a large fraction of coal (60%, producing 87.5 g/kgFuel compared to only 1.0 g/kgFuel obtained during the gasification test with just plastic waste. Conversely, plastic waste gasification produced the highest tar yield, 161.9 g/kgFuel, while woody biomass generated only 13.4 g/kgFuel. Wood gasification showed a carbon conversion efficiency (CCE of 0.93, while the tests with two fuels containing coal showed lowest CCE values (0.78 and 0.70, respectively. Plastic waste and wood gasification presented similar cold gas efficiency (CGE values (0.75 and 0.76, respectively, while that obtained during the co-gasification tests varied from 0.53 to 0.73.

Triboelectrostatic separation for granular plastic waste recycling: a review.

Science.gov (United States)

Wu, Guiqing; Li, Jia; Xu, Zhenming

2013-03-01

The world's plastic consumption has increased incredibly in recent decades, generating more and more plastic waste, which makes it a great public concern. Recycling is the best treatment for plastic waste since it cannot only reduce the waste but also reduce the consumption of oil for producing new virgin plastic. Mechanical recycling is recommended for plastic waste to avoid the loss of its virgin value. As a mechanical separation technology, triboelectrostatic separation utilizes the difference between surface properties of different materials to get them oppositely charged, deflected in the electric field and separately collected. It has advantages such as high efficiency, low cost, no concern of water disposal or secondary pollution and a relatively wide processing range of particle size especially suitable for the granular plastic waste. The process of triboelectrostatic separation for plastic waste is reviewed in this paper. Different devices have been developed and proven to be effective for separation of plastic waste. The influence factors are also discussed. It can be concluded that the triboelectrostatic separation of plastic waste is a promising technology. However, more research is required before it can be widely applied in industry. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Leaching behavior of solidified plastics radioactive wastes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yook, Chong Chul; Lee, Byung Hun; Jae, Won Mok; Kim, Kyung Eung

1986-01-01

It is highly needed to develope the solidification process to dispose safely the radioactive wastes increasing with the growth of the nuclear industry. The leaching mechanisms of the solidified plastic wastes were investigated and the leaching rates of the plastic wastes were also measured among the many solidification processes. In addition, the transport equation based on the diffusion or the diffusion-dissolution was compared with the empirical equation derived from the experimental data by graphical method. Consequently, leaching process of the solidified plastic wastes is quite well agreed with the mass transport theory, but it may be difficult to simulate leaching process by diffusion dissolution mechanism. But the theoretical equation could be applicable to the cumulative amount of radionuclides leached form the plastic wastes disposed into the environment. (Author)

Theoretical Framework for Plastic Waste Management in Ghana through Extended Producer Responsibility: Case of Sachet Water Waste

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ebo Tawiah Quartey

2015-08-01

Full Text Available Currently, use and disposal of plastic by consumers through waste management activities in Ghana not only creates environmental problems, but also reinforces the notion of a wasteful society. The magnitude of this problem has led to increasing pressure from the public for efficient and practical measures to solve the waste problem. This paper analyses the impact of plastic use and disposal in Ghana. It emphasizes the need for commitment to proper management of the impacts of plastic waste and effective environmental management in the country. Sustainable Solid Waste Management (SSWM is a critical problem for developing countries with regards to climate change and greenhouse gas emission, and also the general wellbeing of the populace. Key themes of this paper are producer responsibility and management of products at end of life. The paper proposes two theatrical recovery models that can be used to address the issue of sachet waste in Ghana.

Theoretical Framework for Plastic Waste Management in Ghana through Extended Producer Responsibility: Case of Sachet Water Waste

Science.gov (United States)

Quartey, Ebo Tawiah; Tosefa, Hero; Danquah, Kwasi Asare Baffour; Obrsalova, Ilona

2015-01-01

Currently, use and disposal of plastic by consumers through waste management activities in Ghana not only creates environmental problems, but also reinforces the notion of a wasteful society. The magnitude of this problem has led to increasing pressure from the public for efficient and practical measures to solve the waste problem. This paper analyses the impact of plastic use and disposal in Ghana. It emphasizes the need for commitment to proper management of the impacts of plastic waste and effective environmental management in the country. Sustainable Solid Waste Management (SSWM) is a critical problem for developing countries with regards to climate change and greenhouse gas emission, and also the general wellbeing of the populace. Key themes of this paper are producer responsibility and management of products at end of life. The paper proposes two theatrical recovery models that can be used to address the issue of sachet waste in Ghana. PMID:26308016

A Review on Landfill Management in the Utilization of Plastic Waste as an Alternative Fuel

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hidayah Nurul

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Wastes from landfills originate from many spheres of life. These are produces as a result of human activities either domestically or industrially. The global plastic production increased over years due to the vast applications of plastics in many sectors. The continuous demand of plastics caused the plastic wastes accumulation in the landfill consumed a lot of spaces that contributed to the environmental. In addition, economic growth and development also increased our demand and dependency on plastics which leads to its accumulation in landfills imposing risk on human health, animals and cause environmental pollution problems such as ground water contamination, sanitary related issues, etc. The management and disposal of plastic waste have become a major concern, especially in developing cities. The idea of waste to energy recovery is one of the promising techniques used for managing the waste of plastic. Hence, this paper aims review at utilizing of plastic as an alternative fuel.

A Review on Landfill Management in the Utilization of Plastic Waste as an Alternative Fuel

Science.gov (United States)

Hidayah, Nurul; Syafrudin

2018-02-01

Wastes from landfills originate from many spheres of life. These are produces as a result of human activities either domestically or industrially. The global plastic production increased over years due to the vast applications of plastics in many sectors. The continuous demand of plastics caused the plastic wastes accumulation in the landfill consumed a lot of spaces that contributed to the environmental. In addition, economic growth and development also increased our demand and dependency on plastics which leads to its accumulation in landfills imposing risk on human health, animals and cause environmental pollution problems such as ground water contamination, sanitary related issues, etc. The management and disposal of plastic waste have become a major concern, especially in developing cities. The idea of waste to energy recovery is one of the promising techniques used for managing the waste of plastic. Hence, this paper aims review at utilizing of plastic as an alternative fuel.

Assessment and quantification of plastics waste generation in major 60 cities of India.

Science.gov (United States)

Nalini, R; Srinivasulu, B; Shit, Subhas C; Nigam, Suneel Kumar; Akolkar, A B; Dwivedfi, R K

2013-04-01

Polymers or plastics materials registered rapid growth in 1970s, 1980s and 1990s at the rate of 2-2.5 times the GDP growth in India. The demand for plastic raw material got more than doubled from 3.3 Million Metric Ton to 6.8 Million Metric Tons in 2010 attributed mainly to rapid urbanization, spread of retail chains, plastics based packaging from grocery to food and vegetable products to cosmetics and consumer items. Plastics packages have its merits over many of conventional materials in the related sector but unless they are collected back effectively after their use to go into recycling process, they become an eyesore in the stream of Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) due to high visibility. As the synthetic and conventional plastics are non-biodegradable in nature, these remain in the dump yards/ landfills for several years, if not collected properly. Due to non- biodegradability, plastics waste remains in the environment for several years, if not collected and disposing plastics wastes at landfills are unsafe since toxic chemicals leach out into the soil and as they contaminate soil and underground water quality. The municipal solid waste also increasing day-by-day due to the inefficient source collection, segregation and transmission of plastics waste for recycling and reusing. In order to find out the realistic plastics waste generation, a study on assessment and quantification of plastics waste has been carried out by CPCB in collaboration with CIPET on selected 60 major cities of India.

Tribo-charging properties of waste plastic granules in process of tribo-electrostatic separation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Li, Jia, E-mail: weee@sjtu.edu.cn; Wu, Guiqing; Xu, Zhenming

2015-01-15

Highlights: • The cyclone charging was more effective and stable than vibrating charging. • The small particle size was better changed than large ones and was more suitable recycled by TES. • The drying pretreatment is good for improving the short-term charging effect. - Abstract: Plastic products can be found everywhere in people’s daily life. With the consistent growth of plastic consumption, more and more plastic waste is generated. Considering the stable chemical and physics characteristics of plastic, regular waste management methods are not suitable for recycling economic strategy of each government, which has become a serious environmental problem. Recycling plastic waste is considered to be the best way to treat it, because it cannot only deduce the waste but also save the energy to produce new virgin plastic. Tribo-electrostatic separation is strongly recommended for plastic separation as it can preserve the original properties of plastic and has little additional pollution. In this study, plastic granules are generated by crushing plastic waste in waste electric and electronic equipment. The tribo-charging properties of plastic waste were studied by vibrating tribo-charging and cyclone tribo-charging. The triboelectric series obtained by vibrating was: (−)-PE–PS–PC–PVC–ABS–PP-(+), while the triboelectric series obtained by cyclone was (−)-PE–PS–PC–PVC–ABS–PP-(+). Further, the cyclone charging was more effective and stable than vibrating charging. The impact factors experiments showed that small particle size was better changed than large ones and were more suitable recycled by tribo-electrostatic separation. High relative humidity was identified as impede charging effect. The results of this study will help defining the operating parameters of subsequent separator.

Tribo-charging properties of waste plastic granules in process of tribo-electrostatic separation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Li, Jia; Wu, Guiqing; Xu, Zhenming

2015-01-01

Highlights: • The cyclone charging was more effective and stable than vibrating charging. • The small particle size was better changed than large ones and was more suitable recycled by TES. • The drying pretreatment is good for improving the short-term charging effect. - Abstract: Plastic products can be found everywhere in people’s daily life. With the consistent growth of plastic consumption, more and more plastic waste is generated. Considering the stable chemical and physics characteristics of plastic, regular waste management methods are not suitable for recycling economic strategy of each government, which has become a serious environmental problem. Recycling plastic waste is considered to be the best way to treat it, because it cannot only deduce the waste but also save the energy to produce new virgin plastic. Tribo-electrostatic separation is strongly recommended for plastic separation as it can preserve the original properties of plastic and has little additional pollution. In this study, plastic granules are generated by crushing plastic waste in waste electric and electronic equipment. The tribo-charging properties of plastic waste were studied by vibrating tribo-charging and cyclone tribo-charging. The triboelectric series obtained by vibrating was: (−)-PE–PS–PC–PVC–ABS–PP-(+), while the triboelectric series obtained by cyclone was (−)-PE–PS–PC–PVC–ABS–PP-(+). Further, the cyclone charging was more effective and stable than vibrating charging. The impact factors experiments showed that small particle size was better changed than large ones and were more suitable recycled by tribo-electrostatic separation. High relative humidity was identified as impede charging effect. The results of this study will help defining the operating parameters of subsequent separator

Characterization of plastic blends made from mixed plastics waste of different sources.

Science.gov (United States)

Turku, Irina; Kärki, Timo; Rinne, Kimmo; Puurtinen, Ari

2017-02-01

This paper studies the recyclability of construction and household plastic waste collected from local landfills. Samples were processed from mixed plastic waste by injection moulding. In addition, blends of pure plastics, polypropylene and polyethylene were processed as a reference set. Reference samples with known plastic ratio were used as the calibration set for quantitative analysis of plastic fractions in recycled blends. The samples were tested for the tensile properties; scanning electron microscope-energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy was used for elemental analysis of the blend surfaces and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) analysis was used for the quantification of plastics contents.

Plastic waste associated with disease on coral reefs.

Science.gov (United States)

Lamb, Joleah B; Willis, Bette L; Fiorenza, Evan A; Couch, Courtney S; Howard, Robert; Rader, Douglas N; True, James D; Kelly, Lisa A; Ahmad, Awaludinnoer; Jompa, Jamaluddin; Harvell, C Drew

2018-01-26

Plastic waste can promote microbial colonization by pathogens implicated in outbreaks of disease in the ocean. We assessed the influence of plastic waste on disease risk in 124,000 reef-building corals from 159 reefs in the Asia-Pacific region. The likelihood of disease increases from 4% to 89% when corals are in contact with plastic. Structurally complex corals are eight times more likely to be affected by plastic, suggesting that microhabitats for reef-associated organisms and valuable fisheries will be disproportionately affected. Plastic levels on coral reefs correspond to estimates of terrestrial mismanaged plastic waste entering the ocean. We estimate that 11.1 billion plastic items are entangled on coral reefs across the Asia-Pacific and project this number to increase 40% by 2025. Plastic waste management is critical for reducing diseases that threaten ecosystem health and human livelihoods. Copyright © 2018, The Authors, some rights reserved; exclusive licensee American Association for the Advancement of Science. No claim to original U.S. Government Works.

Determining the amount of waste plastics in the feed of Austrian waste-to-energy facilities

OpenAIRE

Schwarzb?ck, Therese; Van Eygen, Emile; Rechberger, Helmut; Fellner, Johann

2016-01-01

Although thermal recovery of waste plastics is widely practiced in many European countries, reliable information on the amount of waste plastics in the feed of waste-to-energy plants is rare. In most cases the amount of plastics present in commingled waste, such as municipal solid waste, commercial, or industrial waste, is estimated based on a few waste sorting campaigns, which are of limited significance with regard to the characterisation of plastic flows. In the present study, an alternati...

Environmental evaluation of plastic waste management scenarios

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rigamonti, L.; Grosso, M.; Møller, Jacob

2014-01-01

The management of the plastic fraction is one of the most debated issues in the discussion on integrated municipal solid waste systems. Both material and energy recovery can be performed on such a waste stream, and different separate collection schemes can be implemented. The aim of the paper....... The study confirmed the difficulty to clearly identify an optimal strategy for plastic waste management. In fact none of the examined scenarios emerged univocally as the best option for all impact categories. When moving from the P0 treatment strategy to the other scenarios, substantial improvements can...... is to contribute to the debate, based on the analysis of different plastic waste recovery routes. Five scenarios were defined and modelled with a life cycle assessment approach using the EASEWASTE model. In the baseline scenario (P0) the plastic is treated as residual waste and routed partly to incineration...

Technical specifications for mechanical recycling of agricultural plastic waste.

Science.gov (United States)

Briassoulis, D; Hiskakis, M; Babou, E

2013-06-01

Technical specifications appropriate for the recycling of agricultural plastic wastes (APWs), widely accepted by the recycling industry were developed. The specifications establish quality standards to be met by the agricultural plastics producers, users and the agricultural plastic waste management chain. They constitute the base for the best economical and environmental valorisation of the APW. The analysis of the APW streams conducted across Europe in the framework of the European project "LabelAgriWaste" revealed the inherent characteristics of the APW streams and the inherent constraints (technical or economical) of the APW. The APW stream properties related to its recycling potential and measured during pilot trials are presented and a subsequent universally accepted simplified and expanded list of APW recycling technical specifications is proposed and justified. The list includes two sets of specifications, applied to two different quality categories of recyclable APW: one for pellet production process ("Quality I") and another one for plastic profile production process ("Quality II"). Parameters that are taken into consideration in the specifications include the APW physical characteristics, contamination, composition and degradation. The proposed specifications are focused on polyethylene based APW that represents the vast majority of the APW stream. However, the specifications can be adjusted to cover also APW of different materials (e.g. PP or PVC) that are found in very small quantities in protected cultivations in Europe. The adoption of the proposed specifications could transform this waste stream into a labelled commodity traded freely in the market and will constitute the base for the best economical and environmental valorisation of the APW. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Techno-economic analysis of a food waste valorization process via microalgae cultivation and co-production of plasticizer, lactic acid and animal feed from algal biomass and food waste.

Science.gov (United States)

Kwan, Tsz Him; Pleissner, Daniel; Lau, Kin Yan; Venus, Joachim; Pommeret, Aude; Lin, Carol Sze Ki

2015-12-01

A techno-economic study of food waste valorization via fungal hydrolysis, microalgae cultivation and production of plasticizer, lactic acid and animal feed was simulated and evaluated by Super-Pro Designer®. A pilot-scale plant was designed with a capacity of 1 metric ton day(-1) of food waste with 20 years lifetime. Two scenarios were proposed with different products: Scenario (I) plasticizer & lactic acid, Scenario (II) plasticizer & animal feed. It was found that only Scenario I was economically feasible. The annual net profits, net present value, payback period and internal rate of return were US$ 422,699, US$ 3,028,000, 7.56 years and 18.98%, respectively. Scenario II was not economic viable due to a deficit of US$ 42,632 per year. Sensitivity analysis showed that the price of lactic acid was the largest determinant of the profitability in Scenario I, while the impact of the variables was very close in Scenario II. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Thermal and catalytic pyrolysis of plastic waste

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Débora Almeida

2016-02-01

Full Text Available Abstract The amount of plastic waste is growing every year and with that comes an environmental concern regarding this problem. Pyrolysis as a tertiary recycling process is presented as a solution. Pyrolysis can be thermal or catalytical and can be performed under different experimental conditions. These conditions affect the type and amount of product obtained. With the pyrolysis process, products can be obtained with high added value, such as fuel oils and feedstock for new products. Zeolites can be used as catalysts in catalytic pyrolysis and influence the final products obtained.

U.S. Navy Shipboard-Generated Plastic Waste Pilot Recycling Program

Science.gov (United States)

1991-03-01

ship’s stores or vending machines often makes it way into "plastics only" containers located in work and berthing spaces. During the Escambia MRFsort...from Ships, or MARPOL). This legislation, which bans the disposal of plastics into the ocean, resulted from international and national pressures to halt...plastic by weight from a mixed, municipal waste stream produces a good product using the Er-1 extrusion technology. The Er-1 machine is a batch

Marine pollution. Plastic waste inputs from land into the ocean.

Science.gov (United States)

Jambeck, Jenna R; Geyer, Roland; Wilcox, Chris; Siegler, Theodore R; Perryman, Miriam; Andrady, Anthony; Narayan, Ramani; Law, Kara Lavender

2015-02-13

Plastic debris in the marine environment is widely documented, but the quantity of plastic entering the ocean from waste generated on land is unknown. By linking worldwide data on solid waste, population density, and economic status, we estimated the mass of land-based plastic waste entering the ocean. We calculate that 275 million metric tons (MT) of plastic waste was generated in 192 coastal countries in 2010, with 4.8 to 12.7 million MT entering the ocean. Population size and the quality of waste management systems largely determine which countries contribute the greatest mass of uncaptured waste available to become plastic marine debris. Without waste management infrastructure improvements, the cumulative quantity of plastic waste available to enter the ocean from land is predicted to increase by an order of magnitude by 2025. Copyright © 2015, American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Lightweight Brick by Carbon Ash from The Mixed Plastic Waste Treatment Plant

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chen Kuo-Wei

2016-01-01

Full Text Available This study was designed to investigate the mixed plastic waste from the production of light carbon ash bricks performance. The mixed waste plastic pyrolysis process generated waste - Carbon ash. After extrusion, a Lightweight brick was made by carbon ash, additive and Cement mortar. In general, the set compressive strength and insulation effect of lightweight bricks with carbon ash proportion for significant impact. The set water absorption and thermal conductivity of lightweight bricks with carbon ash proportion for significant impact. The set density of lightweight brick ameliorates with M3824 additive and CM3 cement mortar for significant impact. Under conditions of technology and economic, the results of this study as reference for market-oriented marketing and commercialization of production.

Utilization possibilities of hydrocarbon fractions obtained by waste plastic pyrolysis: energetic utilization and applications in polymer composites

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Miskolczi, Norbert; Borsodi, Nikolett; Angyal, Andras [University of Pannonia, MOL Department of Hydrocarbon and Coal Processing (Hungary)], email: mnorbert@almos.uni-pannon.hu, email: borsodinikolett@almos.uni-pannon.hu, email: angyala@almos.uni-pannon.hu

2011-07-01

With the energy crisis and the rising concerns about the environment, energy-saving measures are urgently needed. Each year about 300M tons of plastic wastes are produced world-wide and governments are now focusing on recycling and reusing these products to save significant amounts of energy. The aim of this paper was to analyze the products which can be obtained from waste plastic and determine their possible uses. Pyrolysis of commercial waste plastics was done in a reactor at 500-600 degree celsius and the products were then analyzed using several methods. Results showed that the pyrolysis produces gases, naphtha, middle distillates and heavy oils. The properties of these products were also determined and it was found that they have the potential to be used in fuel-like and additive producing applications. This study highlighted that pyrolysis of waste polymers can yield useful products.

Assessment of plastic waste generation and its potential recycling of household solid waste in Can Tho City, Vietnam.

Science.gov (United States)

Thanh, Nguyen Phuc; Matsui, Yasuhiro; Fujiwara, Takeshi

2011-04-01

Plastic solid waste has become a serious problem when considering the disposal alternatives following the sequential hierarchy of sound solid waste management. This study was undertaken to assess the quantity and composition of household solid waste, especially plastic waste to identify opportunities for waste recycling. A 1-month survey of 130 households was carried out in Can Tho City, the capital city of the Mekong Delta region in southern Vietnam. Household solid waste was collected from each household and classified into ten physical categories; especially plastic waste was sorted into 22 subcategories. The average household solid waste generation rate was 281.27 g/cap/day. The compostable and recyclable shares respectively accounted for high percentage as 80.74% and 11%. Regarding plastic waste, the average plastic waste generation rate was 17.24 g/cap/day; plastic packaging and plastic containers dominated with the high percentage, 95.64% of plastic waste. Plastic shopping bags were especially identified as the major component, accounting for 45.72% of total plastic waste. Relevant factors such as household income and household size were found to have an existing correlation to plastic waste generation in detailed composition. The household habits and behaviors of plastic waste discharge and the aspects of environmental impacts and resource consumption for plastic waste disposal alternatives were also evaluated.

Separation of mixed waste plastics via magnetic levitation.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhao, Peng; Xie, Jun; Gu, Fu; Sharmin, Nusrat; Hall, Philip; Fu, Jianzhong

2018-06-01

Separation becomes a bottleneck of dealing with the enormous stream of waste plastics, as most of the extant methods can only handle binary mixtures. In this paper, a novel method that based on magnetic levitation was proposed for separating multiple mixed plastics. Six types of plastics, i.e., polypropylene (PP), acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), polyamide 6 (PA6), polycarbonate (PC), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), and polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), were used to simulate the mixed waste plastics. The samples were mixed and immersed into paramagnetic medium that placed into a magnetic levitation configuration with two identical NdFeB magnets with like-poles facing each other, and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy was employed to verify the separation outputs. Unlike any conventional separation methods such as froth flotation and hydrocyclone, this method is not limited by particle sizes, as mixtures of different size fractions reached their respective equilibrium positions in the initial tests. The two-stage separation tests demonstrated that the plastics can be completely separated with purities reached 100%. The method has the potential to be industrialised into an economically-viable and environmentally-friendly mass production procedure, since quantitative correlations are determined, and the paramagnetic medium can be reused indefinitely. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Stress-strain response of plastic waste mixed soil.

Science.gov (United States)

Babu, G L Sivakumar; Chouksey, Sandeep Kumar

2011-03-01

Recycling plastic waste from water bottles has become one of the major challenges worldwide. The present study provides an approach for the use plastic waste as reinforcement material in soil. The experimental results in the form of stress-strain-pore water pressure response are presented. Based on experimental test results, it is observed that the strength of soil is improved and compressibility reduced significantly with addition of a small percentage of plastic waste to the soil. The use of the improvement in strength and compressibility response due to inclusion of plastic waste can be advantageously used in bearing capacity improvement and settlement reduction in the design of shallow foundations. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Technical specifications for mechanical recycling of agricultural plastic waste

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Briassoulis, D.; Hiskakis, M.; Babou, E.

2013-01-01

Highlights: • Technical specifications for agricultural plastic wastes (APWs) recycling proposed. • Specifications are the base for best economical and environmental APW valorisation. • Analysis of APW reveals inherent characteristics and constraints of APW streams. • Thorough survey on mechanical recycling processes and industry as it applies to APW. • Specifications for APW recycling tested, adjusted and verified through pilot trials. - Abstract: Technical specifications appropriate for the recycling of agricultural plastic wastes (APWs), widely accepted by the recycling industry were developed. The specifications establish quality standards to be met by the agricultural plastics producers, users and the agricultural plastic waste management chain. They constitute the base for the best economical and environmental valorisation of the APW. The analysis of the APW streams conducted across Europe in the framework of the European project “LabelAgriWaste” revealed the inherent characteristics of the APW streams and the inherent constraints (technical or economical) of the APW. The APW stream properties related to its recycling potential and measured during pilot trials are presented and a subsequent universally accepted simplified and expanded list of APW recycling technical specifications is proposed and justified. The list includes two sets of specifications, applied to two different quality categories of recyclable APW: one for pellet production process (“Quality I”) and another one for plastic profile production process (“Quality II”). Parameters that are taken into consideration in the specifications include the APW physical characteristics, contamination, composition and degradation. The proposed specifications are focused on polyethylene based APW that represents the vast majority of the APW stream. However, the specifications can be adjusted to cover also APW of different materials (e.g. PP or PVC) that are found in very small quantities

Low temperature conversion of plastic waste into light hydrocarbons

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shah, Sajid Hussain; Khan, Zahid Mahmood; Raja, Iftikhar Ahmad; Mahmood, Qaisar; Bhatti, Zulfiqar Ahmad; Khan, Jamil; Farooq, Ather; Rashid, Naim; Wu, Donglei

2010-01-01

Advance recycling through pyrolytic technology has the potential of being applied to the management of plastic waste (PW). For this purpose 1 l volume, energy efficient batch reactor was manufactured locally and tested for pyrolysis of waste plastic. The feedstock for reactor was 50 g waste polyethylene. The average yield of the pyrolytic oil, wax, pyrogas and char from pyrolysis of PW were 48.6, 40.7, 10.1 and 0.6%, respectively, at 275 deg. C with non-catalytic process. Using catalyst the average yields of pyrolytic oil, pyrogas, wax and residue (char) of 50 g of PW was 47.98, 35.43, 16.09 and 0.50%, respectively, at operating temperature of 250 deg. C. The designed reactor could work at low temperature in the absence of a catalyst to obtain similar products as for a catalytic process.

Increased Coal Replacement in a Cement Kiln Burner by Feeding a Mixture of Solid Hazardous Waste and Shredded Plastic Waste

OpenAIRE

Ariyaratne, W. K. Hiromi; Melaaen, Morten Christian; Tokheim, Lars-André

2013-01-01

The present study aims to find the maximum possible replacement of coal by combined feeding of plastic waste and solid hazardous waste mixed with wood chips (SHW) in rotary kiln burners used in cement kiln systems. The coal replacement should be achieved without negative impacts on product quality, emissions or overall operation of the process. A full-scale experiment was carried out in the rotary kiln burner of a cement kiln by varying SHW and plastic waste feeding rates. Experimental result...

Combating oil spill problem using plastic waste

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Saleem, Junaid, E-mail: junaidupm@gmail.com [Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Karachi (Pakistan); Ning, Chao; Barford, John [Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Clear Water Bay, Kowloon (Hong Kong); McKay, Gordon [Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Clear Water Bay, Kowloon (Hong Kong); Division of Sustainable Development, College of Science, Engineering and Technology, Hamad Bin Khalifa University, Qatar Foundation, Doha (Qatar)

2015-10-15

Highlights: • Up-cycling one type of pollution i.e. plastic waste and successfully using it to combat the other type of pollution i.e. oil spill. • Synthesized oil sorbent that has extremely high oil uptake of 90 g/g after prolonged dripping of 1 h. • Synthesized porous oil sorbent film which not only facilitates in oil sorption but also increases the affinity between sorbent and oil by means of adhesion. - Abstract: Thermoplastic polymers (such as polypropylene, polyethylene, polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and high density polyethylene (HDPE)) constitute 5–15% of municipal solid waste produced across the world. A huge quantity of plastic waste is disposed of each year and is mostly either discarded in landfills or incinerated. On the other hand, the usage of synthetic polymers as oil sorbents, in particular, polyolefins, including polypropylene (PP), and polyethylene (PE) are the most commonly used oil sorbent materials mainly due to their low cost. However, they possess relatively low oil absorption capacities. In this work, we provide an innovative way to produce a value-added product such as oil-sorbent film with high practical oil uptake values in terms of g/g from waste HDPE bottles for rapid oil spill remedy.

Combating oil spill problem using plastic waste

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Saleem, Junaid; Ning, Chao; Barford, John; McKay, Gordon

2015-01-01

Highlights: • Up-cycling one type of pollution i.e. plastic waste and successfully using it to combat the other type of pollution i.e. oil spill. • Synthesized oil sorbent that has extremely high oil uptake of 90 g/g after prolonged dripping of 1 h. • Synthesized porous oil sorbent film which not only facilitates in oil sorption but also increases the affinity between sorbent and oil by means of adhesion. - Abstract: Thermoplastic polymers (such as polypropylene, polyethylene, polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and high density polyethylene (HDPE)) constitute 5–15% of municipal solid waste produced across the world. A huge quantity of plastic waste is disposed of each year and is mostly either discarded in landfills or incinerated. On the other hand, the usage of synthetic polymers as oil sorbents, in particular, polyolefins, including polypropylene (PP), and polyethylene (PE) are the most commonly used oil sorbent materials mainly due to their low cost. However, they possess relatively low oil absorption capacities. In this work, we provide an innovative way to produce a value-added product such as oil-sorbent film with high practical oil uptake values in terms of g/g from waste HDPE bottles for rapid oil spill remedy

Recycling of plastic wastes with poly (ethylene-co-methacrylic acid) copolymer as compatibilizer and their conversion into high-end product.

Science.gov (United States)

Rajasekaran, Divya; Maji, Pradip K

2018-04-01

This paper deals with the utilization of plastic wastes to a useful product. The major plastic pollutants that are considered to be in maximum use i.e. PET bottle and PE bags have been taken for consideration for recycling. As these two plastic wastes are not compatible, poly (ethylene-co-methacrylic acid) copolymer has been used as compatibilizer to process these two plastic wastes. Effect of dose of poly (ethylene-co-methacrylic acid) copolymer as compatibilizer has been studied here. It has been shown that only 3 wt% of poly (ethylene-co-methacrylic acid) copolymer is sufficient to make 3:1 mass ratio of PET bottle and polyethylene bags compatible. Compatibility has been examined through mechanical testing, thermal and morphological analysis. After analysing the property of recyclates, better mechanical and thermal property has been observed. Almost 500% of tensile property has been improved by addition of 3 wt% of poly (ethylene-co-methacrylic acid) copolymer in 3:1 mass ratio blend of PET bottle and PE bags than that of pristine blend. Morphological analysis by FESEM and AFM has also confirmed the compatibility of the blend. Experimental data showed better performance than available recycling process. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A comprehensive waste collection cost model applied to post-consumer plastic packaging waste

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Groot, J.J.; Bing, X.; Bos-Brouwers, H.E.J.; Bloemhof, J.M.

2014-01-01

Post-consumer plastic packaging waste (PPW) can be collected for recycling via source separation or post-separation. In source separation, households separate plastics from other waste before collection, whereas in post-separation waste is separated at a treatment centre after collection. There are

Electricity production from municipal solid waste in Brazil.

Science.gov (United States)

Nordi, Guilherme Henrique; Palacios-Bereche, Reynaldo; Gallego, Antonio Garrido; Nebra, Silvia Azucena

2017-07-01

Brazil has an increasing production of municipal solid waste that, allied to the current waste management system, makes the search for alternatives of energy recovery essential. Thus, this work aims to study the incineration of municipal solid waste and the electricity production through steam cycles evaluating the influence of municipal solid waste composition. Several scenarios were studied, in which it was assumed that some fractions of municipal solid waste were removed previously. The municipal solid waste generated in Santo André city, São Paulo State, Brazil, was adopted for this study. Simulation results showed that the removal of organic matter and inert components impacts advantageously on the cycle performance, improving their parameters in some cases; in addition, there is the possibility of reusing the separated fractions. The separation of some recyclables, as plastic material, showed disadvantages by the reduction in the electricity generation potential owing to the high calorific value of plastics. Despite the high energy content of them, there are other possible considerations on this subject, because some plastics have a better recovery potential by recycling.

Ammonia modification for flotation separation of polycarbonate and polystyrene waste plastics.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Chong-Qing; Wang, Hui; Gu, Guo-Hua; Lin, Qing-Quan; Zhang, Ling-Ling; Huang, Luo-Luo; Zhao, Jun-Yao

2016-05-01

A promising method, ammonia modification, was developed for flotation separation of polycarbonate (PC) and polystyrene (PS) waste plastics. Ammonia modification has little effect on flotation behavior of PS, while it changes significantly that of PC. The PC recovery in the floated product drops from 100% to 3.17% when modification time is 13min and then rises to 100% after longer modification. The mechanism of ammonia modification was studied by contact angle, and Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) measurements. Contact angle of PC indicates the decline of PC recovery in the floated product is ascribed to an increase in surface wettability. FT-IR and XPS spectra suggest that ammonia modification causes chemical reactions occurred on PC surface. Flotation behavior of ammonia-modified PC and PS was investigated with respect to flotation time, frother concentration and particle sizes. Flotation separation of PC and PS waste plastics was conducted based on the flotation behavior of single plastic. PC and PS mixtures with different particle sizes are separated efficiently, implying that the technology possesses superior applicability to particle sizes of plastics. The purity of PS and PC is up to 99.53% and 98.21%, respectively, and the recovery of PS and PC is larger than 92.06%. A reliable, cheap and effective process is proposed for separation of PC and PS waste plastics. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Alternative Diesel from Waste Plastics

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Stella Bezergianni

2017-10-01

Full Text Available The long term ambition of energy security and solidarity, coupled with the environmental concerns of problematic waste accumulation, is addressed via the proposed waste-to-fuel technology. Plastic waste is converted into automotive diesel fuel via a two-step thermochemical process based on pyrolysis and hydrotreatment. Plastic waste was pyrolyzed in a South East Asia plant rendering pyrolysis oil, which mostly consisted of middle-distillate (naphtha and diesel hydrocarbons. The diesel fraction (170–370 °C was fractionated, and its further upgrade was assessed in a hydroprocessing pilot plant at the Centre for Research and Technology Hellas (CERTH in Greece. The final fuel was evaluated with respect to the diesel fuel quality specifications EN 590, which characterized it as a promising alternative diesel pool component with excellent ignition quality characteristics and low back end volatility.

Development of a Plastic Melt Waste Compactor for Space Missions Experiments and Prototype Design

Science.gov (United States)

Pace, Gregory; Wignarajah, Kanapathipillai; Pisharody, Suresh; Fisher, John

2004-01-01

This paper describes development at NASA Ames Research Center of a heat melt compactor that can be used on both near term and far term missions. Experiments have been performed to characterize the behavior of composite wastes that are representative of the types of wastes produced on current and previous space missions such as International Space Station, Space Shuttle, MIR and Skylab. Experiments were conducted to characterize the volume reduction, bonding, encapsulation and biological stability of the waste composite and also to investigate other key design issues such as plastic extrusion, noxious off-gassing and removal of the of the plastic waste product from the processor. The experiments provided the data needed to design a prototype plastic melt waste processor, a description of which is included in the paper.

Energy recovery from plastic wastes

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Baur, A; Atzger, J

1983-07-01

The conversion of plastic wastes to energy is suggested as a practicable and advantageous alternative to recycling. A two-stage pilot gasification plant for the pyrolysis of wastes is described and the utilization of the resulting fuel gas discussed.

New process of co-coking of waste plastics and blend coal

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Liao, H.; Yu, G.; Zhao, P. (and others) [Shougang Technical Research Institute, Beijing (China)

2006-07-01

To recycle and reuse waste plastics, as well as to get a new resource of coking, co-coking process of waste plastics and blend coal has been developed by Nippon Steel. However, the ratio of waste plastics in blend coal should be limited in the range of 1% to maintain the coke strength. This paper suggested a new process of co-coking of waste plastics and blend coal. The new process can add the waste plastics ratio up to 2-4%; when the waste plastics ratio is 2%, the coke strength after reaction with CO{sub 2} (CSR) increased 8%. 8 refs., 2 figs., 3 tabs.

Research report for fiscal 1998. Research into the recycling of plastic wastes into resources; 1998 nendo hai plastic no saishigenka ni kansuru chosa hokokusho

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1999-03-01

The actualities in Japan are investigated of the types and quantities of plastic wastes, collection and recovery systems, and recycling technologies. Plastic wastes exceeded 9-million tons in 1996, of which 39% was effectively utilized while 61% was merely incinerated or used for reclamation. The 61% of the plastic wastes which are equivalent to oil resources in terms of the energy they contain is found dealt with in such ways, for which additional energy has to be consumed. Some problems are mentioned that occur in the CO2 gas reduction effort in the process of plastic waste recycling for each of its stages of production, distribution, assortment, recovery, and reuse. The problems involve the required reform into production designs and systems with the greatest importance attached to recyclability; share of the expenses between the producing and distributing parties and financial support to assortment/recovery systems; reform of consciousness of both people at large and the administrative organizations, mutual collaboration between them, and reasonable share of expenses between them; construction of a unified assortment/recovery system; expansion of the scope of use of recycled products and the building of environments that encourage their use; diversification of recycling methods and establishment of technologies therefor; and limits on the use of materials and products that generate heavy impacts on environments during their life cycles. (NEDO)

Optical absorption in recycled waste plastic polyethylene

Science.gov (United States)

Aji, M. P.; Rahmawati, I.; Priyanto, A.; Karunawan, J.; Wati, A. L.; Aryani, N. P.; Susanto; Wibowo, E.; Sulhadi

2018-03-01

We investigated the optical properties of UV spectrum absorption in recycled waste plastic from polyethylene polymer type. Waste plastic polyethylene showed an optical spectrum absorption after it’s recycling process. Spectrum absorption is determined using spectrophotometer UV-Nir Ocean Optics type USB 4000. Recycling method has been processed using heating treatment around the melting point temperature of the polyethylene polymer that are 200°C, 220°C, 240°C, 260°C, and 280°C. In addition, the recycling process was carried out with time variations as well, which are 1h, 1.5h, 2h, and 2.5h. The result of this experiment shows that recycled waste plastic polyethylene has a spectrum absorption in the ∼ 340-550 nm wavelength range. The absorbance spectrum obtained from UV light which is absorbed in the orbital n → π* and the orbital π → π*. This process indicates the existence of electron transition phenomena. This mechanism is affected by the temperature and the heating time where the intensity of absorption increases and widens with the increase of temperature and heating time. Furthermore this study resulted that the higher temperature affected the enhancement of the band gap energy of waste plastic polyethylene. These results show that recycled waste plastic polyethylene has a huge potential to be absorber materials for solar cell.

Effect of waste plastic as modifier on thermal stability and degradation kinetics of bitumen/waste plastics blend

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Naskar, M. [Rubber Technology Centre, Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur, West Bengal 721302 (India); Chaki, T.K., E-mail: tapan@rtc.iitkgp.ernet.in [Rubber Technology Centre, Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur, West Bengal 721302 (India); Reddy, K.S. [Department of Civil Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur, West Bengal 721302 (India)

2010-09-20

Different modified bituminous binders are used in pavement construction for improved durability and for enhanced performance in resisting cracking and permanent deformation of bituminous layers. Waste plastics, whose disposal is a matter of concern, have been used successfully for modifying bitumen. This paper reports the thermogravimetric studies conducted on waste plastic modified bituminous binders. Modified bituminous binders prepared using different plastic contents (0-7 wt% by weight of bitumen) were investigated. The activation energies were determined from thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) data using Kissinger and the Flynn-Wall-Ozawa methods, which do not require knowledge of the reaction mechanism. Modified bitumen (WPMB5) with 5 wt% plastic was found to have the highest thermal stability compared to other binders investigated. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) studies were carried out to find crystalline melting temperature and fusion enthalpy. Rheological parameters of modified binders prepared with different plastic contents also suggest that the 5 wt% plastic content is expected to yield optimal performance.

Effect of waste plastic as modifier on thermal stability and degradation kinetics of bitumen/waste plastics blend

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Naskar, M.; Chaki, T.K.; Reddy, K.S.

2010-01-01

Different modified bituminous binders are used in pavement construction for improved durability and for enhanced performance in resisting cracking and permanent deformation of bituminous layers. Waste plastics, whose disposal is a matter of concern, have been used successfully for modifying bitumen. This paper reports the thermogravimetric studies conducted on waste plastic modified bituminous binders. Modified bituminous binders prepared using different plastic contents (0-7 wt% by weight of bitumen) were investigated. The activation energies were determined from thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) data using Kissinger and the Flynn-Wall-Ozawa methods, which do not require knowledge of the reaction mechanism. Modified bitumen (WPMB5) with 5 wt% plastic was found to have the highest thermal stability compared to other binders investigated. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) studies were carried out to find crystalline melting temperature and fusion enthalpy. Rheological parameters of modified binders prepared with different plastic contents also suggest that the 5 wt% plastic content is expected to yield optimal performance.

Catalytic Pyrolysis of Waste Plastic Mixture

Science.gov (United States)

Sembiring, Ferdianta; Wahyu Purnomo, Chandra; Purwono, Suryo

2018-03-01

Inorganic waste especially plastics still become a major problem in many places. Low biodegradability of this materials causes the effort in recycling become very difficult. Most of the municipal solid waste (MSW) recycling facilities in developing country only use composting method to recover the organic fraction of the waste, while the inorganic fraction is still untreated. By pyrolysis, plastic waste can be treated to produce liquid fuels, flammable gas and chars. Reduction in volume and utilization of the liquid and gas as fuel are the major benefits of the process. By heat integration actually this process can become a self-sufficient system in terms of energy demand. However, the drawback of this process is usually due to the diverse type of plastic in the MSW creating low grade of liquid fuel and harmful gases. In this study, the mixture of plastics i.e. polypropylene (PP) and polyethylene terephthalate (PET) is treated using pyrolysis with catalyst in several operating temperature. PET is problematic to be treated using pyrolysis due to wax-like byproduct in liquid which may cause pipe clogging. The catalyst is the mixture of natural zeolite and bentonite which is able to handle PP and PET mixture feed to produce high grade liquid fuels in terms of calorific value and other fuel properties.

Method of solidifying radioactive waste by plastics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yasumura, Keijiro; Tomita, Toshihide.

1976-01-01

Purpose: To prevent leakage of radioactivity by providing corrosion-resistant layer on the inner surface of a waste container for radioactive waste. Constitution: The inner periphery and bottom of a drum can is lined with an non-flammable cloth of such material as asbestos. This drum is filled with a radioactive waste in the form of powder or pellets. Then, a mixture of a liquid plastic monomer and a polymerization starting agent is poured at a normal temperature, and the surface is covered with a non-flammable cloth. The plastic monomer and radioactive waste are permitted to impregnate the non-flammable cloth and are solidified there. Thus, even if the drum can is corroded at the sea bottom after disposal it in the ocean, it is possible to prevent the waste from permeating into the outer sea water because of the presence of the plastic layer on the inside. Styrene is used as the monomer. (Aizawa, K.)

Usage of waste products from thermal recycling of plastics waste in enhanced oil recovery or in-situ coal conversion

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Fink, M; Fink, J K [Montanuniversitaet Leoben (Austria)

1998-09-01

In this contribution a thermal method for crude oil mobilization and in-situ liquefaction of coal is discussed, which will finally yield more organic material, as which has been put in from plastics waste originally into the process. The conversion product from thermal treatment is pumped down into exhausted crude oil reservoirs, where the hydrogen can degrade the residual high viscous oil to cause it to become more prone to flow so that it can be recovered. Such a process will envision two goals: 1. more organic raw material (as crude oil) will be recovered than is initially put in as waste product. 2. atmospheric pollutants from the conversion plant will be trapped in the reservoir, which simplifies the construction of the plant. An analogous process may be performed with coal seams. Coal seams with their high porosity and large specific surface are believed to be in particular useful to filter atmospheric pollutants. Depending on the type of coal the mobilization of organic material by this process may be in the background. (orig./SR)

Study of Selected Composites Copper Concentrate-Plastic Waste Using Thermal Analysis

Science.gov (United States)

Szyszka, Danuta

2017-12-01

The paper presents thermal analysis of selected composites (copper concentrate, plastic waste) in two stages. The first stage consisted in thermogravimetric analysis and differential thermal analysis on the applied plastic waste and copper concentrate, and subsequently, a comparative study has been carried out on products obtained, constituting composites of those materials. As a result of analyses, it was found that up to ca. 400 °C composites show high thermal stability, whereas above that temperature, a thermal decomposition of the composite occurs, resulting in emissions of organic compounds, i.e. hydrocarbon compounds and organic oxygenate derivatives.

Alternate Strategies for Conversion of Waste Plastic to Fuels

OpenAIRE

Neha Patni; Pallav Shah; Shruti Agarwal; Piyush Singhal

2013-01-01

The present rate of economic growth is unsustainable without saving of fossil energy like crude oil, natural gas, or coal. There are many alternatives to fossil energy such as biomass, hydropower, and wind energy. Also, suitable waste management strategy is another important aspect. Development and modernization have brought about a huge increase in the production of all kinds of commodities, which indirectly generate waste. Plastics have been one of the materials because of their wide range ...

Vehicle routing for the eco-efficient collection of household plastic waste

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Bing, X.; Keizer, de M.; Bloemhof, J.M.; Vorst, van der J.G.A.J.

2014-01-01

Plastic waste is a special category of municipal solid waste. Plastic waste collection is featured with various alternatives of collection methods (curbside/drop-off) and separation methods (source-/post-separation). In the Netherlands, the collection routes of plastic waste are the same as those of

The influence of temperature on the formation of liquid fuel from Polypropylene plastic wastes

Science.gov (United States)

Martynis, M.; Mulyazmi; Praputri, E.; Witri, R.; Putri, N.

2018-03-01

The current trend of municipal waste management in urban areas is caused by rapid changes in social, economic, political and cultural life. As a non-biodegradable polymers that have become essential materials, plastic wastes have created a very serious environmental challenge because of the huge quantities and their disposal problems. Recycling of plastics is seen as one method for reducing environmental and resource depletion. The most attractive technique of plastics recycling is pyrolysis involving the degradation of the polymeric materials by heating in the absence of oxygen. This study investigated the characteristics of pyrolysis liquid fuel (PLF) produced from polypropylene plastic wastes with temperature variations. Pyrolisis was carried out on 200 grams of polypropylene waste plastics at the operating temperature of 200°C, 250°C, 300 °C and 350 °C for 45 minutes. The liquid products were found to have carbon chain length in the range of C8-C9, similar with gasoline. The maximum density, volume and calorific value of the oil obtained were 0.8 g/cm3, 61 ml and 1307 cal/gr, respectively.

Processing real-world waste plastics by pyrolysis-reforming for hydrogen and high-value carbon nanotubes.

Science.gov (United States)

Wu, Chunfei; Nahil, Mohamad A; Miskolczi, Norbert; Huang, Jun; Williams, Paul T

2014-01-01

Producing both hydrogen and high-value carbon nanotubes (CNTs) derived from waste plastics is reported here using a pyrolysis-reforming technology comprising a two-stage reaction system, in the presence of steam and a Ni-Mn-Al catalyst. The waste plastics consisted of plastics from a motor oil container (MOC), commercial waste high density polyethylene (HDPE) and regranulated HDPE waste containing polyvinyl chloride (PVC). The results show that hydrogen can be produced from the pyrolysis-reforming process, but also carbon nanotubes are formed on the catalyst. However, the content of 0.3 wt.% polyvinyl chloride in the waste HDPE (HDPE/PVC) has been shown to poison the catalyst and significantly reduce the quantity and purity of CNTs. The presence of sulfur has shown less influence on the production of CNTs in terms of quantity and CNT morphologies. Around 94.4 mmol H2 g(-1) plastic was obtained for the pyrolysis-reforming of HDPE waste in the presence of the Ni-Mn-Al catalyst and steam at a reforming temperature of 800 °C. The addition of steam in the process results in an increase of hydrogen production and reduction of carbon yield; in addition, the defects of CNTs, for example, edge dislocations were found to be increased with the introduction of steam (from Raman analysis).

Pyrolysis-catalysis of waste plastic using a nickel-stainless-steel mesh catalyst for high-value carbon products.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Yeshui; Nahil, Mohamad A; Wu, Chunfei; Williams, Paul T

2017-11-01

A stainless-steel mesh loaded with nickel catalyst was produced and used for the pyrolysis-catalysis of waste high-density polyethylene with the aim of producing high-value carbon products, including carbon nanotubes (CNTs). The catalysis temperature and plastic-to-catalyst ratio were investigated to determine the influence on the formation of different types of carbon deposited on the nickel-stainless-steel mesh catalyst. Increasing temperature from 700 to 900°C resulted in an increase in the carbon deposited on the nickel-loaded stainless-steel mesh catalyst from 32.5 to 38.0 wt%. The increase in sample-to-catalyst ratio reduced the amount of carbon deposited on the mesh catalyst in terms of g carbon g -1 plastic. The carbons were found to be largely composed of filamentous carbons, with negligible disordered (amorphous) carbons. Transmission electron microscopy analysis of the filamentous carbons revealed them to be composed of a large proportion (estimated at ∼40%) multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs). The optimum process conditions for CNT production, in terms of yield and graphitic nature, determined by Raman spectroscopy, was catalysis temperature of 800°C and plastic-to-catalyst ratio of 1:2, where a mass of 334 mg of filamentous/MWCNTs g -1 plastic was produced.

Conversion of Mixed Plastic Wastes (High Density Polyethylene and Polypropylene) into Liquid Fuel

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chaw Su Su Hmwe; Tint Tint Kywe; Moe Moe Kyaw

2010-12-01

In this study, mixed plastic wastes were converted into liquid fuels. Mixed plastic wastes used were high density polyethylene (HDPE) and polypropylene (PP). The pyrolysis of mixed plastic waste to liquid fuel was carried out with and without prepared zeolite catalyst.The catalyst was characterized by X-ray Diffraction (XRD). This catalyst was pre-treated for activation. The experiments were carried out at temperature range of 350-410C.Physical properties (density, kinematic, viscosity,refractive index)of prepared liquid fuel samples were measured. From this study, yields of liquid fuel and gas fuel were found to be 41-64% and 15-35% respectively. As for by products, char was obtained as the yield percentages from 9 to 14% and wax (yield% - 1 to 14) was formed during pyrolysis.

Combating oil spill problem using plastic waste.

Science.gov (United States)

Saleem, Junaid; Ning, Chao; Barford, John; McKay, Gordon

2015-10-01

Thermoplastic polymers (such as polypropylene, polyethylene, polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and high density polyethylene (HDPE)) constitute 5-15% of municipal solid waste produced across the world. A huge quantity of plastic waste is disposed of each year and is mostly either discarded in landfills or incinerated. On the other hand, the usage of synthetic polymers as oil sorbents, in particular, polyolefins, including polypropylene (PP), and polyethylene (PE) are the most commonly used oil sorbent materials mainly due to their low cost. However, they possess relatively low oil absorption capacities. In this work, we provide an innovative way to produce a value-added product such as oil-sorbent film with high practical oil uptake values in terms of g/g from waste HDPE bottles for rapid oil spill remedy. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Development of bio based plastic materials for packaging from soybeans waste

Science.gov (United States)

Muhammad, A.; Rashidi, A. R.; Roslan, A.; Idris, S. A.

2017-09-01

Demands of plastic material which increase with the increasing of human population encourage researchers to find alternative solution to replace petro based plastic. Thus, in the present study, a novel "green bioplastic" packaging was developed using soybean waste which is a major waste in soy sauce food industry. The evaluation of the effect of ratio of starch, soy waste and plasticizer in this bioplastic production was studied and their characteristics were compared with available bioplastics. Characteristics study was done in terms of burning test, water absorption capacity, thermal and tensile strength measurement and the result obtained were analyzed. The glass transition temperature (Tg) for soy waste bioplastic is 117˚C. The water absorption test shows that an increase in mass up to 114.17% which show large amount of water uptake capacity of this bioplastics. And about 38% of percentage loss was observed when compared with other novel bioplastics. The results clearly show that the amount of glycerol as a plasticizer had an inversely proportional relationship with the Glass Transition Temperature (Tg). The average maximum force value for tensile strength test is 6.71 N. The burning test show that the soy wastes bioplastic release a very faint smell of soy and glue-like substance. The flame ignited a Yellowish-Orange colour and released some sparks. Based on the overall results, soy-based have been proven to become an excellent bio-based packaging materials.

Mixtures of rubber tyre and plastic wastes pyrolysis: A kinetic study

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Miranda, Miguel; Cabrita, I.; Pinto, Filomena; Gulyurtlu, I.

2013-01-01

The study performed aimed at analysing possible routes for pyrolysis reaction mechanisms of polymeric materials namely RT (rubber tyre) and plastic wastes (PE (polyethylene), PP (polypropylene) and PS (polystyrene)). Consequently, and seeking sustainable transformation of waste streams into valuable chemicals and renewable liquid fuels, mixture of 30% RT, 20% PE, 30% PP and 20% PS was subjected to pyrolysis. Different kinetic models were studied using experimental data. None of the mechanisms found in literature led to a numerical adjustment and different pathways were investigated. Kinetic studies were performed aiming to evaluate direct conversions into new solid, liquid and gaseous products and if parallel reactions and/or reversible elementary steps should be included. Experiments were performed in batch system at different temperatures and reaction times. Kinetic models were evaluated and reaction pathways were proposed. Models reasonably fit experimental data, allow explaining wastes thermal degradation. Kinetic parameters were estimated for all temperatures and dependence of Ea and pre-exponential factor on temperature was evaluated. The rate constant of some reactions exhibited nonlinear temperature dependence on the logarithmic form of Arrhenius law. This fact strongly suggests that temperature has a significant effect on reaction mechanism of pyrolysis of mixtures of rubber tyre and plastic wastes. - Highlights: • Kinetic study of rubber tyre (RT) and different plastic wastes (PE, PP and PS) was performed in batch reactor. • Definition of possible pathways taken into account for the formation of final products. • Kinetic parameters were estimated. • The effect of reaction temperature and reaction time on liquid composition was performed

Progresses in Polystyrene Biodegradation and Prospects for Solutions to Plastic Waste Pollution

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, S. S.; Brandon, A. M.; Xing, D. F.; Yang, J.; Pang, J. W.; Criddle, C. S.; Ren, N. Q.; Wu, W. M.

2018-05-01

Petroleum-based plastic pollution has been a global environmental concern for decades. The obvious contrast between the remarkable durability of the plastics and their short service time leads to the increasing accumulation of plastic wastes in the environment. A cost-effective, sustainable strategy to solve the problem should focus on source control and clean up. Polystyrene (PS) wastes, a recalcitrant plastic polymer, are among the wide spread man-made plastic pollutants. Destruction of PS wastes can be achieved using various abiotic methods such as incineration but such methods release potential air pollution and generation of hazardous by-products. Biodegradation and bioremediation has been proposed for years. Since the 1970’s, the microbial biodegradation of plastics, including PS, has been evaluated with mixed and isolated cultures from different sources such as activated sludge, trash, soil, and manure. To date, PS biodegradation by these microbial cultures is still quite slow. Recently, the larvae of yellow mealworms (Tenebrio molitor Linnaeus) have demonstrated promising PS biodegradation performance. Mealworms have demonstrated the ability to chew and ingest PS foam as food and are capable of degrading and mineralizing PS into CO2 via microbe-dependent activities within the gut in less than the 12-15 hrs gut retention time. These research results have revealed a potential for microbial biodegradation and bioremediation of plastic pollutants.

Hydrogen-rich gas production from waste plastics by pyrolysis and low-temperature steam reforming over a ruthenium catalyst

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Namioka, Tomoaki; Saito, Atsushi; Inoue, Yukiharu; Park, Yeongsu; Min, Tai-jin; Roh, Seon-ah; Yoshikawa, Kunio

2011-01-01

Operating conditions for low-temperature pyrolysis and steam reforming of plastics over a ruthenium catalyst were investigated. In the range studied, the highest gas and lowest coke fractions for polystyrene (PS) with a 60 g h -1 scale, continuous-feed, two-stage gasifier were obtained with a pyrolyzer temperature of 673 K, steam reforming temperature of 903 K, and weight hourly space velocity (WHSV) of 0.10 g-sample g-catalyst -1 h -1 . These operating conditions are consistent with optimum conditions reported previously for polypropylene. Our results indicate that at around 903 K, the activity of the ruthenium catalyst was high enough to minimize the difference between the rates of the steam reforming reactions of the pyrolysates from polystyrene and polypropylene. The proposed system thus has the flexibility to compensate for differences in chemical structures of municipal waste plastics. In addition, the steam reforming temperature was about 200 K lower than the temperature used in a conventional Ni-catalyzed process for the production of hydrogen. Low-temperature steam reforming allows for lower thermal input to the steam reformer, which results in an increase in thermal efficiency in the proposed process employing a Ru catalyst. Because low-temperature steam reforming can be also expected to reduce thermal degradation rates of the catalyst, the pyrolysis-steam reforming process with a Ru catalyst has the potential for use in small-scale production of hydrogen-rich gas from waste plastics that can be used for power generation.

Stability and Volumetric Properties of Asphalt Mixture Containing Waste Plastic

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Abd Kader Siti Aminah

2017-01-01

Full Text Available The objectives of this study are to determine the optimum bitumen content (OBC for every percentage added of waste plastics in asphalt mixtures and to investigate the stability properties of the asphalt mixtures containing waste plastic. Marshall stability and flow values along with density, air voids in total mix, voids in mineral aggregate, and voids filled with bitumen were determined to obtain OBC at different percentages of waste plastic, i.e., 4%, 6%, 8%, and 10% by weight of bitumen as additive. Results showed that the OBC for the plastic-modified asphalt mixtures at 4%, 6%, 8%, and 10% are 4.98, 5.44, 5.48, and 5.14, respectively. On the other hand, the controlled specimen’s shows better volumetric properties compared to plastic mixes. However, 4% additional of waste plastic indicated better stability than controlled specimen.

Plastic flexible films waste management - A state of art review.

Science.gov (United States)

Horodytska, O; Valdés, F J; Fullana, A

2018-04-21

Plastic flexible films are increasingly used in many applications due to their lightness and versatility. In 2014, the amount of plastic films represented 34% of total plastic packaging produced in UK. The flexible film waste generation rises according to the increase in number of applications. Currently, in developed countries, about 50% of plastics in domestic waste are films. Moreover, about 615,000 tonnes of agricultural flexible waste are generated in the EU every year. A review of plastic films recycling has been conducted in order to detect the shortcomings and establish guidelines for future research. This paper reviews plastic films waste management technologies from two different sources: post-industrial and post-consumer. Clean and homogeneous post-industrial waste is recycled through closed-loop or open-loop mechanical processes. The main differences between these methods are the quality and the application of the recycled materials. Further research should be focused on closing the loops to obtain the highest environmental benefits of recycling. This could be accomplished through minimizing the material degradation during mechanical processes. Regarding post-consumer waste, flexible films from agricultural and packaging sectors have been assessed. The agricultural films and commercial and industrial flexible packaging are recycled through open-loop mechanical recycling due to existing selective waste collection routes. Nevertheless, the contamination from the use phase adversely affects the quality of recycled plastics. Therefore, upgrading of current washing lines is required. On the other hand, household flexible packaging shows the lowest recycling rates mainly because of inefficient sorting technologies. Delamination and compatibilization methods should be further developed to ensure the recycling of multilayer films. Finally, Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) studies on waste management have been reviewed. A lack of thorough LCA on plastic films waste

Effect of HDPE plastic waste towards batako properties

Science.gov (United States)

Nursyamsi, N.; Indrawan, I.; Theresa, V.

2018-02-01

Indonesia is the world’s second largest producer of plastic waste to the sea, after China. Most of the plastic waste is polyethylene. Polyethylene is a polymer consisting of long chains of ethylene monomers. Moreover, polyethylene is plastic that has characteristics such as; thermoplastic, elastic, non-translucent, odorless, slightly opaque and transparent, resistant to impact and has a resistance of up to 135 degrees Celsius. The type of HDPE plastic (high-density polyethylene), which has been cleaned and chopped as a substitute of fine aggregate, is used in the brick’s making process. HDPE has a stronger, harder, smoother and more resistant to high-temperature properties. In this study, a weight variation of 0%, 10%, and 20% of HDPE plastic wastes was used from the total weight of sand as a substitution. Furthermore, the tensile and compressive strength were tested on day 7. Based on the research, the quality of the specimen achieved was categorized in quality III according to SNI 03-0349-1989.

Alkaline Depolymerization of Polyethylene Terephthalate Plastic Waste

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ammar F. Abbas

2016-02-01

Full Text Available Depolymerization reaction is considered one of the most significant ways of converting waste polyethylene terephthalate in to terephthalic acid. The water polyethylene terephthalate bottle waste was collected from different places in Baghdad. The collection step shows that there is plenty amount of polyethylene terephthalate suitable to be an important source of terephthalic acid production.PET plastic waste conversion to terephthalic acid by depolymerization process was examined. The effect of ethylene glycol amount, reaction time (up to 90 minutes and reaction temperature (from 70 to 170° C on the polyethylene terephthalate conversion was obtained.The kinetic study shows that the ordination of the depolymerization reaction of PET is first order irreversible reaction with 31103.5 J/mole activation energy.A 97.9 % terephthalic acid purity has been obtained by purification with N, N-dimethylformamide.

Improving Public Health and Environment through Plastic Waste Management in Mumbai Metropolitan Region

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sanjay RODE

2015-12-01

Full Text Available The Mumbai Metropolitan Region is growing in terms of population, industry, educational and commercial units. The daily requirements of commodities and services by all units have increased fast. Plastic is used extensively for packing, protection and service of various commodities. The use of plastic is much higher by industry and households in region. In Brihan Mumbai Municipal Corporation, the density of population is higher. The concentration of small and large industries is more. Therefore the plastic use is much higher for different purposes. It leads to more waste of plastic. In Ulhasnagar Municipal Corporation, the population and industrial units are less. Therefore plastic waste is less generated. Theaters are generating less plastic waste in metropolitan region. The Brihan Mumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC and municipal corporations in Thane district will continuously generate more plastic waste in future. The Tobit regression model shows that plastic waste is positively co-related and statistically significant with pollution and industry in region. Therefore the comprehensive policies are required to reduce plastic waste. This is because plastic waste is affecting on the health of human being. It also affects negatively on soil, air and water. The entire food supply chain gets affected due to plastic waste. The water logging is common due to plastic waste in region. It chock ups the drainage system and it becomes the ground for mosquitoes. It further leads to dengue, malaria and other diseases in region. Municipal corporations must collect plastic in separate bins and process it. The plastic and e-waste can be utilized for road construction in region. All the policies will certainly help to reduce the plastic waste and maintain the clean environment in region.

A Research Needs Assessment for waste plastics recycling: Volume 1, Executive summary. Final report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1994-12-01

This first volume provides a summary of the entire project. The study utilized the talents of a large number of participants, including a significant number of peer reviewers from industrial companies, government agencies, and research institutes. in addition, an extensive analysis of relevant literature was carried out. In considering the attractiveness of recycling technologies that are alternatives to waste-to-energy combustion units, a systems approach was utilized. Collection of waste streams containing plastics, sortation, and reclamation of plastics and plastic mixtures, reprocessing or chemical conversion of the reclaimed polymers, and the applicability of the products to specific market segments have been analyzed in the study.

Recycling of Plastic

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Christensen, Thomas Højlund; Fruergaard, Thilde

2011-01-01

Plastic is produced from fossil oil. Plastic is used for many different products. Some plastic products like, for example, wrapping foil, bags and disposable containers for food and beverage have very short lifetimes and thus constitute a major fraction of most waste. Other plastic products like...

Recycling and treatment of plastic waste

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Czvikovszky, T.

1998-01-01

Radiation technology, using gamma or electron beams, develops its benefits at highest yield if macromolecular systems are treated. This is valid equally if build-up processes (polymerization, crosslinking) or degradative processes (chain scission, depolymerization) are initiated by radiation. Radiation-induced degradation is applied to convert polytetrafluoroethylene (Teflon) scrap into powder and low-molecular-weight products used in the production of other perfluoro compounds. The Teflon powder is blended with other materials for use as lubricant, and the perfluorocarboxylic derivatives are employed as surfactants. Radiation treatment of polymers could play a build-up role in the recycling of polymer wastes. The non-selective energy transfer from gamma or electron sources to polymer systems produces many kinds of reactive centers such as free radicals, oxydized and peroxydized active groups, on which further reactions may occur. In presence of monomer-like or oligomer-like reactive additives graft-copolymerization may take place, compatibilizing in this way the originally incompatible polymer components. Such a compatibilization is the key solution to recycling commingled plastic waste or producing composite materials of fibrous natural polymers and synthetic thermoplastics

CARBON DIOXIDE EMISSION ASSOCIATED WITH THE PRODUCTION OF PLASTICS - A COMPARISON OF PRODUCTION FROM CRUDE OIL AND RECYCLING FOR THE DUTCH CASE

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rem, Peter C.; Olsen, Stig Irving; Welink, Jan-Henk

2009-01-01

recycling to the production of plastics from crude oil as a reference. The first scenario deals with packaging waste from selective collection, in which data from the current practice of the German DSD system were translated for the Dutch situation. In the second scenario, plastic packaging recovered from...... household waste using mechanical separation techniques is considered. It is assumed in the second scenario that the plastics are separated from the rest of the household waste and processed further to a compound close to the site at which the rest of the waste is disposed of, e.g. at an incinerator plant...

Alkaline Depolymerization of Polyethylene Terephthalate Plastic Waste

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ammar S. Abbas

2016-02-01

Full Text Available Depolymerization reaction is considered one of the most significant ways of converting waste polyethylene terephthalate in to terephthalic acid. The water polyethylene terephthalate bottle waste was collected from different places in Baghdad. The collection step shows that there is plenty amount of polyethylene terephthalate suitable to be an important source of terephthalic acid production. PET plastic waste converting to terephthalic acid by depolymerization process was examined. The effect of ethylene glycol amount, reaction time (up to 90 minutes and reaction temperature (from 70 to 170° C on the polyethylene terephthalate conversion was obtained. The kinetic study shows that the ordination of the depolymerization reaction of PET is first order irreversible reaction with 31103.5 J/mole activation energy. A 97.9 % terephthalic acid purity has been obtained by purification with N, N-dimethylformamide. Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE AR-SA

Method of solidifying radioactive wastes with plastics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Matsuura, Hiroyuki; Yasumura, Keijiro; Minami, Yuji; Tomita, Toshihide

1980-01-01

Purpose: To prevent solidification of solidifying agents in the mixer by conducting the mixing process for the solidifying agents and the radioactive wastes at a temperature below the initiation point for the solidification of the agents thereby separating the mixing process from the solidification-integration process. Method: Catalyst such as cobalt naphthenate is charged into an unsaturated polyester resin in a mixer previously cooled, for example, to -10 0 C. They are well mixed with radioactive wastes and the mixture in the mixer is charged in a radioactive waste storage container. The temperature of the mixture, although kept at a low temperature initially, gradually increases to an ambient temperature whereby curing reaction is promoted and the reaction is completed about one day after to provide firm plastic solidification products. This can prevent the solidification of the solidifying agents in the mixer to thereby improve the circumstance's safety. (Kawakami, Y.)

Flotation separation of waste plastics for recycling-A review.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Chong-qing; Wang, Hui; Fu, Jian-gang; Liu, You-nian

2015-07-01

The sharp increase of plastic wastes results in great social and environmental pressures, and recycling, as an effective way currently available to reduce the negative impacts of plastic wastes, represents one of the most dynamic areas in the plastics industry today. Froth flotation is a promising method to solve the key problem of recycling process, namely separation of plastic mixtures. This review surveys recent literature on plastics flotation, focusing on specific features compared to ores flotation, strategies, methods and principles, flotation equipments, and current challenges. In terms of separation methods, plastics flotation is divided into gamma flotation, adsorption of reagents, surface modification and physical regulation. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

MEA and DEE as additives on diesel engine using waste plastic oil diesel blends

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pappula Bridjesh

2018-05-01

Full Text Available Waste plastic oil (WPO is a standout amongst the most promising alternative fuels for diesel in view of most of its properties similar to diesel. The challenges of waste management and increasing fuel crisis can be addressed while with the production of fuel from plastic wastes. This experimental investigation is an endeavour to supplant diesel at least by 50% with waste plastic oil alongside 2-methoxy ethyl acetate (MEA and diethyl ether (DEE as additives. Test fuels considered in this study are WPO, 50D50W (50%Diesel + 50%WPO, 50D40W10MEA (50%Diesel + 40%WPO + 10%MEA and 50D40W10DEE (50%Diesel + 40%WPO + 10%DEE. The test results are compared with diesel. An increase in brake thermal efficiency and abatement in brake specific fuel consumption are seen with 50D40W10MEA, as well as reduction in hydro carbon, carbon monoxide and smoke emissions. 50D40W10DEE showed reduced NOx emission whereas 50D40W10MEA has almost no impact. Engine performance and emission characteristics under different loads for different test fuels are discussed. Keywords: 2-Methoxy ethyl acetate, Diethyl ether, Waste plastic oil, Pyrolysis

The Evaluation Of Waste Plastic Burned With Lignite And Biomass

OpenAIRE

DURANAY, Neslihan; YILGIN, Melek

2016-01-01

In this work, the combustion behavior of pellets prepared from binary and triple blends of waste plastic, biomass and lignite was investigated in an experimental fixed bed combustion system. Market bags as plastic waste and the furniture factory waste powder as a source of biomass and Bingöl Karlıova coal as a lignite were used. The effect of process temperature and the plastic mixing ratio on the combustion behavior of pellets was studied. Combustion data obtained from varied bed temperature...

Theoretical Framework for Plastic Waste Management in Ghana through Extended Producer Responsibility: Case of Sachet Water Waste

OpenAIRE

Quartey, Ebo; Tosefa, Hero; Danquah, Kwasi; Obrsalova, Ilona

2015-01-01

Currently, use and disposal of plastic by consumers through waste management activities in Ghana not only creates environmental problems, but also reinforces the notion of a wasteful society. The magnitude of this problem has led to increasing pressure from the public for efficient and practical measures to solve the waste problem. This paper analyses the impact of plastic use and disposal in Ghana. It emphasizes the need for commitment to proper management of the impacts of plastic waste and...

Thermogravimetric analysis of anthracite and waste plastics by iso-conversional method

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ren, Shan; Zhang, Jianliang

2013-01-01

Highlights: • Co-combustion kinetic analysis of solid fuels was made by iso-conversional method. • Thermodynamic and kinetic parameters of combustion for blends were determined. • WP can improve the combustion characteristic of high ash anthracite. • Reasonable utilization the energy of WP is important for industrial production. - Abstract: Combustion mechanisms and kinetics of plastics-coal blends with 0, 10, 20, 40 and 100% waste plastics (WP) are studied separately by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) from ambient temperature to 900 °C in air atmosphere. These blends are combusted at different heating rates. The results indicate that, with the increase of waste plastics content, the combustion processes of blends could be divided into one stage, two stages, three stages and one stage. Meanwhile, the ignition and final temperatures of them both decrease. The maximum weight loss rate of WP is much higher than that of other samples. The iso-conversional method is used for the kinetic analysis of the non-isothermal thermogravimetric data and results indicate that, when the waste plastics content varied from 0% to 40%, the values of activation energy increase from 113.3 kJ mol −1 to 156.0 kJ mol −1 , and the value of activation energy for pure WP is 278.8 kJ mol −1

Reuse of thermosetting plastic waste for lightweight concrete.

Science.gov (United States)

Panyakapo, Phaiboon; Panyakapo, Mallika

2008-01-01

This paper presents the utilization of thermosetting plastic as an admixture in the mix proportion of lightweight concrete. Since this type of plastic cannot be melted in the recycling process, its waste is expected to be more valuable by using as an admixture for the production of non-structural lightweight concrete. Experimental tests for the variation of mix proportion were carried out to determine the suitable proportion to achieve the required properties of lightweight concrete, which are: low dry density and acceptable compressive strength. The mix design in this research is the proportion of plastic, sand, water-cement ratio, aluminum powder, and lignite fly ash. The experimental results show that the plastic not only leads to a low dry density concrete, but also a low strength. It was found that the ratio of cement, sand, fly ash, and plastic equal to 1.0:0.8:0.3:0.9 is an appropriate mix proportion. The results of compressive strength and dry density are 4.14N/mm2 and 1395 kg/m3, respectively. This type of concrete meets most of the requirements for non-load-bearing lightweight concrete according to ASTM C129 Type II standard.

Prospects of pyrolysis oil from plastic waste as fuel for diesel engines: A review

Science.gov (United States)

Mangesh, V. L.; Padmanabhan, S.; Ganesan, S.; PrabhudevRahul, D.; Reddy, T. Dinesh Kumar

2017-05-01

The purpose ofthis study is to review the existing literature about chemical recycling of plastic waste and its potential as fuel for diesel engines. This is a review covering on the field of converting waste plastics into liquid hydrocarbon fuels for diesel engines. Disposal and recycling of waste plastics have become an incremental problem and environmental threat with increasing demand for plastics. One of the effective measures is by converting waste plastic into combustible hydrocarbon liquid as an alternative fuel for running diesel engines. Continued research efforts have been taken by researchers to convert waste plastic in to combustible pyrolysis oil as alternate fuel for diesel engines. An existing literature focuses on the study of chemical structure of the waste plastic pyrolysis compared with diesel oil. Converting waste plastics into fuel oil by different catalysts in catalytic pyrolysis process also reviewed in this paper. The methodology with subsequent hydro treating and hydrocracking of waste plastic pyrolysis oil can reduce unsaturated hydrocarbon bonds which would improve the combustion performance in diesel engines as an alternate fuel.

POSSIBLE METHODS FOR PREVENTING PLASTIC WASTE FROM ENTERING THE MARINE ENVIRONMENT

OpenAIRE

David, Minodora-Florentina; Burdukovska, Valentina; Heng, Chen

2013-01-01

The widespread use of plastic has become a huge threat for the marine environment. With problems such as the oceanic garbage patches increasing more and more in scale, the focus is set on how could plastic waste be prevented from entering the oceans and adversely affecting the wildlife. Since the largest accumulation of plastic waste is found in the North Pacific Gyre, we have looked at the surrounding countries with the highest waste generation. By using the pyramid of waste as a starting po...

Valorization of post-consumer waste plastic in cementitious concrete composites

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Marzouk, O. Yazoghli; Dheilly, R.M.; Queneudec, M.

2007-01-01

The sheer amount of disposable bottles being produced nowadays makes it imperative to identify alternative procedures for recycling them since they are non-biodegradable. This paper describes an innovative use of consumed plastic bottle waste as sand-substitution aggregate within composite materials for building application. Particularly, bottles made of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) have been used as partial and complete substitutes for sand in concrete composites. Various volume fractions of sand varying from 2% to 100% were substituted by the same volume of granulated plastic, and various sizes of PET aggregates were used. The bulk density and mechanical characteristics of the composites produced were evaluated. To study the relationship between mechanical properties and composite microstructure, scanning electron microscopy technique was employed. The results presented show that substituting sand at a level below 50% by volume with granulated PET, whose upper granular limit equals 5 mm, affects neither the compressive strength nor the flexural strength of composites. This study demonstrates that plastic bottles shredded into small PET particles may be used successfully as sand-substitution aggregates in cementitious concrete composites. These new composites would appear to offer an attractive low-cost material with consistent properties; moreover, they would help in resolving some of the solid waste problems created by plastics production and in saving energy

Contribution of plastic waste recovery to greenhouse gas (GHG) savings in Spain.

Science.gov (United States)

Sevigné-Itoiz, Eva; Gasol, Carles M; Rieradevall, Joan; Gabarrell, Xavier

2015-12-01

This paper concentrates on the quantification of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of post-consumer plastic waste recovery (material or energy) by considering the influence of the plastic waste quality (high or low), the recycled plastic applications (virgin plastic substitution or non-plastic substitution) and the markets of recovered plastic (regional or global). The aim is to quantify the environmental consequences of different alternatives in order to evaluate opportunities and limitations to select the best and most feasible plastic waste recovery option to decrease the GHG emissions. The methodologies of material flow analysis (MFA) for a time period of thirteen years and consequential life cycle assessment (CLCA) have been integrated. The study focuses on Spain as a representative country for Europe. The results show that to improve resource efficiency and avoid more GHG emissions, the options for plastic waste management are dependent on the quality of the recovered plastic. The results also show that there is an increasing trend of exporting plastic waste for recycling, mainly to China, that reduces the GHG benefits from recycling, suggesting that a new focus should be introduced to take into account the split between local recycling and exporting. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Elimination of Plastic Polymers in Natural Environments

OpenAIRE

Ramirez-Ekner, Sofia; Bidstrup, Marie Juliane Svea; Brusen, Nicklas Hald; Rugaard-Morgan, Zsa-Zsa Sophie Oona Ophelia

2017-01-01

Plastic production and consumption continues to rise and subsequently plastic waste continues to accumulates in natural environments, causing harm to ecosystems.The aim of this paper was to come up with a way to utilize organisms, that have been identified to produce plastic degrading enzymes, as a waste disposal technology. This review includes accounts of plastic production rates, the occurrence of plastic in natural environments and the current waste management systems to create an underst...

Review, mapping and analysis of the agricultural plastic waste generation and consolidation in Europe.

Science.gov (United States)

Briassoulis, Demetres; Babou, Epifania; Hiskakis, Miltiadis; Scarascia, Giacomo; Picuno, Pietro; Guarde, Dorleta; Dejean, Cyril

2013-12-01

A review of agricultural plastic waste generation and consolidation in Europe is presented. A detailed geographical mapping of the agricultural plastic use and waste generation in Europe was conducted focusing on areas of high concentration of agricultural plastics. Quantitative data and analysis of the agricultural plastic waste generation by category, geographical distribution and compositional range, and physical characteristics of the agricultural plastic waste per use and the temporal distribution of the waste generation are presented. Data were collected and cross-checked from a variety of sources, including European, national and regional services and organizations, local agronomists, retailers and farmers, importers and converters. Missing data were estimated indirectly based on the recorded cultivated areas and the characteristics of the agricultural plastics commonly used in the particular regions. The temporal distribution, the composition and physical characteristics of the agricultural plastic waste streams were mapped by category and by application. This study represents the first systematic effort to map and analyse agricultural plastic waste generation and consolidation in Europe.

Embedding of reactor wastes in plastic resins

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1979-01-01

STEAG Kernenergie GmbH is so far the only firm commercially to condition radioactive bead ion exchange resins by embedding in polystyrene resins. The objective of the work reported here was to study and develop methods for immobilization of other reactor wastes in plastic resins. Comparison studies on high quality cement however showed favourable results for cement with respect to process safety and economy. For this reason STEAG interrupted its work in the field of resin embedding after about one year. The work carried out during this period is surveyed in this report, which includes a comprehensive literature study on reactor wastes and their solidification in plastic resins as well as on regulations with regard to radioactive waste disposal in the member states of the European Communities

Testing and Analysis of the First Plastic Melt Waste Compactor Prototype

Science.gov (United States)

Pace, Gregory S.; Fisher, John W.

2005-01-01

A half scale Plastic Melt Waste Compactor prototype has been developed at NASA Ames Research Center. The half scale prototype unit will lead to the development of a full scale Plastic Melt Waste Compactor prototype that is representative of flight hardware that would be used on near and far term space missions. This report details the testing being done on the prototype Plastic Melt Waste Compactor by the Solid Waste Management group at NASA Ames Research Center. The tests are designed to determine the prototype's functionality, simplicity of operation, ability to contain and control noxious off-gassing, biological stability of the processed waste, and water recovery potential using a waste composite that is representative of the types of wastes produced on the International Space Station, Space Shuttle, MIR and Skylab missions.

Treatment of contaminated waste plastics material

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sims, J.; Hitchcock, J.W.

1984-01-01

Radioactive contaminated plastics material is treated by reducing it to uniform-sized debris and extruding it from a heated extruder into a sealed container in monolithic block form or as an in-fill matrix for other contaminated waste articles to create a substantially void-free sealed mass for disposal. Density adjusting fillers may be included. Extrusion may alternatively take place into a clean sealable plastics tube. (author)

Hydrogen sulfide production by sulfate-reducing bacteria utilizing additives eluted from plastic resins.

Science.gov (United States)

Tsuchida, Daisuke; Kajihara, Yusuke; Shimidzu, Nobuhiro; Hamamura, Kengo; Nagase, Makoto

2011-06-01

In the present study it was demonstrated that organic additives eluted from plastic resins could be utilized as substrates by sulfate-reducing bacteria. Two laboratory-scale experiments, a microcosm experiment and a leaching experiment, were conducted using polyvinyl chloride (PVC) as a model plastic resin. In the former experiment, the conversion of sulfate to sulfide was evident in microcosms that received plasticized PVC as the sole carbon source, but not in those that received PVC homopolymer. Additionally, dissolved organic carbon accumulated only in microcosms that received plasticized PVC, indicating that the dissolved organic carbon originated from additives. In the leaching experiment, phenol and bisphenol A were found in the leached solutions. These results suggest that the disposal of waste plastics in inert waste landfills may result in the production of H(2)S.

Vehicle routing for the eco-efficient collection of household plastic waste.

Science.gov (United States)

Bing, Xiaoyun; de Keizer, Marlies; Bloemhof-Ruwaard, Jacqueline M; van der Vorst, Jack G A J

2014-04-01

Plastic waste is a special category of municipal solid waste. Plastic waste collection is featured with various alternatives of collection methods (curbside/drop-off) and separation methods (source-/post-separation). In the Netherlands, the collection routes of plastic waste are the same as those of other waste, although plastic is different than other waste in terms of volume to weight ratio. This paper aims for redesigning the collection routes and compares the collection options of plastic waste using eco-efficiency as performance indicator. Eco-efficiency concerns the trade-off between environmental impacts, social issues and costs. The collection problem is modeled as a vehicle routing problem. A tabu search heuristic is used to improve the routes. Collection alternatives are compared by a scenario study approach. Real distances between locations are calculated with MapPoint. The scenario study is conducted based on real case data of the Dutch municipality Wageningen. Scenarios are designed according to the collection alternatives with different assumptions in collection method, vehicle type, collection frequency and collection points, etc. Results show that the current collection routes can be improved in terms of eco-efficiency performance by using our method. The source-separation drop-off collection scenario has the best performance for plastic collection assuming householders take the waste to the drop-off points in a sustainable manner. The model also shows to be an efficient decision support tool to investigate the impacts of future changes such as alternative vehicle type and different response rates. Crown Copyright © 2014. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Use of recycled plastic in concrete: a review.

Science.gov (United States)

Siddique, Rafat; Khatib, Jamal; Kaur, Inderpreet

2008-01-01

Numerous waste materials are generated from manufacturing processes, service industries and municipal solid wastes. The increasing awareness about the environment has tremendously contributed to the concerns related with disposal of the generated wastes. Solid waste management is one of the major environmental concerns in the world. With the scarcity of space for landfilling and due to its ever increasing cost, waste utilization has become an attractive alternative to disposal. Research is being carried out on the utilization of waste products in concrete. Such waste products include discarded tires, plastic, glass, steel, burnt foundry sand, and coal combustion by-products (CCBs). Each of these waste products has provided a specific effect on the properties of fresh and hardened concrete. The use of waste products in concrete not only makes it economical, but also helps in reducing disposal problems. Reuse of bulky wastes is considered the best environmental alternative for solving the problem of disposal. One such waste is plastic, which could be used in various applications. However, efforts have also been made to explore its use in concrete/asphalt concrete. The development of new construction materials using recycled plastics is important to both the construction and the plastic recycling industries. This paper presents a detailed review about waste and recycled plastics, waste management options, and research published on the effect of recycled plastic on the fresh and hardened properties of concrete. The effect of recycled and waste plastic on bulk density, air content, workability, compressive strength, splitting tensile strength, modulus of elasticity, impact resistance, permeability, and abrasion resistance is discussed in this paper.

Use of recycled plastic in concrete: A review

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Siddique, Rafat; Khatib, Jamal; Kaur, Inderpreet

2008-01-01

Numerous waste materials are generated from manufacturing processes, service industries and municipal solid wastes. The increasing awareness about the environment has tremendously contributed to the concerns related with disposal of the generated wastes. Solid waste management is one of the major environmental concerns in the world. With the scarcity of space for landfilling and due to its ever increasing cost, waste utilization has become an attractive alternative to disposal. Research is being carried out on the utilization of waste products in concrete. Such waste products include discarded tires, plastic, glass, steel, burnt foundry sand, and coal combustion by-products (CCBs). Each of these waste products has provided a specific effect on the properties of fresh and hardened concrete. The use of waste products in concrete not only makes it economical, but also helps in reducing disposal problems. Reuse of bulky wastes is considered the best environmental alternative for solving the problem of disposal. One such waste is plastic, which could be used in various applications. However, efforts have also been made to explore its use in concrete/asphalt concrete. The development of new construction materials using recycled plastics is important to both the construction and the plastic recycling industries. This paper presents a detailed review about waste and recycled plastics, waste management options, and research published on the effect of recycled plastic on the fresh and hardened properties of concrete. The effect of recycled and waste plastic on bulk density, air content, workability, compressive strength, splitting tensile strength, modulus of elasticity, impact resistance, permeability, and abrasion resistance is discussed in this paper

Waste product profile: Plastic film and bags

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Miller, C. [Environmental Industry Associations, Washington, DC (United States)

1996-10-01

Plastic film is recycled by being pelletized following a granulation or densifying process. Manufacturing and converting plants are the major sources of plastic film for recycling because they can supply sufficient amounts of clean raw material of a known resin type. Post-consumer collection programs are more recent. They tend to focus on businesses such as grocery stores that are large generators of plastic bags. In this case, the recycling process is more complex, requiring sorting, washing, and removal of contaminants as a first step. Curbside collection of plastic bags is rare.

THE APPLICATION OF WASTE PLASTICS IN ROAD CONSTRUCTION

OpenAIRE

MR. YASHODHAN ARVIND JAGTAP; DIGVIJAY PRAMOD BHOSALE

2017-01-01

Disposal of plastic waste in the environment is considered to be a big problem because it is very low in biodegradability and its presence is large. Chocolate, chocolate, chips, handbags, cold drink bottles and other plastic packaging can cause major environmental and economic problems. They consume a lot of energy and other natural resources and exhaust the environment in various ways. In recent years, the use of industrial waste to replace a part of conventional concrete aggregate is being ...

Evaluating source separation of plastic waste using conjoint analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Nakatani, Jun; Aramaki, Toshiya; Hanaki, Keisuke

2008-11-01

Using conjoint analysis, we estimated the willingness to pay (WTP) of households for source separation of plastic waste and the improvement of related environmental impacts, the residents' loss of life expectancy (LLE), the landfill capacity, and the CO2 emissions. Unreliable respondents were identified and removed from the sample based on their answers to follow-up questions. It was found that the utility associated with reducing LLE and with the landfill capacity were both well expressed by logarithmic functions, but that residents were indifferent to the level of CO2 emissions even though they approved of CO2 reduction. In addition, residents derived utility from the act of separating plastic waste, irrespective of its environmental impacts; that is, they were willing to practice the separation of plastic waste at home in anticipation of its "invisible effects", such as the improvement of citizens' attitudes toward solid waste issues.

Effects of Waste Plastic on the Physical and Rheological Properties of Bitumen

Science.gov (United States)

Ezree Abdullah, Mohd; Asyiqin Ahmad, Nurul; Putra Jaya, Ramadhansyah; Hassan, Norhidayah Abdul; Yaacob, Haryati; Rosli Hainin, Mohd

2017-05-01

Plastic disposal is one of the major problems for developing countries like Malaysia, at the same time Malaysia needs a large network of roads for its smooth economic and social development. The limited source of bitumen needs a deep thinking to ensure fast road construction. Therefore, the use of plastic waste in road construction not only can help to protect environment but also able to help the road construction industry. The aims of this research are to study the effects of waste plastic on rheological properties of bitumen. Modified bitumen was prepared by using blending techniques. Bitumen was heated and plastic waste was slowly added. Rheological properties of bitumen were performance by penetration, softening point, viscosity and direct shear rheometer test. The results showed that when content of plastic waste increase, the penetration value, softening point and viscosity of bitumen also increase. Generally, plastic waste improves the performance of bitumen when it was added into bitumen. It can be said that the usage helps to improve the performance of the road pavement which also reduces the rutting effect.

Municipal solid waste processing and separation employing wet torrefaction for alternative fuel production and aluminum reclamation.

Science.gov (United States)

Mu'min, Gea Fardias; Prawisudha, Pandji; Zaini, Ilman Nuran; Aziz, Muhammad; Pasek, Ari Darmawan

2017-09-01

This study employs wet torrefaction process (also known as hydrothermal) at low temperature. This process simultaneously acts as waste processing and separation of mixed waste, for subsequent utilization as an alternative fuel. The process is also applied for the delamination and separation of non-recyclable laminated aluminum waste into separable aluminum and plastic. A 2.5-L reactor was used to examine the wet torrefaction process at temperatures below 200°C. It was observed that the processed mixed waste was converted into two different products: a mushy organic part and a bulky plastic part. Using mechanical separation, the two products can be separated into a granular organic product and a plastic bulk for further treatment. TGA analysis showed that no changes in the plastic composition and no intrusion from plastic fraction to the organic fraction. It can be proclaimed that both fractions have been completely separated by wet torrefaction. The separated plastic fraction product obtained from the wet torrefaction treatment also contained relatively high calorific value (approximately 44MJ/kg), therefore, justifying its use as an alternative fuel. The non-recyclable plastic fraction of laminated aluminum was observed to be delaminated and separated from its aluminum counterpart at a temperature of 170°C using an additional acetic acid concentration of 3%, leaving less than 25% of the plastic content in the aluminum part. Plastic products from both samples had high calorific values of more than 30MJ/kg, which is sufficient to be converted and used as a fuel. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Method of solidifying and disposing radioactive waste plastic

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Matsuura, Hiroyuki; Yasumura, Keijiro

1981-01-01

Purpose: To solidify radioactive waste as it is with plastic by forming a W/O (Water-in-Oil) emulsion with the radioactive waste and a plastic solidifier, and treating it with a polymerization starting agent, an accelerator, and the like. Method: A predetermined amount of alkaline substance such as sodium hydroxide, triethanol, or the like is added quantitatively to radioactive waste and it is mixed by an agitator. A predetermined amount of solidifier such as unsaturated polyester or the like is added to the mixture and it is further mixed by the agitator to form a stable W/O emulsion. Subsequently, predetermined amounts of polymerization starting agent such as methyl ethyl ketone peroxide and polymerization accelerator such as cobalt naphthenate or the like are added thereto, the mixture is mixed, and is then allowed to stand for at room temperature for the plastic solidification thereof. No reaction occurs after the solidification. (Sekiya, K.)

Hydrogen production from municipal solid waste

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wallman, P.H.; Richardson, J.H.; Thorsness, C.B. [and others

1996-06-28

We have modified a Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) hydrothermal pretreatment pilot plant for batch operation and blowdown of the treated batch to low pressure. We have also assembled a slurry shearing pilot plant for particle size reduction. Waste paper and a mixture of waste paper/polyethylene plastic have been run in the pilot plant with a treatment temperature of 275{degrees}C. The pilot-plant products have been used for laboratory studies at LLNL. The hydrothermal/shearing pilot plants have produced acceptable slurries for gasification tests from a waste paper feedstock. Work is currently underway with combined paper/plastic feedstocks. When the assembly of the Research Gasification Unit at Texaco (feed capacity approximately 3/4-ton/day) is complete (4th quarter of FY96), gasification test runs will commence. Laboratory work on slurry samples during FY96 has provided correlations between slurry viscosity and hydrothermal treatment temperature, degree of shearing, and the presence of surfactants and admixed plastics. To date, pumpable slurries obtained from an MSW surrogate mixture of treated paper and plastic have shown heating values in the range 13-15 MJ/kg. Our process modeling has quantified the relationship between slurry heating value and hydrogen yield. LLNL has also performed a preliminary cost analysis of the process with the slurry heating value and the MSW tipping fee as parameters. This analysis has shown that the overall process with a 15 MJ/kg slurry gasifier feed can compete with coal-derived hydrogen with the assumption that the tipping fee is of the order $50/ton.

Compositions of volatile organic compounds emitted from melted virgin and waste plastic pellets.

Science.gov (United States)

Yamashita, Kyoko; Yamamoto, Naomichi; Mizukoshi, Atsushi; Noguchi, Miyuki; Ni, Yueyong; Yanagisawa, Yukio

2009-03-01

To characterize potential air pollution issues related to recycling facilities of waste plastics, volatile organic compounds (VOCs) emitted from melted virgin and waste plastics pellets were analyzed. In this study, laboratory experiments were performed to melt virgin and waste plastic pellets under various temperatures (150, 200, and 250 degrees C) and atmospheres (air and nitrogen [N2]). In the study presented here, low-density polyethylene (LDPE), polypropylene (PP), polystyrene (PS) and the recycled waste plastic pellets were used. The VOCs generated from each plastic pellets were collected by Tenax/Carboxen adsorbent tubes and analyzed by thermal desorption-gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (TD-GC/MS). The result showed the higher temperatures generated larger amounts of total VOCs (TVOCs). The VOCs emitted from the virgin plastic pellets likely originated from polymer degradation. Smaller TVOC emissions were observed in N2 atmosphere than in air atmosphere. In particular, larger amounts of the oxygenated compounds, which are generally hazardous and malodorous, were detected in air than in N2. In addition to the compounds originating from polymer degradation, the compounds originating from the plastic additives were also detected from LDPE and PS. Furthermore, various species of VOCs likely originating from contaminant inseparate polyvinyl chloride (PVC), food residues, cleaning agents, degreasers, and so on were detected from the waste plastic. Thus, melting waste plastics, as is conducted in recycling facilities, might generate larger amounts of potentially toxic compounds than producing virgin plastics.

Environmental and economic life cycle analysis of plastic waste management options. A review

OpenAIRE

Bernardo, C. A.; Simões, Carla L.; Pinto, Lígia

2016-01-01

In recent years, rising worldwide plastic consumption led to the generation of increasing amounts of plastic waste and to the awareness of the importance of its management. In that framework, the present work describes how Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and economic assessment methodologies can be used for evaluating environmental and economic impacts of alternative plastic waste management systems. The literature on LCA of plastic waste management systems is vast and the results reported are ge...

Designing Business Solutions for Plastic Waste Management to Enhance Circular Transitions in Kenya

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Balint Horvath

2018-05-01

Full Text Available Least-developed countries face many challenges regarding their plastic waste management systems. In 2017, Kenya imposed a selective ban targeting manufacturers and consumers of plastic carrier bags. However, this selectivity does not avoid the continuous use of other plastic products. The present paper states that circular priorities, which have been defined to advanced economies, would not be entirely valid for the rest of the world. While high-income countries face only the impacts of their own consumption, developing nations must endure the externalities of these developed economies. Thus, the focus of the least developed part of the world must not be on reducing its relatively normal (or even low consumption, but to manage its surplus material flow. According to the employed circular evaluation methodology (CEV—Circular Economic Value, the circularity level in Kenya’s plastic material flow stands on a rather low stage with 32.72%. This result outlines the linear deficiencies of the plastic waste management system and urges the prevention of further material leakage (such as energy use. Through the Business Model Canvas (BMC approach this study offers a holistic business solution which can improve the system’s sustainability.

Co-recycling of acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene waste plastic and nonmetal particles from waste printed circuit boards to manufacture reproduction composites.

Science.gov (United States)

Sun, Zhixing; Shen, Zhigang; Zhang, Xiaojing; Ma, Shulin

2015-01-01

This study investigated the feasibility of using acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS) waste plastic and nonmetal particles from waste printed circuit boards (WPCB) to manufacture reproduction composites (RC), with the aim of co-recycling these two waste resources. The composites were prepared in a twin-crew extruder and investigated by means of mechanical testing, in situ flexural observation, thermogravimatric analysis, and dimensional stability evaluation. The results showed that the presence of nonmetal particles significantly improved the mechanical properties and the physical performance of the RC. A loading of 30 wt% nonmetal particles could achieve a flexural strength of 72.6 MPa, a flexural modulus of 3.57 GPa, and an impact strength of 15.5 kJ/m2. Moreover, it was found that the application of maleic anhydride-grafted ABS as compatilizer could effectively promote the interfacial adhesion between the ABS plastic and the nonmetal particles. This research provides a novel method to reuse waste ABS and WPCB nonmetals for manufacturing high value-added product, which represents a promising way for waste recycling and resolving the environmental problem.

Chemical recycle of plastics waste; Hai purasuchikku no kemikaru risaikuru

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Miyake, A. [Sumitomo Chemical Co. Ltd., Osaka (Japan)

1997-11-01

Chemical recycling of the wasted plastics contains from regeneration to monomer as a constructing component in the case of single element polymer to conversion to fuel oil through thermal decomposition of the mixed wasted plastics and application to chemical raw material. Polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) decomposes to methylmethacrylate (MMA) monomer with high selection rate at max temperature of 400{+-}50degC. The Mitsubishi Rayon Co., Ltd. Signed a cooperative development contract on the recycling technique of PMMA The ICI., Ltd., Great Britain. Depolymerization technique of Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) is already used actually on methanolysis with Coca-Cola Corp. (Hoechst-Celanese Corp.) and glycolysis with Pepsi-Cola Corp. (Goodyear Inc.). The chemical recycle due to thermal decomposition of the mixed wasted plastics is established as a technique of gasification of the mixed wasted plastics to generate methanol in Japan by the Mitsubishi Heavy Ind., Ltd., and is operated in a pilot plant of 2 ton/day. Here was summarized on these trends in and out of Japan. 29 refs., 5 figs., 4 tab.

Recycling and recovery routes of plastic solid waste (PSW): A review

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Al-Salem, S.M.; Lettieri, P.; Baeyens, J.

2009-01-01

Plastic solid waste (PSW) presents challenges and opportunities to societies regardless of their sustainability awareness and technological advances. In this paper, recent progress in the recycling and recovery of PSW is reviewed. A special emphasis is paid on waste generated from polyolefinic sources, which makes up a great percentage of our daily single-life cycle plastic products. The four routes of PSW treatment are detailed and discussed covering primary (re-extrusion), secondary (mechanical), tertiary (chemical) and quaternary (energy recovery) schemes and technologies. Primary recycling, which involves the re-introduction of clean scrap of single polymer to the extrusion cycle in order to produce products of the similar material, is commonly applied in the processing line itself but rarely applied among recyclers, as recycling materials rarely possess the required quality. The various waste products, consisting of either end-of-life or production (scrap) waste, are the feedstock of secondary techniques, thereby generally reduced in size to a more desirable shape and form, such as pellets, flakes or powders, depending on the source, shape and usability. Tertiary treatment schemes have contributed greatly to the recycling status of PSW in recent years. Advanced thermo-chemical treatment methods cover a wide range of technologies and produce either fuels or petrochemical feedstock. Nowadays, non-catalytic thermal cracking (thermolysis) is receiving renewed attention, due to the fact of added value on a crude oil barrel and its very valuable yielded products. But a fact remains that advanced thermo-chemical recycling of PSW (namely polyolefins) still lacks the proper design and kinetic background to target certain desired products and/or chemicals. Energy recovery was found to be an attainable solution to PSW in general and municipal solid waste (MSW) in particular. The amount of energy produced in kilns and reactors applied in this route is sufficiently

Mixed plastics recycling technology

CERN Document Server

Hegberg, Bruce

1995-01-01

Presents an overview of mixed plastics recycling technology. In addition, it characterizes mixed plastics wastes and describes collection methods, costs, and markets for reprocessed plastics products.

Biological Production of Methane from Lunar Mission Solid Waste: An Initial Feasibility Assessment

Science.gov (United States)

Strayer, Richard; Garland, Jay; Janine, Captain

A preliminary assessment was made of the potential for biological production of methane from solid waste generated during an early planetary base mission to the moon. This analysis includes: 1) estimation of the amount of biodegradable solid waste generated, 2) background on the potential biodegradability of plastics given their significance in solid wastes, and 3) calculation of potential methane production from the estimate of biodegradable waste. The completed analysis will also include the feasibility of biological methane production costs associated with the biological processing of the solid waste. NASA workshops and Advanced Life Support documentation have estimated the projected amount of solid wastes generated for specific space missions. From one workshop, waste estimates were made for a 180 day transit mission to Mars. The amount of plastic packaging material was not specified, but our visual examination of trash returned from stocktickerSTS missions indicated a large percentage would be plastic film. This plastic, which is not biodegradable, would amount to 1.526 kgdw crew-1 d-1 or 6.10 kgdw d-1 for a crew of 4. Over a mission of 10 days this would amount to 61 kgdw of plastics and for an 180 day lunar surface habitation it would be nearly 1100 kgdw . Approx. 24 % of this waste estimate would be biodegradable (human fecal waste, food waste, and paper), but if plastic packaging was replaced with biodegradable plastic, then 91% would be biodegradable. Plastics are man-made long chain polymeric molecules, and can be divided into two main groups; thermoplastics and thermoset plastics. Thermoplastics comprise over 90% of total plastic use in the placecountry-regionUnited States and are derived from polymerization of olefins via breakage of the double bond and subsequent formation of additional carbon to carbon bonds. The resulting sole-carbon chain polymers are highly resistant to biodegradation and hydrolytic cleavage. Common thermoplastics include low

Advances in modeling plastic waste pyrolysis processes

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Safadi, Y. [Department of Mechanical Engineering, American University of Beirut, PO Box 11-0236, Beirut (Lebanon); Zeaiter, J. [Chemical Engineering Program, American University of Beirut, PO Box 11-0236, Beirut (Lebanon)

2013-07-01

The tertiary recycling of plastics via pyrolysis is recently gaining momentum due to promising economic returns from the generated products that can be used as a chemical feedstock or fuel. The need for prediction models to simulate such processes is essential in understanding in depth the mechanisms that take place during the thermal or catalytic degradation of the waste polymer. This paper presents key different models used successfully in literature so far. Three modeling schemes are identified: Power-Law, Lumped-Empirical, and Population-Balance based equations. The categorization is based mainly on the level of detail and prediction capability from each modeling scheme. The data shows that the reliability of these modeling approaches vary with the degree of details the experimental work and product analysis are trying to achieve.

Simulation of blast furnace operation during the substitution of coke and pulverized coal with granulated waste plastic

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kovačević Tihomir M.

2014-01-01

Full Text Available The possibility of using the waste plastic as reducing agent in blast furnace for obtaining pig iron is in focus for the past couple year. The simulation of blast furnace process in BFC software has been performed in order to analyze the coke and coals saving, CO2 emission and determining the economic benefits. Three different batches were made for comparative analysis, depending on the batch composition and input of batch components into the blast furnace: case 1 (C1, case 2 (C2 and case 3 (C3. The base case, C1 contains sinter (bulk material which is needed for obtaining 1 tone of pig iron, quartz which provides slag alkalinity and coke as reducing and energy agent. C2 has the same components as C1, but contains pulverized coal instead one part of coke and C3 contains granulated waste plastic instead coke in an approximately the same amount as pulverized coal. The substitution of coke with pulverized coal and waste plastic is 18.6 % and 25.2 %, respectively. The economic, productivity and ecologic aspects have been analyzed. The consumption of each tone of waste plastic in blast furnace saves 360 $, which is 18 times more than its price, bearing in mind that the market price of coke is 380 $/t % and waste plastic 20 $/t. Regarding the specific productivity, it decreases from 2.13 for C1 to 1.87 for C3. From an environmental aspect there are two main benefits: reduction of CO2 emission and impossibility of dioxin formation. The CO2 emission was 20.18, 19.46 and 17.21 for C1, C2 and C3, respectively.

Development of the Plastic Melt Waste Compactor- Design and Fabrication of the Half-Scale Prototype

Science.gov (United States)

Pace, Gregory S.; Fisher, John

2005-01-01

A half scale version of a device called the Plastic Melt Waste Compactor prototype has been developed at NASA Ames Research Center to deal with plastic based wastes that are expected to be encountered in future human space exploration scenarios such as Lunar or Martian Missions. The Plastic Melt Waste Compactor design was based on the types of wastes produced on the International Space Station, Space Shuttle, MIR and Skylab missions. The half scale prototype unit will lead to the development of a full scale Plastic Melt Waste Compactor prototype that is representative of flight hardware that would be used on near and far term space missions. This report details the progress of the Plastic Melt Waste Compactor Development effort by the Solid Waste Management group at NASA Ames Research Center.

Mixed-waste pyrolysis of biomass and plastics waste – A modelling approach to reduce energy usage

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Oyedun, Adetoyese Olajire; Gebreegziabher, Tesfaldet; Ng, Denny K.S.; Hui, Chi Wai

2014-01-01

Thermal co-processing of waste mixtures had gained a lot of attention in the last decade. This is largely due to certain synergistic effects such as higher quantity and better quality of oil, limited supply of certain feedstock and improving the overall pyrolysis process. Many experiments have been conducted via TGA analysis and different reactors to achieve the stated synergistic effects in co-pyrolysis of biomass and plastic wastes. The thermal behaviour of plastics during pyrolysis is different from that of biomass because its decomposition happens at a high temperature range with sudden release of volatile compared to biomass which have a wide range of thermal decomposition. A properly designed recipe and operational strategy of mixing feedstock can ease the operational difficulties and at the same time decrease energy consumption and/or improve the product yield. Therefore it is worthwhile to study the possible synergistic effects on the overall energy used during co-pyrolysis process. In this work, two different modelling approaches were used to study the energy related synergistic effect between polystyrene (PS) and bamboo waste. The mass loss and volatile generation profiles show that significant interactions between the two feedstocks exist. The results also show that both modelling approaches give an appreciable synergy effect of reduction in overall energy when PS and bamboo are co-pyrolysed together. However, the second approach which allows interaction between the two feedstocks gives a more reduction in overall energy usage up to 6.2% depending on the ratio of PS in the mixed blend. - Highlights: • Proposed the mixed-waste pyrolysis modelling via two modelling approaches. • Study the energy related synergistic effects when plastics and biomass are pyrolysed together. • Mass loss and volatile generation profiles show the existence of significant interactions. • Energy usage can be reduced by up to 6.2% depending on the percentage of the plastic

adaptation of plastic waste to energy development in lagos

African Journals Online (AJOL)

user

Keywords: Plastic wastes, Energy, Sustainable development, Environment, ... countries to be rationalising energy supply to their people. .... Managing waste in Lagos is may be a herculean task in ..... uncertainties in a life cycle perspective.

Material recycling of post-consumer polyolefin bulk plastics: Influences on waste sorting and treatment processes in consideration of product qualities achievable.

Science.gov (United States)

Pfeisinger, Christian

2017-02-01

Material recycling of post-consumer bulk plastics made up of polyolefins is well developed. In this article, it is examined which effects on waste sorting and treatment processes influence the qualities of polyolefin-recyclats. It is shown that the properties and their changes during the product life-cycle of a polyolefin are defined by its way of polymerisation, its nature as a thermoplast, additives, other compound and composite materials, but also by the mechanical treatments during the production, its use where contact to foreign materials is possible and the waste sorting and treatment processes. Because of the sum of the effects influencing the quality of polyolefin-recyclats, conclusions are drawn for the material recycling of polyolefins to reach high qualities of their recyclats. Also, legal requirements like the EU regulation 1907/2006 concerning the registration, evaluation, authorisation and restrictions on chemicals are considered.

Polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) production from waste.

Science.gov (United States)

Rhu, D H; Lee, W H; Kim, J Y; Choi, E

2003-01-01

PHA (polyhydroxyalkanoate) production was attempted with SBRs from food waste. Seed microbes were collected from a sewage treatment plant with a biological nutrient removal process, and acclimated with synthetic substrate prior to the application of the fermented food waste. Laboratory SBRs were used to produce PHA with limited oxygen and nutrients. The maximum content of 51% PHA was obtained with an anaerobic/aerobic cycle with P limitation, and the yield was estimated to be about 0.05 gPHA(produced)/gCOD(applied) or 25 kg PHA/dry ton of food waste, assuming more than 40% of the PHA contents were recoverable. PHB/PHA ratios were 0.74 to 0.77 due to the higher acetate concentrations. Economical analysis seemed to suggest the PHA produced from the food waste could be an alternative material to produce the biodegradable plastic to be used for the collection bags for solid waste.

Recycling and recovery of post-consumer plastic solid waste in a European context

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dewil Raf

2012-01-01

Full Text Available The disposal of waste plastics has become a major worldwide environmental problem. The USA, Europe and Japan generate annually about 50 million tons of post-consumer plastic waste, previously landfilled, generally considered as a non-sustainable and environmentally questionable option. Landfill sites and their capacity are, moreover, decreasing rapidly, and legislation is stringent. Several European Directives and US legislation concern plastic wastes and the required management. They are briefly discussed in this paper. New processes have emerged, i.e., advanced mechanical recycling of plastic waste as virgin or second grade plastic feedstock, and thermal treatments to recycle the waste as virgin monomer, as synthetic fuel gas, or as heat source (incineration with energy recovery. These processes avoid land filling, where the non-biodegradable plastics remain a lasting environmental burden. The paper reviews these alternative options through mostly thermal processing (pyrolysis, gasification and waste-to-energy. Additional research is, however, still needed to confirm the potential on pilot and commercial scale. [Acknowledgments. The research was partly funded by the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities RC1101 (PR China and partly funded by Project KP/09/005 (SCORES4CHEM Knowledge Platform of the Industrial Research Council of the KU Leuven (Belgium.

Exploitation of Food Industry Waste for High-Value Products.

Science.gov (United States)

Ravindran, Rajeev; Jaiswal, Amit K

2016-01-01

A growing global population leads to an increasing demand for food production and the processing industry associated with it and consequently the generation of large amounts of food waste. This problem is intensified due to slow progress in the development of effective waste management strategies and measures for the proper treatment and disposal of waste. Food waste is a reservoir of complex carbohydrates, proteins, lipids, and nutraceuticals and can form the raw materials for commercially important metabolites. The current legislation on food waste treatment prioritises the prevention of waste generation and least emphasises disposal. Recent valorisation studies for food supply chain waste opens avenues to the production of biofuels, enzymes, bioactive compounds, biodegradable plastics, and nanoparticles among many other molecules. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Processing and properties of a solid energy fuel from municipal solid waste (MSW) and recycled plastics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gug, JeongIn; Cacciola, David; Sobkowicz, Margaret J.

2015-01-01

Highlights: • Briquetting was used to produce solid fuels from municipal solid waste and recycled plastics. • Optimal drying, processing temperature and pressure were found to produce stable briquettes. • Addition of waste plastics yielded heating values comparable with typical coal feedstocks. • This processing method improves utilization of paper and plastic diverted from landfills. - Abstract: Diversion of waste streams such as plastics, woods, papers and other solid trash from municipal landfills and extraction of useful materials from landfills is an area of increasing interest especially in densely populated areas. One promising technology for recycling municipal solid waste (MSW) is to burn the high-energy-content components in standard coal power plant. This research aims to reform wastes into briquettes that are compatible with typical coal combustion processes. In order to comply with the standards of coal-fired power plants, the feedstock must be mechanically robust, free of hazardous contaminants, and moisture resistant, while retaining high fuel value. This study aims to investigate the effects of processing conditions and added recyclable plastics on the properties of MSW solid fuels. A well-sorted waste stream high in paper and fiber content was combined with controlled levels of recyclable plastics PE, PP, PET and PS and formed into briquettes using a compression molding technique. The effect of added plastics and moisture content on binding attraction and energy efficiency were investigated. The stability of the briquettes to moisture exposure, the fuel composition by proximate analysis, briquette mechanical strength, and burning efficiency were evaluated. It was found that high processing temperature ensures better properties of the product addition of milled mixed plastic waste leads to better encapsulation as well as to greater calorific value. Also some moisture removal (but not complete) improves the compacting process and results in

Processing and properties of a solid energy fuel from municipal solid waste (MSW) and recycled plastics

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gug, JeongIn, E-mail: Jeongin_gug@student.uml.edu; Cacciola, David, E-mail: david_cacciola@student.uml.edu; Sobkowicz, Margaret J., E-mail: Margaret_sobkowiczkline@uml.edu

2015-01-15

Highlights: • Briquetting was used to produce solid fuels from municipal solid waste and recycled plastics. • Optimal drying, processing temperature and pressure were found to produce stable briquettes. • Addition of waste plastics yielded heating values comparable with typical coal feedstocks. • This processing method improves utilization of paper and plastic diverted from landfills. - Abstract: Diversion of waste streams such as plastics, woods, papers and other solid trash from municipal landfills and extraction of useful materials from landfills is an area of increasing interest especially in densely populated areas. One promising technology for recycling municipal solid waste (MSW) is to burn the high-energy-content components in standard coal power plant. This research aims to reform wastes into briquettes that are compatible with typical coal combustion processes. In order to comply with the standards of coal-fired power plants, the feedstock must be mechanically robust, free of hazardous contaminants, and moisture resistant, while retaining high fuel value. This study aims to investigate the effects of processing conditions and added recyclable plastics on the properties of MSW solid fuels. A well-sorted waste stream high in paper and fiber content was combined with controlled levels of recyclable plastics PE, PP, PET and PS and formed into briquettes using a compression molding technique. The effect of added plastics and moisture content on binding attraction and energy efficiency were investigated. The stability of the briquettes to moisture exposure, the fuel composition by proximate analysis, briquette mechanical strength, and burning efficiency were evaluated. It was found that high processing temperature ensures better properties of the product addition of milled mixed plastic waste leads to better encapsulation as well as to greater calorific value. Also some moisture removal (but not complete) improves the compacting process and results in

High density polyethylene (HDPE-2) and polystyrene (PS-6) waste plastic mixture turns into valuable fuel energy

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sarker, Moinuddin; Rashid, Mohammad Mamunor; Rahman, Md. Sadikur; Molla, Mohammed [Department of Research and Development, Natural State Research Inc, Stamford, (United States)

2011-07-01

Disposal of waste plastic is a serious concern in USA. Waste plastic generated from different cities and towns is a part of municipal solid waste. It is a matter of concern that disposal of waste plastic is causing many problems such as leaching impact on land and ground water, choking of drains, making land infertile, indiscriminate burning causes environmental hazards etc. Waste plastics being nonbiodegradable it can remain as a long period of landfill. Over 48 million tons of synthetic polymer material is produced in the United States every year. Plastic are made from limited resources such as petroleum. When waste plastic come in contact with light and starts photo degrading, it starts releasing harmful such as carbon, chlorine and sulfur causing the soil around them to decay, contributing many complications for cultivation. Waste plastics also end up in the ocean, where it becomes small particles due to the reaction caused by the sun ray and salt from the ocean. Million of ocean habitants die from consuming these small plastic particles when they mistake them for food. To solve this problem countries are resorting to dumping the waste plastics, which requires a lot of effort and money yet they are only able to recycle a fraction of waste plastics. This developed a new technology which will remove these waste plastics form landfill and ocean and convert them into useful liquid fuels. The fuels show high potential for commercialization due to the fact, its influence to the environment. Keywords: waste plastics, fuel, energy, polystyrene, high density polyethylene, thermal, environmental.

The second green revolution? Production of plant-based biodegradable plastics.

Science.gov (United States)

Mooney, Brian P

2009-03-01

Biodegradable plastics are those that can be completely degraded in landfills, composters or sewage treatment plants by the action of naturally occurring micro-organisms. Truly biodegradable plastics leave no toxic, visible or distinguishable residues following degradation. Their biodegradability contrasts sharply with most petroleum-based plastics, which are essentially indestructible in a biological context. Because of the ubiquitous use of petroleum-based plastics, their persistence in the environment and their fossil-fuel derivation, alternatives to these traditional plastics are being explored. Issues surrounding waste management of traditional and biodegradable polymers are discussed in the context of reducing environmental pressures and carbon footprints. The main thrust of the present review addresses the development of plant-based biodegradable polymers. Plants naturally produce numerous polymers, including rubber, starch, cellulose and storage proteins, all of which have been exploited for biodegradable plastic production. Bacterial bioreactors fed with renewable resources from plants--so-called 'white biotechnology'--have also been successful in producing biodegradable polymers. In addition to these methods of exploiting plant materials for biodegradable polymer production, the present review also addresses the advances in synthesizing novel polymers within transgenic plants, especially those in the polyhydroxyalkanoate class. Although there is a stigma associated with transgenic plants, especially food crops, plant-based biodegradable polymers, produced as value-added co-products, or, from marginal land (non-food), crops such as switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.), have the potential to become viable alternatives to petroleum-based plastics and an environmentally benign and carbon-neutral source of polymers.

Sustainable reverse logistics network design for household plastic waste

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Bing, X.; Bloemhof, J.M.; Vorst, van der J.G.A.J.

2014-01-01

Plastic recycling is a legal requirement and can yield environmental benefits. In the Netherlands, there is a complex network of various collection methods, separation centers, sorting centers and reprocessors. The first step of the recycling system, separating plastics from other waste, can occur

The impact of policy interactions on the recycling of plastic packaging waste in Germany

OpenAIRE

Gandenberger, Carsten; Orzanna, Robert; Klingenfuß, Sara; Sartorius, Christian

2014-01-01

Due to the environmental challenges associated with the strong growth of plastic waste worldwide, the EU Commission recently published a green paper on a European Strategy on Plastic Waste in the Environment (COM (2013), 123 final), which highlights the challenges and opportunities that arise from improving the management of plastic waste in the EU. The European Waste Directive (2008/98/EC) which was transposed into German law through the Kreislaufwirtschaftsgesetz (KrWG) established the so-c...

The potential environmental gains from recycling waste plastics: simulation of transferring recycling and recovery technologies to Shenyang, China.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Xudong; Xi, Fengming; Geng, Yong; Fujita, Tsuyoshi

2011-01-01

With the increasing attention on developing a low-carbon economy, it is necessary to seek appropriate ways on reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions through innovative municipal solid waste management (MSWM), such as urban symbiosis. However, quantitative assessments on the environmental benefits of urban symbiosis, especially in developing countries, are limited because only a limited number of planned synergistic activities have been successful and it is difficult to acquire detailed inventory data from private companies. This paper modifies and applies a two-step simulation system and used it to assess the potential environmental benefits, including the reduction of GHG emissions and saving of fossil fuels, by employing various Japanese plastics recycling/energy-recovery technologies in Shenyang, China. The results showed that among various recycling/energy-recovery technologies, the mechanical waste plastics recycling technology, which produces concrete formwork boards (NF boards), has the greatest potential in terms of reducing GHG emissions (1.66 kg CO(2)e/kg plastics), whereas the technology for the production of refuse plastic fuel (RPF) has the greatest potential on saving fossil fuel consumption (0.77 kg ce/kg-plastics). Additional benefits can be gained by applying combined technologies that cascade the utilization of waste plastics. Moreover, the development of clean energy in conjunction with the promotion of new waste plastics recycling programs could contribute to additional reductions in GHG emissions and fossil fuel consumption. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Management of PET plastic bottles waste through recycling Khartoum state

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fadlalla, N. B. I.

2010-10-01

This study been carried out to assess the general waste management in Khartoum State and effectively manage the PET plastic bottles by identifying practical means and introducing recycling as cleaner production tool to achieve sustainable development goals. The information data were gathered during the period June-July 2010 through questionnaires, interview, meeting and visits to various sites, in addition to the official information and documents collected from reliable sources, mainly Sudan Central Bank, customs authorities, Ministry of Industry, soft drink and water bottling factories. The data were presented in tables, graphs and charts by applying windows excel program and also applying e view package for the future forecast. Analysis of data shows a rising consumption in PET bottles and the forecasted PET consumption in year 2015 estimated to be 60000 Tons, twice the estimate in the year 2010. This situation will create serious environmental problems that require much more effort to be exerted by all stake holders to book for scientific and practical solutions for the disposal of plastic waste through recycling. Based on the analysis and findings recommendations have been made that ensure on recycling of PET plastic bottles by mechanical method that depends mainly on collection, segregation, cleaning and processing. Further studies and researches on other recycling methods have been recommended in the future. (Author)

Valorisation of waste plastic bags in cement-mortar composites as ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

2015-01-07

Jan 7, 2015 ... Keywords: Waste plastic bags, cement-plastic-mortar composite, aggregates coating ..... and closely attached to the aggregate by physical bonds and ... transformation steps, known as fusing material behaviour. In fact,.

Characterisation of plastic packaging waste for recycling: problems related to current approaches

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Götze, Ramona; Astrup, Thomas Fruergaard

2013-01-01

criteria of recycling processes. A lack of information in current waste characterisation practise on polymer resin composition, black coloured material content and the influence of surface adherent material on physico-chemical characteristics of plastic packaging waste were identified. These shortcomings...... were addressed by a resin type-based sorting analysis and a washing test for plastic packaging material from Danish household waste. Preliminary results show that, for a quarter of the hand sorted material, no resin type could be identified and that Polypropylene and Polyethylene terephthalate were...... the dominating resin types in plastic packaging. The suggested washing procedure caused a decrease of 70% of the ash content of the plastic material. The analysed metals and nutrients were reduced by up to 24%...

Deactivation and regeneration of ZSM-5 zeolite in catalytic pyrolysis of plastic wastes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lopez, A.; Marco, I. de; Caballero, B.M.; Adrados, A.; Laresgoiti, M.F.

2011-01-01

Highlights: → Pyrolysis transforms plastic wastes in valuable liquids and gases useful as fuels or source of chemicals. → The use of ZSM-5 zeolite in pyrolysis favours the production of gases and of lighter and more aromatic liquids. → ZSM-5 zeolite is almost completely deactivated after one plastics pyrolysis experiment. → ZSM-5 zeolite used in plastic wastes pyrolysis can be regenerated by burning the deposited coke in an air stream. → Regenerated ZSM-5 recovers its activity and produces liquids and gases equivalent to those obtained with fresh catalyst. - Abstract: In this work, a study of the regeneration and reuse of ZSM-5 zeolite in the pyrolysis of a plastic mixture has been carried out in a semi-batch reactor at 440 deg. C. The results have been compared with those obtained with fresh-catalyst and in non-catalytic experiments with the same conditions. The use of fresh catalyst produces a significant change in both the pyrolysis yields and the properties of the liquids and gases obtained. Gases more rich in C3-C4 and H 2 are produced, as well as lower quantities of aromatic liquids if compared with those obtained in thermal decomposition. The authors have proved that after one pyrolysis experiment the zeolite loses quite a lot of its activity, which is reflected in both the yields and the products quality; however, this deactivation was found to be reversible since after regeneration heating at 550 deg. C in oxygen atmosphere, this catalyst recovered its initial activity, generating similar products and in equivalent proportions as those obtained with fresh catalyst.

Preparing Attitude Scale to Define Students' Attitudes about Environment, Recycling, Plastic and Plastic Waste

Science.gov (United States)

Avan, Cagri; Aydinli, Bahattin; Bakar, Fatma; Alboga, Yunus

2011-01-01

The aim of this study is to introduce an attitude scale in order to define students? attitudes about environment, recycling, plastics, plastic waste. In this study, 80 attitude sentences according to 5-point Likert-type scale were prepared and applied to 492 students of 6th grade in the Kastamonu city center of Turkey. The scale consists of…

Review Paper on Application of Waste Plastic in Modifying Bitumen Properties

OpenAIRE

AdityaBhardwaj; Bal Krishna Keshav; AkulDev Singh

2017-01-01

Industrialisation and population is increasing day by day leading to the increase in the amount of waste plastic. Plastic is a non-biodegradable substance i.e. it is not decomposed by bacteria easily. So, dumping it causes soil pollution which leads to decrease in the fertility of soil. Another way of getting rid of plastic is by burning it, which also produces a lot of harmful gases and leads to increase in air pollution. Soil and air pollution both are harmful for the environment. Waste pla...

Plastic waste to liquid oil through catalytic pyrolysis using natural and synthetic zeolite catalysts.

Science.gov (United States)

Miandad, R; Barakat, M A; Rehan, M; Aburiazaiza, A S; Ismail, I M I; Nizami, A S

2017-11-01

This study aims to examine the catalytic pyrolysis of various plastic wastes in the presence of natural and synthetic zeolite catalysts. A small pilot scale reactor was commissioned to carry out the catalytic pyrolysis of polystyrene (PS), polypropylene (PP), polyethylene (PE) and their mixtures in different ratios at 450°C and 75min. PS plastic waste resulted in the highest liquid oil yield of 54% using natural zeolite and 50% using synthetic zeolite catalysts. Mixing of PS with other plastic wastes lowered the liquid oil yield whereas all mixtures of PP and PE resulted in higher liquid oil yield than the individual plastic feedstocks using both catalysts. The GC-MS analysis revealed that the pyrolysis liquid oils from all samples mainly consisted of aromatic hydrocarbons with a few aliphatic hydrocarbon compounds. The types and amounts of different compounds present in liquid oils vary with some common compounds such as styrene, ethylbenzene, benzene, azulene, naphthalene, and toluene. The FT-IR data also confirmed that liquid oil contained mostly aromatic compounds with some alkanes, alkenes and small amounts of phenol group. The produced liquid oils have high heating values (HHV) of 40.2-45MJ/kg, which are similar to conventional diesel. The liquid oil has potential to be used as an alternative source of energy or fuel production. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Synthesis of Multi-Walled Carbon Nanotubes from Plastic Waste Using a Stainless-Steel CVD Reactor as Catalyst.

Science.gov (United States)

Tripathi, Pranav K; Durbach, Shane; Coville, Neil J

2017-09-22

The disposal of non-biodegradable plastic waste without further upgrading/downgrading is not environmentally acceptable and many methods to overcome the problem have been proposed. Herein we indicate a simple method to make high-value nanomaterials from plastic waste as a partial solution to the environmental problem. Laboratory-based waste centrifuge tubes made of polypropylene were chosen as a carbon source to show the process principle. In the process, multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) were synthesized from plastic waste in a two-stage stainless steel 316 (SS 316) metal tube that acted as both reactor vessel and catalyst. The steel reactor contains Fe (and Ni, and various alloys), which act as the catalyst for the carbon conversion process. The reaction and products were studied using electron probe microanalysis, thermogravimetric analysis, Raman spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy and scanning electron microscopy. Optimization studies to determine the effect of different parameters on the process showed that the highest yield and most graphitized MWCNTs were formed at 900 °C under the reaction conditions used (yield 42%; Raman I D / I G ratio = 0.48). The high quality and high yield of the MWCNTs that were produced in a flow reactor from plastic waste using a two stage SS 316 chemical vapor deposition (CVD) furnace did not require the use of an added catalyst.

Synthesis of Multi-Walled Carbon Nanotubes from Plastic Waste Using a Stainless-Steel CVD Reactor as Catalyst

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pranav K. Tripathi

2017-09-01

Full Text Available The disposal of non-biodegradable plastic waste without further upgrading/downgrading is not environmentally acceptable and many methods to overcome the problem have been proposed. Herein we indicate a simple method to make high-value nanomaterials from plastic waste as a partial solution to the environmental problem. Laboratory-based waste centrifuge tubes made of polypropylene were chosen as a carbon source to show the process principle. In the process, multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs were synthesized from plastic waste in a two-stage stainless steel 316 (SS 316 metal tube that acted as both reactor vessel and catalyst. The steel reactor contains Fe (and Ni, and various alloys, which act as the catalyst for the carbon conversion process. The reaction and products were studied using electron probe microanalysis, thermogravimetric analysis, Raman spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy and scanning electron microscopy. Optimization studies to determine the effect of different parameters on the process showed that the highest yield and most graphitized MWCNTs were formed at 900 °C under the reaction conditions used (yield 42%; Raman ID/IG ratio = 0.48. The high quality and high yield of the MWCNTs that were produced in a flow reactor from plastic waste using a two stage SS 316 chemical vapor deposition (CVD furnace did not require the use of an added catalyst.

Improving the circular economy via hydrothermal processing of high-density waste plastics.

Science.gov (United States)

Helmer Pedersen, Thomas; Conti, Federica

2017-10-01

Rising environmental concerns on climate changes are causing an increasing attention on circular economies. The plastic economy, in particular, is in focus due to the accelerating consumption of plastics, mainly derived from virgin feedstock, combined with the lack of plastic recycling strategies. This work presents a novel outlook on the potential of using supercritical hydrothermal processing of waste plastic fractions for tertiary recycling. The study investigates hydrothermal processing of nine different, high-density types of plastics into original resin monomers and other value-added chemical compounds. The outlook presents conversion yields, carbon balances, and chemical details on the products obtained. It is found that all the investigated resins are prone to hydrothermal treatment, and that high yields of monomers and high value compounds (up to nearly 100%), suitable for chemicals and fuels applications, can be obtained. For instance, for polycarbonate, styrene-butadiene, poly(lactic acid), poly(ethylene terephthalate), and poly(butylene terephthalate), original monomeric compounds can be reclaimed for manufacturing new resins. The promising results presented demonstrate that hydrothermal processing of high-density plastics is a prospective technology for increasing the circularity of the plastic economy. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Investigation of thermodynamic parameters in the thermal decomposition of plastic waste-waste lube oil compounds.

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Yong Sang; Kim, Young Seok; Kim, Sung Hyun

2010-07-01

Thermal decomposition properties of plastic waste-waste lube oil compounds were investigated under nonisothermal conditions. Polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), polystyrene (PS), and polyethylene terephthalate (PET) were selected as representative household plastic wastes. A plastic waste mixture (PWM) and waste lube oil (WLO) were mixed with mixing ratios of 33, 50, and 67 (w/w) % on a PWM weight basis, and thermogravimetric (TG) experiments were performed from 25 to 600 degrees C. The Flynn-Wall method and the Ozawa-Flynn-Wall method were used for analyses of thermodynamic parameters. In this study, activation energies of PWM/WLO compounds ranged from 73.4 to 229.6 kJ/mol between 0.2 and 0.8 of normalized mass conversions, and the 50% PWM/WLO compound had lower activation energies and enthalpies among the PWM/WLO samples at each mass conversion. At the point of maximum differential mass conversion, the analyzed activation energies, enthalpies, entropies, and Gibbs free energies indicated that mixing PWM and WLO has advantages in reducing energy to decrease the degree of disorder. However, no difference in overall energy that would require overcoming both thermal decomposition reactions and degree of disorder was observed among PWM/WLO compounds under these experimental conditions.

Recycling of plastic: accounting of greenhouse gases and global warming contributions.

Science.gov (United States)

Astrup, Thomas; Fruergaard, Thilde; Christensen, Thomas H

2009-11-01

Major greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions related to plastic waste recycling were evaluated with respect to three management alternatives: recycling of clean, single-type plastic, recycling of mixed/contaminated plastic, and use of plastic waste as fuel in industrial processes. Source-separated plastic waste was received at a material recovery facility (MRF) and processed for granulation and subsequent downstream use. In the three alternatives, plastic was assumed to be substituting virgin plastic in new products, wood in low-strength products (outdoor furniture, fences, etc.), and coal or fuel oil in the case of energy utilization. GHG accounting was organized in terms of indirect upstream emissions (e.g. provision of energy, fuels, and materials), direct emissions at the MRF (e.g. fuel combustion), and indirect downstream emissions (e.g. avoided emissions from production of virgin plastic, wood, or coal/oil). Combined, upstream and direct emissions were estimated to be roughly between 5 and 600 kg CO(2)-eq. tonne( -1) of plastic waste depending on treatment at the MRF and CO(2) emissions from electricity production. Potential downstream savings arising from substitution of virgin plastic, wood, and energy fuels were estimated to be around 60- 1600 kg CO(2)-eq. tonne( -1) of plastic waste depending on substitution ratios and CO(2) emissions from electricity production. Based on the reviewed data, it was concluded that substitution of virgin plastic should be preferred. If this is not viable due to a mixture of different plastic types and/or contamination, the plastic should be used for energy utilization. Recycling of plastic waste for substitution of other materials such as wood provided no savings with respect to global warming.

Fiscal 1997 survey report. Basic survey on trends of waste use type production facilities and waste fuel production facilities; 1997 nendo chosa hokokusho. Haikibutsu riyogata seizo shisetsu oyobi haikibutsu nenryo seizo shisetsu doko kiso chosa hokokusho

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1998-03-01

This survey was made to obtain the basic data for future spread and promotion of No.6 type (waste use type production facilities) and No.7 type (waste fuel production facilities) which were added to the objects having been subsidized since fiscal 1997 under `the environmental harmony type energy community project.` In the former, the kiln in the cement industry and the blast furnace in the steel industry can be extremely large places to receive waste plastic since the facilities are distributed in every area and the treatment capacity is large. However, the effective collection, transportation and sorting of large quantity of waste plastic, especially the problem of removal of vinyl chloride, is a big bottleneck. As to the use of waste plastic using gasification technology, there are no actual results on the commercial basis. That is, however, appropriate for treatment of the waste difficult in treatment, and can be expected of the usage in the chemical industry. In the latter, in the facilities using industrial waste raw materials as fuel, solidification and liquefaction are both operated on a commercial basis. In relation to the solidification and use as fuel of general waste, the treatment of combustion ash is preventing the expansion of use of waste in the industrial field because of a large quantity of chlorine included in the products. 92 refs., 54 figs., 35 tabs.

Operating room waste reduction in plastic and hand surgery.

Science.gov (United States)

Albert, Mark G; Rothkopf, Douglas M

2015-01-01

Operating rooms (ORs), combined with labour and delivery suites, account for approximately 70% of hospital waste. Previous studies have reported that recycling can have a considerable financial impact on a hospital-wide basis; however, its importance in the OR has not been demonstrated. To propose a method of decreasing cost through judicious selection of instruments and supplies, and initiation of recycling in plastic and hand surgery. The authors identified disposable supplies and instruments that are routinely opened and wasted in common plastic and hand surgery procedures, and calculated the savings that can result from eliminating extraneous items. A cost analysis was performed, which compared the expense of OR waste versus single-stream recycling and the benefit of recycling HIPAA documents and blue wrap. Fifteen total items were removed from disposable plastic packs and seven total items from hand packs. A total of US$17,381.05 could be saved per year from these changes alone. Since initiating single-stream recycling, the authors' institution has saved, on average, US$3,487 per month at the three campuses. After extrapolating at the current savings rate, one would expect to save a minimum of US$41,844 per year. OR waste reduction is an effective method of decreasing cost in the surgical setting. By revising the contents of current disposable packs and instrument sets designated for plastic and hand surgery, hospitals can reduce the amount of opened and unused material. Significant financial savings and environmental benefit can result from this judicious supply and instrument selection, as well as implementation of recycling.

Production of recyclates – compared with virgin Plastics – a LCA Study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Storm Birgit Kjærside

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Plastix A/S is a Danish cleantech company transforming discarded fishing trawls and nets into valuable green raw materials. Plastix– technology and processes solve a maritime waste problem and contribute to a more circular green economy and reduce landfilling, marine pollution, CO2 emissions and especially loss of valuable resources. Plastix– recycling technology enables recovery of discarded fishing trawls and nets via mechanical and thermal processes transforming the waste into valuable recycles which can be converted into plastic products replacing virgin raw materials. The performance has been proved through a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA study. The results from the LCA study are compared with the production of virgin materials. The results of the LCA show that especially the carbon footprint is remarkable better for Oceanix than for virgin plastics. Oceanix HDPE is 5 times better than virgin HDPE, when talking about the carbon foot print, and the results for Oceanix PP and Oceanix PA6 are 5 times and 20 times better compared with virgin PP and PA6. Also other environmental indicators are better for Oceanix compared with virgin plastics.

Elemental balance of SRF production process: solid recovered fuel produced from municipal solid waste.

Science.gov (United States)

Nasrullah, Muhammad; Vainikka, Pasi; Hannula, Janne; Hurme, Markku; Oinas, Pekka

2016-01-01

In the production of solid recovered fuel (SRF), certain waste components have excessive influence on the quality of product. The proportion of rubber, plastic (hard) and certain textiles was found to be critical as to the elemental quality of SRF. The mass flow of rubber, plastic (hard) and textiles (to certain extent, especially synthetic textile) components from input waste stream into the output streams of SRF production was found to play the decisive role in defining the elemental quality of SRF. This paper presents the mass flow of polluting and potentially toxic elements (PTEs) in SRF production. The SRF was produced from municipal solid waste (MSW) through mechanical treatment (MT). The results showed that of the total input chlorine content to process, 55% was found in the SRF and 30% in reject material. Of the total input arsenic content, 30% was found in the SRF and 45% in fine fraction. In case of cadmium, lead and mercury, of their total input content to the process, 62%, 38% and 30%, respectively, was found in the SRF. Among the components of MSW, rubber material was identified as potential source of chlorine, containing 8.0 wt.% of chlorine. Plastic (hard) and textile components contained 1.6 and 1.1. wt.% of chlorine, respectively. Plastic (hard) contained higher lead and cadmium content compared with other waste components, i.e. 500 mg kg(-1) and 9.0 mg kg(-1), respectively. © The Author(s) 2015.

A survey of economic indices of plastic wastes recycling industry

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Malek Hassanpour

2015-11-01

Full Text Available Numerous small recycling units of plastic wastes have been currently constructed heedless to study of economic indices in Iran. Pay attention to the prominent performance of the industrial sector for economic development and its priority for fortifying other sectors to implement job opportunities, survey of the economic indices beckon the stakeholders and industries owners. The main objective of this study was a survey of economic indices in small recycling unit of plastic wastes. Therefore, the practice of computing the economic indices was performed using empirical equations, professional experiences and observations in site of the industry in terms of sustainability performance. Current study had shown the indices values such as value-added percent, profit, annual income, breakeven point, value-added, output value, data value, variable cost of good unit and production costs were found 62%, $ 366558, $ 364292.6, $ 100.34, $ 423451.25, $ 255335.75, $ 678787, $ 389.65 and $ 314494.4 respectively. The breakeven point about 15.93%, the time of return on investment about 1.12 (13.7 months were represented that this industry slightly needs long time to afford the employed capital and starts making a profit.

Pyrolysis and gasification of landfilled plastic wastes with Ni-Mg-La/Al2O3 catalyst.

Science.gov (United States)

Kaewpengkrow, Prangtip; Atong, Duangduen; Sricharoenchaikul, Viboon

2012-12-01

Pyrolysis and gasification processes were utilized to study the feasibility of producing fuels from landfilled plastic wastes. These wastes were converted in a gasifier at 700-900 degrees C. The equivalence ratio (ER) was varied from 0.4-0.6 with or without addition ofa Ni-Mg-La/Al2O3 catalyst. The pyrolysis and gasification of plastic wastes without catalyst resulted in relatively low H2, CO and other fuel gas products with methane as the major gaseous species. The highest lower heating value (LHV) was obtained at 800 degrees C and for an ER of 0.4, while the maximum cold gas efficiency occurred at 700 degrees C and for an ER of 0.4. The presence of the Ni-Mg-La/Al2O3 catalyst significantly enhanced H2 and CO production as well as increasing the gas energy content to 15.76-19.26 MJ/m3, which is suitable for further usage as quality fuel gas. A higher temperature resulted in more H2 and CO and other product gas yields, while char and liquid (tars) decreased. The maximum gas yield, gas calorific value and cold gas efficiency were achieved when the Ni-Mg-La/Al2O3 catalyst was used at 900 degrees C. In general, addition of prepared catalyst resulted in greater H2, CO and other light hydrocarbon yields from superior conversion of wastes to these gases. Thus, thermochemical treatment of these problematic wastes using pyrolysis and gasification processes is a very attractive alternative for sustainable waste management.

Safe Disposal of Medical and Plastic Waste and Energy Recovery Possibilities using Plasma Pyrolysis Technology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nema, S.K.; Mukherjee, S.

2010-01-01

Plasma pyrolysis and plasma gasification are emerging technologies that can provide complete solution to organic solid waste disposal. In these technologies plasma torch is used as a workhorse to convert electrical energy into heat energy. These technologies dispose the organic waste in an environment friendly manner. Thermal plasma provides extremely high temperature in oxygen free or controlled air environment which is required for pyrolysis or gasification reactions. Plasma based medical waste treatment is an extremely complex technology since it has to contend with extreme temperatures and corrosion-prone environment, complex pyro-chemistry resulting in toxic and dangerous products, if not controlled. In addition, one has to take care of complete combustion of pyrolyzed gases followed by efficient scrubbing to meet the emission standards set by US EPA and Central Pollution Control Board, India. In medical waste, high volume and low packing density waste with nonstandard composition consisting of a variety of plastics, organic material and liquids used to be present. The present paper describes the work carried out at Institute for Plasma Research, India, on plasma pyrolysis of (i) medical waste disposal and the results of emission measurement done at various locations in the system and (ii) energy recovery from cotton and plastic waste. The process and system development has been done in multiple steps. Different plasma pyrolysis models were made and each subsequent model was improved upon to meet stringent emission norms and to make the system energy efficient and user friendly. FCIPT, has successfully demonstrated up to 50 kg/ hr plasma pyrolysis systems and have installed plasma pyrolysis facilities at various locations in India . Plastic Waste disposal along with energy recovery in 15 kg/ hr model has also been developed and demonstrated at FCIPT. In future, this technology has great potential to dispose safely different waste streams such as biomass

Waste plastics as supplemental fuel in the blast furnace process: improving combustion efficiencies.

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Dongsu; Shin, Sunghye; Sohn, Seungman; Choi, Jinshik; Ban, Bongchan

2002-10-14

The possibility of using waste plastics as a source of secondary fuel in a blast furnace has been of recent interest. The success of this process, however, will be critically dependent upon the optimization of operating systems. For instance, the supply of waste plastics must be reliable as well as economically attractive compared with conventional secondary fuels such as heavy oil, natural gas and pulverized coal. In this work, we put special importance on the improvement of the combustibility of waste plastics as a way to enhance energy efficiency in a blast furnace. As experimental variables to approach this target, the effects of plastic particle size, blast temperature, and the level of oxygen enrichment were investigated using a custom-made blast model designed to simulate a real furnace. Lastly, the combustion efficiency of the mixture of waste plastics and pulverized coal was tested. The observations made from these experiments led us to the conclusion that with the increase of both blast temperature and the level of oxygen enrichment, and with a decrease in particle size, the combustibility of waste polyethylene could be improved at a given distance from the tuyere. Also it was found that the efficiency of coal combustion decreased with the addition of plastics; however, the combustion efficiency of mixture could be comparable at a longer distance from the tuyere.

The potential environmental gains from recycling waste plastics: Simulation of transferring recycling and recovery technologies to Shenyang, China

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chen Xudong; Xi Fengming; Geng Yong; Fujita, Tsuyoshi

2011-01-01

Research highlights: → Urban symbiosis creates compatibility of industrial development and waste management. → Mechanical technology leads to more CO 2 emission reduction. → Energy recovery technology leads to more fossil fuel saving. → Clean energy makes recycling technologies cleaner. → Demand management is crucial for realizing potential environmental gains of recycling. - Abstract: With the increasing attention on developing a low-carbon economy, it is necessary to seek appropriate ways on reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions through innovative municipal solid waste management (MSWM), such as urban symbiosis. However, quantitative assessments on the environmental benefits of urban symbiosis, especially in developing countries, are limited because only a limited number of planned synergistic activities have been successful and it is difficult to acquire detailed inventory data from private companies. This paper modifies and applies a two-step simulation system and used it to assess the potential environmental benefits, including the reduction of GHG emissions and saving of fossil fuels, by employing various Japanese plastics recycling/energy-recovery technologies in Shenyang, China. The results showed that among various recycling/energy-recovery technologies, the mechanical waste plastics recycling technology, which produces concrete formwork boards (NF boards), has the greatest potential in terms of reducing GHG emissions (1.66 kg CO 2 e/kg plastics), whereas the technology for the production of refuse plastic fuel (RPF) has the greatest potential on saving fossil fuel consumption (0.77 kgce/kg-plastics). Additional benefits can be gained by applying combined technologies that cascade the utilization of waste plastics. Moreover, the development of clean energy in conjunction with the promotion of new waste plastics recycling programs could contribute to additional reductions in GHG emissions and fossil fuel consumption.

Liquid fuel obtain from polypropylene (PP-5) and high density polyethylene (HDPE-2) waste plastics mixture

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sarker, Moinuddin; Rashid, Mohammad Mamunor; Rahman, Md. Sadikur; Molla, Mohammed [Department of Research and Development, Natural State Research Inc, Stamford, (United States)

2011-07-01

Plastics are made by combination of small based molecules to form monomers. The monomers are then joined together by chemical polymerization mechanism to form polymers also known as plastics. These plastics contain various elements such as carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, chlorine and sul fur. The use of plastics is vastly expanded and it is being used in every sector of the world. However, using plastics does have a negative aspect, after use they end up in our landfill as waste causing numerous health and environmental problems. Landfill waste plastics release harmful gases due to the presence of carbon, chlorine and sul fur in them into the atmosphere causing climates to change drastically, equivalent to the effects of greenhouse gases (GHG) emission. To overcome these environmental issues, scientists have already developed many methods to converting these waste plastics into energy and fuel . We developed one new methods thermal cracking conversion to convert these waste plastics into usable liquid fuel . Thermal cracking conversion is a process to shorten the long chain hydrocarbons to produce liquid fuel in the absence of a catalyst. The thermal degradation process of the waste plastics long chain hydrocarbon to makes short chain hydrocarbon fuel. The fuel produced has been analyzed and tested according to standard methods. Key words: fuel , hydrocarbon, waste plastic, thermal degradation, conversion, GC/MS.

Liquid fuel obtain from polypropylene (PP-5) and high density polyethylene (HDPE-2) waste plastics mixture

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sarker, Moinuddin; Rashid, Mohammad Mamunor; Rahman, Md. Sadikur; Molla, Mohammed

2011-01-01

Plastics are made by combination of small based molecules to form monomers. The monomers are then joined together by chemical polymerization mechanism to form polymers also known as plastics. These plastics contain various elements such as carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, chlorine and sul fur. The use of plastics is vastly expanded and it is being used in every sector of the world. However, using plastics does have a negative aspect, after use they end up in our landfill as waste causing numerous health and environmental problems. Landfill waste plastics release harmful gases due to the presence of carbon, chlorine and sul fur in them into the atmosphere causing climates to change drastically, equivalent to the effects of greenhouse gases (GHG) emission. To overcome these environmental issues, scientists have already developed many methods to converting these waste plastics into energy and fuel . We developed one new methods thermal cracking conversion to convert these waste plastics into usable liquid fuel . Thermal cracking conversion is a process to shorten the long chain hydrocarbons to produce liquid fuel in the absence of a catalyst. The thermal degradation process of the waste plastics long chain hydrocarbon to makes short chain hydrocarbon fuel. The fuel produced has been analyzed and tested according to standard methods. Key words: fuel , hydrocarbon, waste plastic, thermal degradation, conversion, GC/MS

Recycling of plastic waste: Screening for brominated flame retardants (BFRs)

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pivnenko, Kostyantyn; Granby, Kit; Eriksson, Eva

2017-01-01

,4,6-TBP)), hexabromocyclododecane stereoisomers (α-, β-, and γ-HBCD), as well as selected polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) in samples of household waste plastics, virgin and recycled plastics. A considerable number of samples contained BFRs, with highest concentrations associated with acrylonitrile...

Co-pyrolysis of swine manure with agricultural plastic waste: laboratory-scale study.

Science.gov (United States)

Ro, Kyoung S; Hunt, Patrick G; Jackson, Michael A; Compton, David L; Yates, Scott R; Cantrell, Keri; Chang, SeChin

2014-08-01

Manure-derived biochar is the solid product resulting from pyrolysis of animal manures. It has considerable potential both to improve soil quality with high levels of nutrients and to reduce contaminants in water and soil. However, the combustible gas produced from manure pyrolysis generally does not provide enough energy to sustain the pyrolysis process. Supplementing this process may be achieved with spent agricultural plastic films; these feedstocks have large amounts of available energy. Plastic films are often used in soil fumigation. They are usually disposed in landfills, which is wasteful, expensive, and environmentally unsustainable. The objective of this work was to investigate both the energetics of co-pyrolyzing swine solids with spent plastic mulch films (SPM) and the characteristics of its gas, liquid, and solid byproducts. The heating value of the product gas from co-pyrolysis was found to be much higher than that of natural gas; furthermore, the gas had no detectable toxic fumigants. Energetically, sustaining pyrolysis of the swine solids through the energy of the product gas could be achieved by co-pyrolyzing dewatered swine solids (25%m/m) with just 10% SPM. If more than 10% SPM is used, the co-pyrolysis would generate surplus energy which could be used for power generation. Biochars produced from co-pyrolyzing SPM and swine solid were similar to swine solid alone based on the surface area and the (1)H NMR spectra. The results of this study demonstrated the potential of using pyrolysis technology to manage two prominent agricultural waste streams (SPM and swine solids) while producing value-added biochar and a power source that could be used for local farm operations. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Recycling of mixed plastic waste from electrical and electronic equipment. Added value by compatibilization.

Science.gov (United States)

Vazquez, Yamila V; Barbosa, Silvia E

2016-07-01

Plastic waste from electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) grows up exponentially fast in the last two decades. Either consumption increase of technological products, like cellphones or computers, or the short lifetime of this products contributes to this rise generating an accumulation of specific plastic materials such ABS (Acrylonitrile-Butadiene-Styrene), HIPS (High impact Polystyrene), PC (Polycarbonate), among others. All of they can be recycled by themselves. However, to separate them by type is neither easy nor economically viable, then an alternative is recycling them together as a blend. Taking into account that could be a deterioration in final properties, to enhance phase adhesion and add value to a new plastic WEEE blend a compatibilization is needed. In this work, a systematical study of different compatibilizers for blends of HIPS and ABS from WEEE was performed. A screening analysis was carried out by adding two different compatibilizer concentration (2wt% and 20wt%) on a HIPS/ABS physical blend 80/20 proportion from plastic e-waste. Three copolymers were selected as possible compatibilizers by their possible affinity with initial plastic WEEE. A complete characterization of each WEEE was performed and compatibilization efficiency was evaluated by comparing either mechanical or morphological blends aspects. Considering blends analyzed in this work, the best performance was achieved by using 2% of styrene-acrylonitrile rubber, obtaining a compatibilized blend with double ultimate strength and modulus respect to the physical blend, and also improve mechanical properties of initial WEEE plastics. The proposed way is a promise route to improve benefit of e-scrap with sustainable, low costs and easy handling process. Consequently, social recycling interest will be encouraged by both ecological and economical points of view. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

INVESTIGATION ON UTILITY OF PLASTIC WASTE AS AN ADDITIVE FOR BITUMINOUS CONCRETE USING WET PROCESS OF MIXING

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anurag Virendra Tiwari

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Purpose. Plastic waste has become a major environmental issue of concern due to its exponential growth due to rapid urbanization. The paper investigates utility of plastic waste as an additive for bituminous concrete using wet process of mixing. Methodology. The methodology for the present paper has been designed with complex research consisting of Marshall mix design of the bituminous mix added with plastic waste for modifying bitumen using wet process of mixing, performing the tests on the samples and analyzing the results in the form of table and figures. In the present paper LDPE and HDPE type of plastic waste are used to modify the bitumen. Finding. The results show that addition of 6 percent of bitumen improves the Marshall properties of the mix. Use of plastic to modify the bitumen not only makes the road surface more durable but also it is an eco-friendly way of proper disposal of plastic waste. Originality. The processes used for mixing the plastic waste to the bitumen are dry process and wet process. Dry process of mixing the plastic waste to the bituminous mix is most common and lot of study is carried out on its application. In the present paper wet process of mixing has not yet been studied much. Practical Value. The practical application of utilizing the plastic waste to modify bitumen in the bituminous mix improves the stability values resulting in the more durable road surface. Also the method ensures the proper disposal of plastic waste in eco-friendly way.

Production of an alternative fuel by the co-pyrolysis of landfill recovered plastic wastes and used lubrication oils.

Science.gov (United States)

Breyer, Sacha; Mekhitarian, Loucine; Rimez, Bart; Haut, B

2017-02-01

This work is a preliminary study for the development of a co-pyrolysis process of plastic wastes excavated from a landfill and used lubrication oils, with the aim to produce an alternative liquid fuel for industrial use. First, thermogravimetric experiments were carried out with pure plastics (HDPE, LDPE, PP and PS) and oils (a motor oil and a mixture of used lubrication oils) in order to highlight the interactions occurring between a plastic and an oil during their co-pyrolysis. It appears that the main decomposition event of each component takes place at higher temperatures when the components are mixed than when they are alone, possibly because the two components stabilize each other during their co-pyrolysis. These interactions depend on the nature of the plastic and the oil. In addition, co-pyrolysis experiments were led in a lab-scale reactor using a mixture of excavated plastic wastes and used lubrication oils. On the one hand, the influence of some key operating parameters on the outcome of the process was analyzed. It was possible to produce an alternative fuel for industrial use whose viscosity is lower than 1Pas at 90°C, from a plastic/oil mixture with an initial plastic mass fraction between 40% and 60%, by proceeding at a maximum temperature included in the range 350-400°C. On the other hand, the amount of energy required to successfully co-pyrolyze, in lab conditions, 1kg of plastic/oil mixture with an initial plastic mass fraction of 60% was estimated at about 8MJ. That amount of energy is largely used for the thermal cracking of the molecules. It is also shown that, per kg of mixture introduced in the lab reactor, 29MJ can be recovered from the combustion of the liquid resulting from the co-pyrolysis. Hence, this co-pyrolysis process could be economically viable, provided heat losses are addressed carefully when designing an industrial reactor. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Production of Valuables Organic Acids from Organic Wastes with Hydrothermal Treatment Process

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Muhammad Faisal

2009-06-01

Full Text Available This article reports production of valuables organic acids from the hydrothermal treatment of representative organic wastes and compounds (i. e. domestic sludge, proteinaceous, cellulosic and plastic wastes with or without oxidant (H2O2. Organic acids such as acetic, formic, propionic, succinic and lactic acids were obtained in significant amounts. At 623 K (16.5 MPa, acetic acid of about 26 mg/g-dry waste fish entrails was obtained. This increased to 42 mg/g dry waste fish entrails in the presence of H2O2. Experiments on glucose to represent cellulosic wastes were also carried out, getting acetic acid of about 29 mg/g-glucose. The study was extended to terephthalic acid and glyceraldehyde, reaction intermediates of hydrothermal treatment of PET plastic wastes and glucose, respectively. Studies on temperature dependence of formation of organic acids showed thermal stability of acetic acid, whereas, formic acid decomposed readily under hydrothermal conditions. In general, results demonstrated that the presence of oxidants favored formation of organic acids with acetic acid being the major product. Keywords: hydrothermal treatment, organic acids, organic wastes, oxidant, supercritical water oxidation

Study of combustion and emission characteristics of fuel derived from waste plastics by various waste to energy (W-t-E) conversion processes

Science.gov (United States)

Hazrat, M. A.; Rasul, M. G.; Khan, M. M. K.

2016-07-01

Reduction of plastic wastes by means of producing energy can be treated as a good investment in the waste management and recycling sectors. In this article, conversion of plastics into liquid fuel by two thermo-chemical processes, pyrolysis and gasification, are reviewed. The study showed that the catalytic pyrolysis of homogenous waste plastics produces better quality and higher quantity of liquefied fuel than that of non-catalytic pyrolysis process at a lower operating temperature. The syngas produced from gasification process, which occurs at higher temperature than the pyrolysis process, can be converted into diesel by the Fischer-Tropsch (FT) reaction process. Conducive bed material like Olivine in the gasification conversion process can remarkably reduce the production of tar. The waste plastics pyrolysis oil showed brake thermal efficiency (BTE) of about 27.75%, brake specific fuel consumption (BSFC) of 0.292 kg/kWh, unburned hydrocarbon emission (uHC) of 91 ppm and NOx emission of 904 ppm in comparison with the diesel for BTE of 28%, BSFC of 0.276 kg/kWh, uHC of 57 ppm and NOx of 855 ppm. Dissolution of Polystyrene (PS) into biodiesel also showed the potential of producing alternative transport fuel. It has been found from the literature that at higher engine speed, increased EPS (Expanded Polystyrene) quantity based biodiesel blends reduces CO, CO2, NOx and smoke emission. EPS-biodiesel fuel blend increases the brake thermal efficiency by 7.8%, specific fuel consumption (SFC) by 7.2% and reduces brake power (Pb) by 3.2%. More study using PS and EPS with other thermoplastics is needed to produce liquid fuel by dissolving them into biodiesel and to assess their suitability as a transport fuel. Furthermore, investigation to find out most suitable W-t-E process for effective recycling of the waste plastics as fuel for internal combustion engines is necessary to reduce environmental pollution and generate revenue which will be addressed in this article.

Design and construction of prestressed arch using plastic shoppers waste

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ali Khan, S.

2012-12-01

Full Text Available Since the development of plastic in the last century, being versitile it has become very popular for diversified uses. The problem appears when these plastics, particularly shoppers are disposed as waste. The current reuse and recycling rates for the plastic shoppers waste are very low. Construction Industry has a great potential for the reuse of shoppers waste. Shoppers waste has been compressed to fabricate compressed shoppers waste (CSW blocks. This study is related to an innovative reuse of CSW-blocks for the construction of prestressed structural arch. This paper is dedicated to the design and construction of structural arch using shoppers waste as a material.

Desde su desarrollo durante el siglo pasado y debido a su versatilidad, el plástico se ha hecho ubicuo en la sociedad actual. Los problemas surgen cuando este material, sobre todo cuando conforma bienes de consumo, se desecha. Actualmente, los índices de valorización y reciclado de residuos plásticos de origen doméstico son muy bajos. El sector de la construcción tiene una enorme potencial para reutilizar este tipo de residuos, que se pueden comprimir para fabricar bloques. Este artículo presenta un uso innovador de los bloques de residuos plásticos: la construcción de un arco estructural pretesado. Describe el proyecto y la ejecución de un arco estructural construido con estos materiales de desecho.

Mapping ENM from consumer products in solid waste flows in Denmark

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Heggelund, Laura Roverskov; Boldrin, Alessio; Hansen, Steffen Foss

To address the challenges regarding management of waste from ENM-enabled consumer products, we mapped the flow of these products available online in Denmark and the EU. To do this, we used the Nanodatabase (www.nanodb.dk). A representative sample of products from the database was analyzed......, and placed into suitable waste material fractions. Subsequently, the distribution of ENM in the individual waste fractions, by number of products, was found. Overall, the results showed that nanosilver was present in seven of the eight identified waste material fractions, whereas other ENMs (e.g. CNTs...... and silicon) were only present in one or two fractions. Furthermore, the waste material fraction "dirty plastic" was the most diversified, containing five different ENMs. To our knowledge this type of analysis has not previously been performed, and the results hold promise for gaining a better understanding...

Characterization of ecofriendly polyethylene fiber from plastic bag waste

Science.gov (United States)

Soekoco, Asril S.; Noerati, Komalasari, Maya; Kurniawan, Hananto, Agus

2017-08-01

This paper presents the characterization of fiber morphology, fiber count and tenacity of polyethylene fiber which is made from plastic bag waste. Recycling plastic bag waste into textile fiber has not developed yet. Plastic bag waste was recycled into fiber by melt spinning using laboratory scale melt spinning equipment with single orifice nozzle and plunger system. The basic principle of melt spinning is by melting materials and then extruding it through small orifice of a spinning nozzle to form fibers. Diameter and cross section shape of Recycled polyethylene fiber were obtained by using scanning electron microscope (SEM) instrumentation. Linear density of the recycled fiber were analyzed by calculation using denier and dTex formulation and The mechanical strength of the fibers was measured in accordance with the ASTM D 3379-75 standard. The cross section of recycled fiber is circular taking the shape of orifice. Fiber count of 303.75 denier has 1.84 g/denier tenacity and fiber count of 32.52 has 3.44 g/denier tenacity. This conditions is affected by the growth of polymer chain alignment when take-up axial velocity become faster. Recycled polyethylene fiber has a great potential application in non-apparel textile.

Sustainable reverse logistics for household plastic waste

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Bing, X.

2014-01-01

Summary of the thesis titled “Sustainable Reverse Logistics for Household Plastic Waste”

PhD Candidate: Xiaoyun Bing

Recycled plastic can be used in the manufacturing of plastic products to reduce the use of virgin plastics material. The cost of recycled plastics is usually lower

Integrated systems for biopolymers and bioenergy production from organic waste and by-products: a review of microbial processes.

Science.gov (United States)

Pagliano, Giorgia; Ventorino, Valeria; Panico, Antonio; Pepe, Olimpia

2017-01-01

Recently, issues concerning the sustainable and harmless disposal of organic solid waste have generated interest in microbial biotechnologies aimed at converting waste materials into bioenergy and biomaterials, thus contributing to a reduction in economic dependence on fossil fuels. To valorize biomass, waste materials derived from agriculture, food processing factories, and municipal organic waste can be used to produce biopolymers, such as biohydrogen and biogas, through different microbial processes. In fact, different bacterial strains can synthesize biopolymers to convert waste materials into valuable intracellular (e.g., polyhydroxyalkanoates) and extracellular (e.g., exopolysaccharides) bioproducts, which are useful for biochemical production. In particular, large numbers of bacteria, including Alcaligenes eutrophus , Alcaligenes latus , Azotobacter vinelandii , Azotobacter chroococcum , Azotobacter beijerincki , methylotrophs, Pseudomonas spp., Bacillus spp., Rhizobium spp., Nocardia spp., and recombinant Escherichia coli , have been successfully used to produce polyhydroxyalkanoates on an industrial scale from different types of organic by-products. Therefore, the development of high-performance microbial strains and the use of by-products and waste as substrates could reasonably make the production costs of biodegradable polymers comparable to those required by petrochemical-derived plastics and promote their use. Many studies have reported use of the same organic substrates as alternative energy sources to produce biogas and biohydrogen through anaerobic digestion as well as dark and photofermentation processes under anaerobic conditions. Therefore, concurrently obtaining bioenergy and biopolymers at a reasonable cost through an integrated system is becoming feasible using by-products and waste as organic carbon sources. An overview of the suitable substrates and microbial strains used in low-cost polyhydroxyalkanoates for biohydrogen and biogas

Exploring the Disappearing Ocean Micro Plastic Mystery: New Insights from Dissolved Organic Carbon photo production

Science.gov (United States)

Zhu, L.; Zhao, S.; Li, D.; Stubbins, A.

2017-12-01

Emerging as a novel planetary threat, plastic waste, dominated by millimeter-sized plastic (microplastic), is omnipresent in the oceans, posing broad environmental threats. However, only 1% of the microplastic waste exported from the land is found in the ocean. Most of the lost fraction is in the form of microplastics. The fate of these buoyant plastic fragments is a fundamental gap in our understanding of the fate and impact of plastics in marine ecosystems. To date, an effective sink for the lost microplastics has not been found. In this study, dissolved organic carbon (DOC) photo-production from the three dominant forms of ocean microplastics was assessed. These plastics were: 1) Polyethylene (PE) both for postconsumer samples and pure standard samples; 2) polypropylene (PP); and, expanded polystyrene (EPS). In addition, a Neustonic microplastic samples from the North Pacific Gyre were irradiated. These real-world samples were dominated by PE ( 80%). All samples were placed in seawater, in quartz flasks, and irradiated in a solar simulator for 2 months. During irradiation, DOC photo-production from PP, EPS, and the PE standard was exponential, while DOC photo-production from postconsumer PE and the Neustonic samples was linear. Scanning electron microscopy indicated surface ablation and micro-fragmentation during the irradiation of the three plastics that showed exponential DOC production (PP, EPS and standard PE), suggesting the increase in photo-reactivity of these plastics was a result of an increase in their surface to volume ratios and therefore their per-unit mass light exposure. Based on DOC production, the half-life of the microplastics ranged from 0.26 years for EPS to 86 years for PE, suggesting sunlight is a major removal term for buoyant oceanic microplastics. With respect to the broader carbon cycle, we conservatively estimate that plastic photodegradation releases 6 to 17 thousand metric tons of radiocarbon dead DOC to the surface ocean each year.

Development of a new approach based on midwave infrared spectroscopy for post-consumer black plastic waste sorting in the recycling industry.

Science.gov (United States)

Rozenstein, Offer; Puckrin, Eldon; Adamowski, Jan

2017-10-01

Waste sorting is key to the process of waste recycling. Exact identification of plastic resin and wood products using Near Infrared (NIR, 1-1.7µm) sensing is currently in use. Yet, dark targets characterized by low reflectance, such as black plastics, are hard to identify by this method. Following the recent success of Midwave Infrared (MWIR, 3-12µm) measurements to identify coloured plastic polymers, the aim of this study was to assess whether this technique is applicable to sorting black plastic polymers and wood products. We performed infrared reflectance contact measurements of 234 plastic samples and 29 samples of wood and paper products. Plastic samples included black, coloured and transparent Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET), Polyethylene (PE), Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC), Polypropylene (PP), Polylactic acid (PLA) and Polystyrene (PS). The spectral signatures of the black and coloured plastic samples were compared with clear plastic samples and signatures documented in the literature to identify the polymer spectral features in the presence of coloured material. This information was used to determine the spectral bands that best suit the sorting of black plastic polymers. The main NIR-MWIR absorption features of wood, cardboard and paper were identified as well according to the spectral measurements. Good agreement was found between our measurements and the absorption features documented in the literature. The new approach using MWIR spectral features appears to be useful for black plastics as it overcomes some of the limitations in the NIR region to identify them. The main limitation of this technique for industrial applications is the trade-off between the signal-to-noise ratio of the sensor operating in standoff mode and the speed at which waste is moved under the sensor. This limitation can be resolved by reducing the system's spectral resolution to 16cm -1 , which allows for faster spectra acquisition while maintaining a reasonable signal-to-noise ratio

Industrial plastics waste: Identification and segregation

Science.gov (United States)

Widener, Edward L.

1990-01-01

Throwaway plastic products, mainly packaging, are inundating our landfills and incinerators. Most are ethenic thermoplastics, which can be recycled as new products or fossil-fuels. Lab experiments are described, involving destructive and non-destructive tests for identifying and using plastics. The burn-test, with simple apparatus and familiar samples, is recommended as quick, cheap and effective.

Thermal and catalytic decomposition behavior of PVC mixed plastic waste with petroleum residue

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ali, Mohammad Farhat; Siddiqui, Mohammad Nahid [Department of Chemistry, King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, Dhahran 31261 (Saudi Arabia)

2005-08-15

The pyrolysis and hydropyrolysis of PVC mixed plastic waste alone and with petroleum residue was carried out at 150 and 350{sup o}C under N{sub 2} gas and at 430{sup o}C under 6.5MPa H{sub 2} gas pressure. The behavior of plastic waste during thermal and catalytic decomposition has also been studied in single- and two-stage reaction processes. In the individual pyrolysis process, both the petroleum residue and polystyrene (PS) undergo more than 90% conversion to liquid and gaseous products, whereas low-density polyethylene (LDPE) and high-density polyethylene (HDPE) yielded lower conversions products, and polypropylene (PP) and polyvinyl chloride (PVC) afforded somewhere a moderate to high conversion products. In a single-stage pyrolysis reaction, PVC was processed with petroleum residue at 150 and 430{sup o}C, under N{sub 2} gas for 1h at each temperature in a glass reactor. The model PVC and waste PVC showed slight variations in the products distribution obtained from the glass reactor. In two-stage process, model PVC, vacuum gas oil (VGO) and a number of different catalysts were used in a stainless steel autoclave micro tubular reactor at 350{sup o}C under the stream of N{sub 2} gas for 1h and at 430{sup o}C under 950psi (6.5MPa) H{sub 2} pressure for the duration of 2h. Significantly, different products distributions were obtained. Among the catalysts used, fluid catalytic cracking (FCC) and hydrocracking catalysts (HC-1) were most effective in producing liquid fuel (hexane soluble) materials. The study shows that the catalytic coprocessing of PVC with VGO is a feasible process by which PVC and VGO materials can be converted into transportation fuels.

Eco-efficient waste glass recycling: Integrated waste management and green product development through LCA.

Science.gov (United States)

Blengini, Gian Andrea; Busto, Mirko; Fantoni, Moris; Fino, Debora

2012-05-01

As part of the EU Life + NOVEDI project, a new eco-efficient recycling route has been implemented to maximise resources and energy recovery from post-consumer waste glass, through integrated waste management and industrial production. Life cycle assessment (LCA) has been used to identify engineering solutions to sustainability during the development of green building products. The new process and the related LCA are framed within a meaningful case of industrial symbiosis, where multiple waste streams are utilised in a multi-output industrial process. The input is a mix of rejected waste glass from conventional container glass recycling and waste special glass such as monitor glass, bulbs and glass fibres. The green building product is a recycled foam glass (RFG) to be used in high efficiency thermally insulating and lightweight concrete. The environmental gains have been contrasted against induced impacts and improvements have been proposed. Recovered co-products, such as glass fragments/powders, plastics and metals, correspond to environmental gains that are higher than those related to landfill avoidance, whereas the latter is cancelled due to increased transportation distances. In accordance to an eco-efficiency principle, it has been highlighted that recourse to highly energy intensive recycling should be limited to waste that cannot be closed-loop recycled. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Commissioning of a continuous melt densification system for plastic waste. Contributed Paper PE-05

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anji Reddy, D.; Chennakeshavalu, G.; Ramesh Babu, B.; Subba Rao, V.; Coelho, G.J.M.; Rao, S.V.S.; Paul, Biplob

2014-01-01

Volume reduction of radioactive solid wastes is carried out with an aim to maximize the utilization of disposal space. Cellulosic combustible solid wastes like cotton, paper etc. are treated by incineration and the plastic wastes are volume reduced by baling. Compaction of plastic wastes gives volume reduction factors in the range of 3 to 5. With a view to achieve higher volume reduction factors, a melt-densification process was developed indigenously at CWMF for reducing the volume of plastic wastes before disposal. Based on laboratory results, a pilot plant scale batch Melt Densification Unit was designed and operated. 120 M 3 of Category-I polythene waste was melted and the Volume Reduction Factors (VRF) obtained were up to 20. To meet the future needs and increasing the throughput, a continues-feed, PLC controlled, advanced Melt Densification System was commissioned recently. (author)

Property of filler-loaded magnetic ferrite from plastic waste bottle used to treat municipal domestic sewage.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhao, Ru-Jin; Gong, Li-Ying; Zhu, Hai-Dong; Liu, Qiao; Xu, Li-Xia; Lu, Lu; Yang, Qi-Zhi

2018-06-01

The present work investigates the properties of self-made magnetic filler from plastic waste bottle and explores a new technology approach of waste plastic resource utilization. The magnetic filler was prepared by air plasma modification and loading magnetic ferrite on the plastic strip from waste plastic bottle. The surface properties of magnetic filler were characterized by Atomic Force Microscope (AFM), contact angle system and Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR). AFM images of original and modified plastic strip showed that low-temperature plasma treatment markedly increased the surface roughness of plastic strip. The mean roughness (Ra) of plastic strip rose from 1.116 to 5.024 nm. FTIR spectra indicated that a lot of polar oxygenic groups were introduced onto the surface of plastic by plasma modification. Modification by low-temperature plasma increased the hydrophilicity of plastic strip surface. When treatment time is 40 s, water contact angle of plastic strip surface reduced from 78.2° of original plastic strip to 25.3°. When used in bioreactor, magnetic filler had very favorable microenvironment for microorganism growth. Magnetic filler was more efficient for removing chemical oxygen demand (COD) and [Formula: see text] in sewage than nonmagnetic filler. The resource utilization of plastic wastes will become reality if the magnetic filler is applied widely.

Plastic Bottles Waste Utilization as Modifier for Asphalt Mixture Production

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jan Hakeem

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Plastic Bottles was used as the polymeric waste to investigate performance of asphalt mixture Aggregates obtained from Margalla, Burhan and Karak quarries. 12 samples were prepared for conventional asphalt mixtures and 48 samples were prepared for PB modified asphalt mixture of each quarries at various proportions of PB waste. The PB used for modification according to wet process are 15%, 20%, 25% and 30% by weight of Optimum Bitumen Content (OBC. OBC of 4.2 % was concluded for conventional asphalt mixtures. The stability and flow values of the conventional and modified Asphalt Mixture were compared. The average Stability of the modified Margalla asphalt mixtures when 15% PB was used was much higher as compared to conventional asphalt mixtures. But when PB was used beyond 15%, the Marshall stability showed a decreasing trend for Margalla aggregates, increasing trend for Karak aggregates and decreasing trend for Burhan aggregates. This decline in stability is attributed to a decline in interlocking of aggregates due to lubricating effect. The corresponding flow for the Modified asphalt mixtures first showed a decreasing trend for Margalla aggregates at 15% PB modification but beyond 15%, an increasing trend in flow as compared to conventional asphalt mixtures The decrease in flow or increase in Marshall Stability is attributed to improvement in interlocking and decline in flow or stability is attributed to a decline in interlocking offered by binder and PB coated aggregate particles in modified asphalt.

Recycling Mixed Plastics Waste as Reductant in Ironmaking*

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Michael O. Mensah

2015-12-02

Dec 2, 2015 ... Keywords: Reduction, Metallurgical coke, Mixed plastics waste, Extent of reduction. 1 Introduction. Globally .... reactions in a custom-made horizontal resistance .... emissions arising out of the electrical energy that was used to ...

Mass, energy and material balances of SRF production process. Part 2: SRF produced from construction and demolition waste.

Science.gov (United States)

Nasrullah, Muhammad; Vainikka, Pasi; Hannula, Janne; Hurme, Markku; Kärki, Janne

2014-11-01

In this work, the fraction of construction and demolition waste (C&D waste) complicated and economically not feasible to sort out for recycling purposes is used to produce solid recovered fuel (SRF) through mechanical treatment (MT). The paper presents the mass, energy and material balances of this SRF production process. All the process streams (input and output) produced in MT waste sorting plant to produce SRF from C&D waste are sampled and treated according to CEN standard methods for SRF. Proximate and ultimate analysis of these streams is performed and their composition is determined. Based on this analysis and composition of process streams their mass, energy and material balances are established for SRF production process. By mass balance means the overall mass flow of input waste material stream in the various output streams and material balances mean the mass flow of components of input waste material stream (such as paper and cardboard, wood, plastic (soft), plastic (hard), textile and rubber) in the various output streams of SRF production process. The results from mass balance of SRF production process showed that of the total input C&D waste material to MT waste sorting plant, 44% was recovered in the form of SRF, 5% as ferrous metal, 1% as non-ferrous metal, and 28% was sorted out as fine fraction, 18% as reject material and 4% as heavy fraction. The energy balance of this SRF production process showed that of the total input energy content of C&D waste material to MT waste sorting plant, 74% was recovered in the form of SRF, 16% belonged to the reject material and rest 10% belonged to the streams of fine fraction and heavy fraction. From the material balances of this process, mass fractions of plastic (soft), paper and cardboard, wood and plastic (hard) recovered in the SRF stream were 84%, 82%, 72% and 68% respectively of their input masses to MT plant. A high mass fraction of plastic (PVC) and rubber material was found in the reject material

Eco-efficient waste glass recycling: Integrated waste management and green product development through LCA

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Blengini, Gian Andrea; Busto, Mirko; Fantoni, Moris; Fino, Debora

2012-01-01

Highlights: ► A new eco-efficient recycling route for post-consumer waste glass was implemented. ► Integrated waste management and industrial production are crucial to green products. ► Most of the waste glass rejects are sent back to the glass industry. ► Recovered co-products give more environmental gains than does avoided landfill. ► Energy intensive recycling must be limited to waste that cannot be closed-loop recycled. - Abstract: As part of the EU Life + NOVEDI project, a new eco-efficient recycling route has been implemented to maximise resources and energy recovery from post-consumer waste glass, through integrated waste management and industrial production. Life cycle assessment (LCA) has been used to identify engineering solutions to sustainability during the development of green building products. The new process and the related LCA are framed within a meaningful case of industrial symbiosis, where multiple waste streams are utilised in a multi-output industrial process. The input is a mix of rejected waste glass from conventional container glass recycling and waste special glass such as monitor glass, bulbs and glass fibres. The green building product is a recycled foam glass (RFG) to be used in high efficiency thermally insulating and lightweight concrete. The environmental gains have been contrasted against induced impacts and improvements have been proposed. Recovered co-products, such as glass fragments/powders, plastics and metals, correspond to environmental gains that are higher than those related to landfill avoidance, whereas the latter is cancelled due to increased transportation distances. In accordance to an eco-efficiency principle, it has been highlighted that recourse to highly energy intensive recycling should be limited to waste that cannot be closed-loop recycled.

Characteristics of liquid product from the pyrolysis of waste plastic mixture at low and high temperatures: Influence of lapse time of reaction

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, Kyong-Hwan; Shin, Dae-Hyun

2007-01-01

Pyrolysis of a waste plastic mixture (high-density polyethylene: low-density polyethylene: polypropylene: polystyrene = 3:2:3:1) into a liquid product was carried out in a stirred semi-batch reactor at low (350 deg. C) and high (400 deg. C) temperatures. The effect of lapse time of reaction in the reactor and also degradation temperature on the characteristics of the liquid product from pyrolysis of the mixture was investigated. Liquid products were described by cumulative amount distribution, paraffin, olefin, naphthene and aromatic (PONA) distribution and molecular weight distribution. Their characteristic was quite differed with a lapse time of reaction and also at a low and high degradation temperatures, because of the different physicochemical properties of the plastic types in the mixture. With increase of lapse time of reaction, the order for the main products in PONA components obtained at 350 deg. C was firstly aromatic products and then olefin products, while at 400 deg. C the order was firstly aromatic products, then olefin products and finally paraffin products. The experiments also showed from the molecular weight distribution of liquid PONA components that the paraffin and olefin products had a wide distribution by mainly random scission of polymer, but in the case of olefin products were produced by an end-chain scission mechanism as well as random scission mechanism, as evidenced by much more light olefin products. This phenomenon was evident at a higher degradation temperature. Also, both the light olefin and naphthene products with a molecular weight of around 120, as a main product, showed a similar trend as a function of lapse time, which had a maximum fraction at 343 min (at 350 deg. C) and 83 min (at 400 deg. C). Among PONA components, the highest concentrations of aromatic products were obtained with a molecular weight of around 100 at the fastest lapse time of reaction, regardless of degradation temperature. It was concluded that the

Characteristics of liquid product from the pyrolysis of waste plastic mixture at low and high temperatures: influence of lapse time of reaction.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Kyong-Hwan; Shin, Dae-Hyun

2007-01-01

Pyrolysis of a waste plastic mixture (high-density polyethylene: low-density polyethylene: polypropylene: polystyrene = 3:2:3:1) into a liquid product was carried out in a stirred semi-batch reactor at low (350 degrees C) and high (400 degrees C) temperatures. The effect of lapse time of reaction in the reactor and also degradation temperature on the characteristics of the liquid product from pyrolysis of the mixture was investigated. Liquid products were described by cumulative amount distribution, paraffin, olefin, naphthene and aromatic (PONA) distribution and molecular weight distribution. Their characteristic was quite differed with a lapse time of reaction and also at a low and high degradation temperatures, because of the different physicochemical properties of the plastic types in the mixture. With increase of lapse time of reaction, the order for the main products in PONA components obtained at 350 degrees C was firstly aromatic products and then olefin products, while at 400 degrees C the order was firstly aromatic products, then olefin products and finally paraffin products. The experiments also showed from the molecular weight distribution of liquid PONA components that the paraffin and olefin products had a wide distribution by mainly random scission of polymer, but in the case of olefin products were produced by an end-chain scission mechanism as well as random scission mechanism, as evidenced by much more light olefin products. This phenomenon was evident at a higher degradation temperature. Also, both the light olefin and naphthene products with a molecular weight of around 120, as a main product, showed a similar trend as a function of lapse time, which had a maximum fraction at 343 min (at 350 degrees C) and 83 min (at 400 degrees C). Among PONA components, the highest concentrations of aromatic products were obtained with a molecular weight of around 100 at the fastest lapse time of reaction, regardless of degradation temperature. It was

Processing and properties of a solid energy fuel from municipal solid waste (MSW) and recycled plastics.

Science.gov (United States)

Gug, JeongIn; Cacciola, David; Sobkowicz, Margaret J

2015-01-01

Diversion of waste streams such as plastics, woods, papers and other solid trash from municipal landfills and extraction of useful materials from landfills is an area of increasing interest especially in densely populated areas. One promising technology for recycling municipal solid waste (MSW) is to burn the high-energy-content components in standard coal power plant. This research aims to reform wastes into briquettes that are compatible with typical coal combustion processes. In order to comply with the standards of coal-fired power plants, the feedstock must be mechanically robust, free of hazardous contaminants, and moisture resistant, while retaining high fuel value. This study aims to investigate the effects of processing conditions and added recyclable plastics on the properties of MSW solid fuels. A well-sorted waste stream high in paper and fiber content was combined with controlled levels of recyclable plastics PE, PP, PET and PS and formed into briquettes using a compression molding technique. The effect of added plastics and moisture content on binding attraction and energy efficiency were investigated. The stability of the briquettes to moisture exposure, the fuel composition by proximate analysis, briquette mechanical strength, and burning efficiency were evaluated. It was found that high processing temperature ensures better properties of the product addition of milled mixed plastic waste leads to better encapsulation as well as to greater calorific value. Also some moisture removal (but not complete) improves the compacting process and results in higher heating value. Analysis of the post-processing water uptake and compressive strength showed a correlation between density and stability to both mechanical stress and humid environment. Proximate analysis indicated heating values comparable to coal. The results showed that mechanical and moisture uptake stability were improved when the moisture and air contents were optimized. Moreover, the briquette

Composition of plastics from waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) by direct sampling.

Science.gov (United States)

Martinho, Graça; Pires, Ana; Saraiva, Luanha; Ribeiro, Rita

2012-06-01

This paper describes a direct analysis study carried out in a recycling unit for waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) in Portugal to characterize the plastic constituents of WEEE. Approximately 3400 items, including cooling appliances, small WEEE, printers, copying equipment, central processing units, cathode ray tube (CRT) monitors and CRT televisions were characterized, with the analysis finding around 6000 kg of plastics with several polymer types. The most common polymers are polystyrene, acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene, polycarbonate blends, high-impact polystyrene and polypropylene. Additives to darken color are common contaminants in these plastics when used in CRT televisions and small WEEE. These additives can make plastic identification difficult, along with missing polymer identification and flame retardant identification marks. These drawbacks contribute to the inefficiency of manual dismantling of WEEE, which is the typical recycling process in Portugal. The information found here can be used to set a baseline for the plastics recycling industry and provide information for ecodesign in electrical and electronic equipment production. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Stabilization of soil using plastic waste

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Khan, S.A.

2005-01-01

The economy in a soil stabilization project depends on the cost of the stabilizing material. Cheaper the stabilizing material, lesser will be the project cost. Specially manufactured geotextiles are successfully being used for soil stabilization, but the cost is higher. In this study, the cuttings of the waste polyethylene shopper bags have been used to stabilize the soil. The polyethylene shopper bags are transformed to cuttings for easy mixing with the soil by conventional methods. The plastic cuttings acted similar to the non-woven geotextile fibers. Different quantities of the shopper bag cuttings were mixed with the soil. The soil was compacted in the California Bearing Ratio (CBR) test molds according to the British Standards. CBR values of the soil with varying quantities of the plastic cuttings were determined both for the un-soaked and soaked conditions. The tests showed significant increase in the CBR values of the stabilized soil under un-soaked conditions. However, the improvement in the CBR values under the soaked condition was comparatively lesser than that of the un-soaked condition. This method of stabilization proved economical due to low cost of the waste shopper bags. (author)

Energy generation by air gasification of two industrial plastic wastes in a pilot scale fluidized bed reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Arena, Umberto; Di Gregorio, Fabrizio

2014-01-01

Two plastic wastes obtained as co-products from an industrial process were fed in a pilot-scale bubbling fluidized bed gasifier, having an internal diameter of 0.38 m and a maximum thermal output of about 400 kW. The experimental runs were carried out by reaching a condition of thermal and chemical steady state under values of equivalence ratio ranging from 0.2 to 0.3. Olivine, a neo-silicate of Fe and Mg, already tested as a good catalyst for tar removal during gasification of polyolefin plastic wastes, was used as bed material. The results provide the complete composition of the syngas, including the tar, particulate and acid/basic gas contents as well as the chemical and physical characterization of the bed material and entrained fines. The gasification process appears technically feasible, yielding a producer gas of valuable quality for energy applications in an appropriate plant configuration. On the other hand, under the experimental conditions tested, olivine particles show a strongly reduced catalytic activity in all the runs. The differences in the gasification behaviour of the two industrial plastics are explained on the basis of the structure and composition of the wastes, taking also into account the results of a combined material and substance flow analysis. - Highlights: • Pilot-scale investigation of fluidized bed gasification of two industrial plastic wastes. • Tests under conditions of thermal/chemical steady state at various equivalence ratios. • Complete composition of the producer gas, including tar, particulate and acid/basic gases. • Differences in the gasification behaviour of plastic wastes. • Material, substance, and feedstock energy flow analysis for different gasification tests

Device and process for binding toxic or radioactive wastes in plastic

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Metscher, K.

1978-01-01

The first section of the process is provided with supply devices for the plastic and a heater to melt it. The second section contains devices for injecting waste and means for compressing the plastic melt and for dispersing the waste to be bound in the plastic melt. The third section is heated and is provided with outgoing pipes for volatile and/or evaporated liquids at normal pressure or sub-pressure. A further section can follow for homogenizing the mixture directly. A condenser for liquefaction is included in the outgoing pipes for the volatile components. A thermoplastic, preferably low molecule polystyrol in granulate form is used, which melts at temperatures above 130 0 C. (PW) [de

Activated sludge is a potential source for production of biodegradable plastics from wastewater.

Science.gov (United States)

Khardenavis, A; Guha, P K; Kumar, M S; Mudliar, S N; Chakrabarti, T

2005-05-01

Increased utilization of synthetic plastics caused severe environmental pollution due to their non-biodegradable nature. In the search for environmentally friendly materials to substitute for conventional plastics, different biodegradable plastics have been developed by microbial fermentations. However, limitations of these materials still exist due to high cost. This study aims at minimization of cost for the production of biodegradable plastics P(3HB) and minimization of environmental pollution. The waste biological sludge generated at wastewater treatment plants is used for the production of P(3HB) and wastewater is used as carbon source. Activated sludge was induced by controlling the carbon: nitrogen ratio to accumulate storage polymer. Initially polymer accumulation was studied by using different carbon and nitrogen sources. Maximum accumulation of polymer was observed with carbon source acetic acid and diammonium hydrogen phosphate (DAHP) as nitrogen source. Further studies were carried out to optimize the carbon: nitrogen ratios using acetic acid and DAHP. A maximum of 65.84% (w/w) P(3HB) production was obtained at C/N ratio of 50 within 96 hours of incubation.

Passengers waste production during flights.

Science.gov (United States)

Tofalli, Niki; Loizia, Pantelitsa; Zorpas, Antonis A

2017-12-20

We assume that during flights the amount of waste that is produced is limited. However, daily, approximately 8000 commercial airplanes fly above Europe's airspace while at the same time, more than 17,000 commercial flights exist in the entire world. Using primary data from airlines, which use the Larnaca's International Airport (LIA) in Cyprus, we have tried to understand why wastes are produced during a typical flight such as food waste, paper, and plastics, as well as how passengers affect the production of those wastes. The compositional analysis took place on 27 flights of 4 different airlines which used LIA as final destination. The evaluation indicated that the passenger's habits and ethics, and the policy of each airline produced different kinds of waste during the flights and especially food waste (FW). Furthermore, it was observed that the only waste management strategy that exists in place in the airport is the collection and the transportation of all those wastes from aircrafts and from the airport in the central unit for further treatment. Hence, this research indicated extremely difficulties to implement any specific waste minimization, or prevention practice or other sorting methods during the flights due to the limited time of the most flights (less than 3 h), the limited available space within the aircrafts, and the strictly safety roles that exist during the flights.

Production of ethanol from Carica papaya (pawpaw) agro waste ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Owner

sample was pulverised with a blender, packed in plastic container and stored in the freezer for subsequent analysis. Dried baker's yeast (Sacchromyces cerevisiae) is .... Production from Corn-cob Wastes and Grass-straw. Nig. J. Biotechnol. 6: 110 - 112. Akin-Osanaiye et al. 659. Association of Official Analytical Chemists ...

Plastics recycling: challenges and opportunities.

Science.gov (United States)

Hopewell, Jefferson; Dvorak, Robert; Kosior, Edward

2009-07-27

Plastics are inexpensive, lightweight and durable materials, which can readily be moulded into a variety of products that find use in a wide range of applications. As a consequence, the production of plastics has increased markedly over the last 60 years. However, current levels of their usage and disposal generate several environmental problems. Around 4 per cent of world oil and gas production, a non-renewable resource, is used as feedstock for plastics and a further 3-4% is expended to provide energy for their manufacture. A major portion of plastic produced each year is used to make disposable items of packaging or other short-lived products that are discarded within a year of manufacture. These two observations alone indicate that our current use of plastics is not sustainable. In addition, because of the durability of the polymers involved, substantial quantities of discarded end-of-life plastics are accumulating as debris in landfills and in natural habitats worldwide. Recycling is one of the most important actions currently available to reduce these impacts and represents one of the most dynamic areas in the plastics industry today. Recycling provides opportunities to reduce oil usage, carbon dioxide emissions and the quantities of waste requiring disposal. Here, we briefly set recycling into context against other waste-reduction strategies, namely reduction in material use through downgauging or product reuse, the use of alternative biodegradable materials and energy recovery as fuel. While plastics have been recycled since the 1970s, the quantities that are recycled vary geographically, according to plastic type and application. Recycling of packaging materials has seen rapid expansion over the last decades in a number of countries. Advances in technologies and systems for the collection, sorting and reprocessing of recyclable plastics are creating new opportunities for recycling, and with the combined actions of the public, industry and governments it

Plastics recycling: challenges and opportunities

Science.gov (United States)

Hopewell, Jefferson; Dvorak, Robert; Kosior, Edward

2009-01-01

Plastics are inexpensive, lightweight and durable materials, which can readily be moulded into a variety of products that find use in a wide range of applications. As a consequence, the production of plastics has increased markedly over the last 60 years. However, current levels of their usage and disposal generate several environmental problems. Around 4 per cent of world oil and gas production, a non-renewable resource, is used as feedstock for plastics and a further 3–4% is expended to provide energy for their manufacture. A major portion of plastic produced each year is used to make disposable items of packaging or other short-lived products that are discarded within a year of manufacture. These two observations alone indicate that our current use of plastics is not sustainable. In addition, because of the durability of the polymers involved, substantial quantities of discarded end-of-life plastics are accumulating as debris in landfills and in natural habitats worldwide. Recycling is one of the most important actions currently available to reduce these impacts and represents one of the most dynamic areas in the plastics industry today. Recycling provides opportunities to reduce oil usage, carbon dioxide emissions and the quantities of waste requiring disposal. Here, we briefly set recycling into context against other waste-reduction strategies, namely reduction in material use through downgauging or product reuse, the use of alternative biodegradable materials and energy recovery as fuel. While plastics have been recycled since the 1970s, the quantities that are recycled vary geographically, according to plastic type and application. Recycling of packaging materials has seen rapid expansion over the last decades in a number of countries. Advances in technologies and systems for the collection, sorting and reprocessing of recyclable plastics are creating new opportunities for recycling, and with the combined actions of the public, industry and governments it

Investigation on environmental factors of waste plastics into oil and its emulsion to control the emission in DI diesel engine.

Science.gov (United States)

Kumar, P Senthil; Sankaranarayanan, G

2016-12-01

Rapid depletion of conventional fossil fuel resources, their rising prices and environmental issues are the major concern of alternative fuels. On the other hand waste plastics cause a very serious environmental dispute because of their disposal problems. Waste plastics are one of the promising factors for fuel production because of their high heat of combustion and their increasing availability in local communities. In this study, waste plastic oil (WPO) is tested in DI diesel engine to evaluate its performance and emission characteristics. Results showed that oxides of nitrogen (NO x ) emission get increased with WPO when compared to diesel oil. Further, the three phase (O/W/O) plastic oil emulsion is prepared with an aid of ultrasonicater according to the %v (10, 20 & 30). Results expose that brake thermal efficiency (BTE) is found to be increased. NO x and smoke emissions were reduced up to 247ppm and 41% respectively, when compared to diesel at full load condition with use of 30% emulsified WPO. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Degradation and metabolism of synthetic plastics and associated products by Pseudomonas sp.: capabilities and challenges.

Science.gov (United States)

Wilkes, R A; Aristilde, L

2017-09-01

Synthetic plastics, which are widely present in materials of everyday use, are ubiquitous and slowly-degrading polymers in environmental wastes. Of special interest are the capabilities of microorganisms to accelerate their degradation. Members of the metabolically diverse genus Pseudomonas are of particular interest due to their capabilities to degrade and metabolize synthetic plastics. Pseudomonas species isolated from environmental matrices have been identified to degrade polyethylene, polypropylene, polyvinyl chloride, polystyrene, polyurethane, polyethylene terephthalate, polyethylene succinate, polyethylene glycol and polyvinyl alcohol at varying degrees of efficiency. Here, we present a review of the current knowledge on the factors that control the ability of Pseudomonas sp. to process these different plastic polymers and their by-products. These factors include cell surface attachment within biofilms, catalytic enzymes involved in oxidation or hydrolysis of the plastic polymer, metabolic pathways responsible for uptake and assimilation of plastic fragments and chemical factors that are advantageous or inhibitory to the biodegradation process. We also highlight future research directions required in order to harness fully the capabilities of Pseudomonas sp. in bioremediation strategies towards eliminating plastic wastes. © 2017 The Society for Applied Microbiology.

Experimental investigation on the properties of concrete containing post-consumer plastic waste as coarse aggregate replacement

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zasiah TAFHEEM

2018-03-01

Full Text Available The consumption of various forms of plastic has been increased in recent days due to the boost in industrialization and other human activities. Most of the plastic wastes are abandoned and require large landfill area for storage. More importantly, the low biodegradability of plastic poses a serious threat to environment protection issue. Various methods have been followed for the disposal of plastic in an attempt to reduce the negative impact of the plastic on the environment. Recently, various types of plastic have been incorporated in concrete to minimize the exposure of plastic to the environment. The aim of this study is to investigate the properties of concrete containing polyethylene terephthalate (PET, and high density polyethylene (HDPE plastic that were used as partial replacement of coarse aggregate (CA. In this study, four compositions of stone aggregate(S: plastic waste ratios have been used by volume basis: 100% S: 0% Plastic (control concrete, 90% S: 10% PET, 90% S: 10% HDPE, and 90% S: 5% PET+5% HDPE. The effects of waste plastic addition on the mechanical properties of concrete are presented in this paper. Test results reveal that minimum reduction in compressive strength has been found 35% in case of 10% PET plastic replaced concrete whereas splitting tensile strength for 10% PET replaced concrete has been increased by 21% while compared to control concrete. In addition, fresh unit weight of concrete containing plastic waste has been decreased by 4% in comparison to control concrete.

Kinetics of Brominated Flame Retardant (BFR) Releases from Granules of Waste Plastics.

Science.gov (United States)

Sun, Bingbing; Hu, Yuanan; Cheng, Hefa; Tao, Shu

2016-12-20

Plastic components of e-waste contain high levels of brominated flame retardants (BFRs), whose releases cause environmental and human health concerns. This study characterized the release kinetics of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) from millimeter-sized granules processed from the plastic exteriors of two scrap computer displays at environmentally relevant temperatures. The release rate of a substitute of PBDEs, 1,2-bis(2,4,6-tribromophenoxy)ethane (BTBPE), from the waste plastics, was reported for the first time. Deca-BDE was the most abundant PBDE congeners in both materials (87-89%), while BTBPE was also present at relatively high contents. The release kinetics of BFRs could be modeled as one-dimensional diffusion, while the temperature dependence of diffusion coefficients was well described by the Arrhenius equation. The diffusion coefficients of BFRs (at 30 °C) in the plastic matrices were estimated to be in the range of 10 -27.16 to 10 -19.96 m 2 ·s -1 , with apparent activation energies between 88.4 and 154.2 kJ·mol -1 . The half-lives of BFR releases (i.e., 50% depletion) from the plastic granules ranged from thousands to tens of billions of years at ambient temperatures. These findings suggest that BFRs are released very slowly from the matrices of waste plastics through molecular diffusion, while their emissions can be significantly enhanced with wear-and-tear and pulverization.

Scenarios study on post-consumer plastic packaging waste recycling

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Thoden van Velzen, E.U.; Bos-Brouwers, H.E.J.; Groot, J.J.; Bing Xiaoyun, Xiaoyun; Jansen, M.; Luijsterburg, B.

2013-01-01

We all use plastics on a daily basis. Plastics come in many shapes, sizes and compositions and are used in a wide variety of products. Almost all of the currently used plastic packaging are made from fossil resources, which are finite. The production of plastic packages causes environmental impacts,

Separation of polyethylene terephthalate from municipal waste plastics by froth flotation for recycling industry.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Chong-Qing; Wang, Hui; Liu, You-Nian

2015-01-01

Recycling is an effective way to manage plastic wastes and receives considerable attention. Since plastic mixtures are difficult to recycle because of their intrinsic characteristics, separation of mixed plastics is the key problem for recycling. Separation of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) from municipal waste plastics (MWP) by froth flotation combined with alkaline pretreatment was investigated for recycling industry. The effect of process variables was estimated by L9 (3(4)) orthogonal array of experiments and single factor experiments. The optimum conditions of alkaline pretreatment are 10 wt% sodium hydroxide, 20 min and 70°C. After alkaline pretreatment under optimum conditions, flotation separation PET from acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene, polystyrene, polycarbonate or polyvinyl chloride was achieved with high purity and efficiency. The purity of PET is up to 98.46% and the recovery is above 92.47%. A flow sheet of separation PET from MWP by a combination of froth flotation and sink float separation was designed. This study facilitates industrial application of plastics flotation and provides technical insights into recycling of waste plastics. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Our plastic age.

Science.gov (United States)

Thompson, Richard C; Swan, Shanna H; Moore, Charles J; vom Saal, Frederick S

2009-07-27

Within the last few decades, plastics have revolutionized our daily lives. Globally we use in excess of 260 million tonnes of plastic per annum, accounting for approximately 8 per cent of world oil production. In this Theme Issue of Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society, we describe current and future trends in usage, together with the many benefits that plastics bring to society. At the same time, we examine the environmental consequences resulting from the accumulation of waste plastic, the effects of plastic debris on wildlife and concerns for human health that arise from the production, usage and disposal of plastics. Finally, we consider some possible solutions to these problems together with the research and policy priorities necessary for their implementation.

Our plastic age

Science.gov (United States)

Thompson, Richard C.; Swan, Shanna H.; Moore, Charles J.; vom Saal, Frederick S.

2009-01-01

Within the last few decades, plastics have revolutionized our daily lives. Globally we use in excess of 260 million tonnes of plastic per annum, accounting for approximately 8 per cent of world oil production. In this Theme Issue of Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society, we describe current and future trends in usage, together with the many benefits that plastics bring to society. At the same time, we examine the environmental consequences resulting from the accumulation of waste plastic, the effects of plastic debris on wildlife and concerns for human health that arise from the production, usage and disposal of plastics. Finally, we consider some possible solutions to these problems together with the research and policy priorities necessary for their implementation. PMID:19528049

Polybrominated diphenyl ethers in soils, sediments, and human hair in a plastic waste recycling area: a neglected heavily polluted area.

Science.gov (United States)

Tang, Zhenwu; Huang, Qifei; Cheng, Jiali; Yang, Yufei; Yang, Jun; Guo, Wei; Nie, Zhiqiang; Zeng, Ning; Jin, Lu

2014-01-01

The release of pollutants during the recycling of contaminated plastics is a problem which has drawn worldwide attention; however, little information on the transfer of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) in these processes is available. We conducted a survey of PBDEs in soils, sediments, and human hair in a typical plastic waste recycling area in northern China. The total concentrations (ng/g) of 21 PBDEs were 1.25-5504 (average 600), 18.2-9889 (average 1619), and 1.50-861 (average 112) in soils, sediments, and hair, respectively. The PBDE concentrations were comparable to concentrations observed in e-waste recycling areas; however, the concentrations in soils and sediments were 1-3 orders of magnitude higher than in other areas, and the concentrations in hair were much higher than in other areas. This indicates that this area is highly polluted with PBDEs. BDE-209 was the dominant congener (representing 91.23%, 92.3%, and 91.5% of the total PBDEs observed in soils, sediments, and hair, respectively), indicating that the commercial deca-BDE product was dominant. The commercial penta- and octa-BDE products made small contributions to the total PBDE concentrations, unlike what has been found in some e-waste recycling areas. Our results show that crude plastic waste processing is a major contributor of PBDEs to the environment and humans, which should be of great concern.

The effects of adding waste plastic fibers on some properties of roller compacted concrete

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Abed Adil

2018-01-01

Full Text Available An attempt to produce of roller compacted concrete (RCC improved by adding waste plastic fibers (WPFs resulting from cutting the PET beverage bottles was recorded in this study. The method which is used for production of RCC is an approved design method for ACI committee (5R-207,1980[1]. WPF was added by volumetric percentages ranging between (0.5 to 2 % and reference concrete mix was produced for comparison reason. Many tests were conducted on the models produced by rolling compacted concrete like compressive strength, flexural strength, modulus of elasticity, dry density, water absorption and ultrasonic pulse velocity. The analysis of the results showed that the use of plastic waste fibers (1% had led to improvement in the properties of each of the compressive strength and flexural strength compared with reference concrete. Results also showed that the addition of these, fibers increase water absorption and reduce the speed of Ultrasonic pulse velocity.

Use of recycled plastics in concrete: A critical review.

Science.gov (United States)

Gu, Lei; Ozbakkaloglu, Togay

2016-05-01

Plastics have become an essential part of our modern lifestyle, and the global plastic production has increased immensely during the past 50years. This has contributed greatly to the production of plastic-related waste. Reuse of waste and recycled plastic materials in concrete mix as an environmental friendly construction material has drawn attention of researchers in recent times, and a large number of studies reporting the behavior of concrete containing waste and recycled plastic materials have been published. This paper summarizes the current published literature until 2015, discussing the material properties and recycling methods of plastic and the influence of plastic materials on the properties of concrete. To provide a comprehensive review, a total of 84 studies were considered, and they were classified into sub categories based on whether they dealt with concrete containing plastic aggregates or plastic fibers. Furthermore, the morphology of concrete containing plastic materials is described in this paper to explain the influence of plastic aggregates and plastic fibers on the properties of concrete. The properties of concretes containing virgin plastic materials were also reviewed to establish their similarities and differences with concrete containing recycled plastics. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Production of biodegradable plastic by polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB) accumulating bacteria using low cost agricultural waste material.

Science.gov (United States)

Getachew, Anteneh; Woldesenbet, Fantahun

2016-12-12

Polyhydroxybutyrates (PHBs) are macromolecules synthesized by bacteria. They are inclusion bodies accumulated as reserve materials when the bacteria grow under different stress conditions. Because of their fast degradability under natural environmental conditions, PHBs are selected as alternatives for production of biodegradable plastics. The aim of this work was to isolate potential PHB producing bacteria, evaluate PHB production using agro-residues as carbon sources. Among fifty bacterial strains isolated from different localities, ten PHB accumulating strains were selected and compared for their ability to accumulate PHB granules inside their cells. Isolate Arba Minch Waste Water (AWW) identified as Bacillus spp was found to be the best producer. The optimum pH, temperature, and incubation period for best PHB production by the isolate were 7, 37 °C, and 48 h respectively at 150 rpm. PHB production was best with glucose as carbon source and peptone as nitrogen source. The strain was able to accumulate 55.6, 51.6, 37.4 and 25% PHB when pretreated sugar cane bagasse, corn cob, teff straw (Eragrostis tef) and banana peel were used as carbon sources respectively. Fourier transform-infrared authentication results of the extracted and purified PHB identified its functional units as C-H, CH 2 , C=O and C-O groups. UV-Vis spectrophotometric analysis and biodegradability test confirmed the similarity of the extract with standard PHB and its suitability for bioplastic production. The isolated Bacillus sp can be used for feasible production of PHB using agro-residues especially sugarcane bagasse which can reduce the production cost in addition to reducing the disposal problem of these substrates. The yield of PHB can further be boosted by optimization of production parameters as substrates.

A discrimination model in waste plastics sorting using NIR hyperspectral imaging system.

Science.gov (United States)

Zheng, Yan; Bai, Jiarui; Xu, Jingna; Li, Xiayang; Zhang, Yimin

2018-02-01

Classification of plastics is important in the recycling industry. A plastic identification model in the near infrared spectroscopy wavelength range 1000-2500 nm is proposed for the characterization and sorting of waste plastics using acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), polystyrene (PS), polypropylene (PP), polyethylene (PE), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), and polyvinyl chloride (PVC). The model is built by the feature wavelengths of standard samples applying the principle component analysis (PCA), and the accuracy, property and cross-validation of the model were analyzed. The model just contains a simple equation, center of mass coordinates, and radial distance, with which it is easy to develop classification and sorting software. A hyperspectral imaging system (HIS) with the identification model verified its practical application by using the unknown plastics. Results showed that the identification accuracy of unknown samples is 100%. All results suggested that the discrimination model was potential to an on-line characterization and sorting platform of waste plastics based on HIS. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Removal of brominated flame retardant from electrical and electronic waste plastic by solvothermal technique

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang, Cong-Cong; Zhang, Fu-Shen

2012-01-01

Highlights: ► A process for brominated flame retardants (BFRs) removal in plastic was established. ► The plastic became bromine-free with the structure maintained after this treatment. ► BFRs transferred into alcohol solvent were easily debrominated by metallic copper. - Abstract: Brominated flame retardants (BFRs) in electrical and electronic (E and E) waste plastic are toxic, bioaccumulative and recalcitrant. In the present study, tetrabromobisphenol A (TBBPA) contained in this type of plastic was tentatively subjected to solvothermal treatment so as to obtain bromine-free plastic. Methanol, ethanol and isopropanol were examined as solvents for solvothermal treatment and it was found that methanol was the optimal solvent for TBBPA removal. The optimum temperature, time and liquid to solid ratio for solvothermal treatment to remove TBBPA were 90 °C, 2 h and 15:1, respectively. After the treatment with various alcohol solvents, it was found that TBBPA was finally transferred into the solvents and bromine in the extract was debrominated catalyzed by metallic copper. Bisphenol A and cuprous bromide were the main products after debromination. The morphology and FTIR properties of the plastic were generally unchanged after the solvothermal treatment indicating that the structure of the plastic maintained after the process. This work provides a clean and applicable process for BFRs-containing plastic disposal.

Polímeros biodegradáveis - uma solução parcial para diminuir a quantidade dos resíduos plásticos Biodegradable polymers - a partial way for decreasing the amount of plastic waste

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sandra Mara Martins Franchetti

2006-07-01

Full Text Available The large use of plastics has generated a waste deposit problem. Today plastic wastes represent 20% in volume of the total waste in the municipal landfills. To solve the disposal problem of plastics methods have been employed such as incineration, recycling, landfill disposal, biodegradation and the use of biodegradable polymers. Incineration of plastic wastes provokes pollution due to the production of poisonous gases. Recycling is important to reduce final costs of plastic materials, but is not enough in face of the amount of discarded plastic. In landfills plastic wastes remain undegraded for a long time, causing space and pollution problems. Biodegradation is a feasible method to treat some plastics, but intensive research is necessary to find conditions for the action of microorganisms. All of these methods are important and the practical application of each one depends on the type and amount of the plastic wastes and the environmental conditions. Therefore, a great deal of research has focused on developing biodegradable plastics and its application because it is an important way for minimizing the effect of the large volume of plastic waste discarded in the world.

Composition of plastics from waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) by direct sampling

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Martinho, Graça; Pires, Ana; Saraiva, Luanha; Ribeiro, Rita

2012-01-01

Highlights: ► The article shows WEEE plastics characterization from a recycling unit in Portugal. ► The recycling unit has low machinery, with hand sorting of plastics elements. ► Most common polymers are PS, ABS, PC/ABS, HIPS and PP. ► Most plastics found have no identification of plastic type or flame retardants. ► Ecodesign is still not practiced for EEE, with repercussions in end of life stage. - Abstract: This paper describes a direct analysis study carried out in a recycling unit for waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) in Portugal to characterize the plastic constituents of WEEE. Approximately 3400 items, including cooling appliances, small WEEE, printers, copying equipment, central processing units, cathode ray tube (CRT) monitors and CRT televisions were characterized, with the analysis finding around 6000 kg of plastics with several polymer types. The most common polymers are polystyrene, acrylonitrile–butadiene–styrene, polycarbonate blends, high-impact polystyrene and polypropylene. Additives to darken color are common contaminants in these plastics when used in CRT televisions and small WEEE. These additives can make plastic identification difficult, along with missing polymer identification and flame retardant identification marks. These drawbacks contribute to the inefficiency of manual dismantling of WEEE, which is the typical recycling process in Portugal. The information found here can be used to set a baseline for the plastics recycling industry and provide information for ecodesign in electrical and electronic equipment production.

Energy Payback Time of a Solar Photovoltaic Powered Waste Plastic Recyclebot System

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shan Zhong

2017-06-01

Full Text Available The growth of both plastic consumption and prosumer 3-D printing are driving an interest in producing 3-D printer filaments from waste plastic. This study quantifies the embodied energy of a vertical DC solar photovoltaic (PV powered recyclebot based on life cycle energy analysis and compares it to horizontal AC recyclebots, conventional recycling, and the production of a virgin 3-D printer filament. The energy payback time (EPBT is calculated using the embodied energy of the materials making up the recyclebot itself and is found to be about five days for the extrusion of a poly lactic acid (PLA filament or 2.5 days for the extrusion of an acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS filament. A mono-crystalline silicon solar PV system is about 2.6 years alone. However, this can be reduced by over 96% if the solar PV system powers the recyclebot to produce a PLA filament from waste plastic (EPBT is only 0.10 year or about a month. Likewise, if an ABS filament is produced from a recyclebot powered by the solar PV system, the energy saved is 90.6–99.9 MJ/kg and 26.33–29.43 kg of the ABS filament needs to be produced in about half a month for the system to pay for itself. The results clearly show that the solar PV system powered recyclebot is already an excellent way to save energy for sustainable development.

Application to refrigerator plastics by mechanical recycling from polypropylene in waste-appliances

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ha, Kyung Ho; Kim, Moon Saeng

2012-01-01

Highlights: → Polypropylene is mechanically recycled from waste-appliances. → Recycled polypropylene (RPP) is impact enhanced polypropylene with ethylene-propylene rubber (EPR). → Performance evaluation shows that RPP is applicable to refrigerator plastics. -- Abstract: For the application to refrigerator plastics by mechanical recycling from polypropylene (PP) in waste-appliances, it needs to identify the degradation and heterogeneity of recycled polypropylene (RPP). It is applicable the thermal analysis such as differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), thermo-gravimetric analysis (TGA), spectroscopic analysis such as Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) and morphological analysis such as scanning electronic microscope (SEM). The analysis results show that RPP from waste-appliances is the polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP) copolymer enhanced impact property (Impact-PP) and it is possible to apply refrigerator plastics with good impact property at low temperature. Finally, the performance evaluation of RPP is estimated by Gel Permeation Chromatography (GPC) analysis and is performed by the various mechanical and physical testing methods. It shows that RPP has relatively high molecular weight and balanced properties with strength and toughness. It is expected that RPP by the mechanical recycling from waste-appliances will have about 50% cost-merit.

Characterisation and materials flow management for waste electrical and electronic equipment plastics from German dismantling centres.

Science.gov (United States)

Arends, Dagmar; Schlummer, Martin; Mäurer, Andreas; Markowski, Jens; Wagenknecht, Udo

2015-09-01

Waste electrical and electronic equipment is a complex waste stream and treatment options that work for one waste category or product may not be appropriate for others. A comprehensive case study has been performed for plastic-rich fractions that are treated in German dismantling centres. Plastics from TVs, monitors and printers and small household appliances have been characterised extensively. Based on the characterisation results, state-of-the-art treatment technologies have been combined to design an optimised recycling and upgrade process for each input fraction. High-impact polystyrene from TV casings that complies with the European directive on the restriction of hazardous substances (RoHS) was produced by applying continuous density separation with yields of about 60%. Valuable acrylonitrile butadiene styrene/polycarbonate can be extracted from monitor and printer casings by near-infrared-based sorting. Polyolefins and/or a halogen-free fraction of mixed styrenics can be sorted out by density separation from monitors and printers and small household appliances. Emerging separation technologies are discussed to improve recycling results. © The Author(s) 2015.

Utilization of water soluble plastics for radiological control within nuclear power plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Smith, R.J.; Deltete, C.P.; Homyk, W.A.; Kasprzak, L.; Robinson, P.J.

1989-01-01

The utilization of plastic products for radioactive contamination control within nuclear power facilities currently results in relatively large volumes of waste requiring disposal as low-level radioactive waste. The utilization of a polymer resin product that possesses comparable physical attributes to currently utilized plastic materials, but which is water soluble, has significant potential to reduce the volume of plastic waste requiring disposal as radwaste. Such a volume reduction will reduce overall plant )ampersand M costs, reduce the overall waste volume allocation utilization, and improve the regulatory perception of any plant realizing a volume reduction through plastic source minimization. This potential reduction in waste volume (and associated availability of the Low-level Waste Policy Amendments Act disposal allocation for other purposes), combined with potential economic benefits summarized above, has led to the undertaking of a detailed evaluation, presented in this paper

Production patterns of packaging waste categories generated at typical Mediterranean residential building worksites

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

González Pericot, N., E-mail: natalia.gpericot@upm.es [Escuela Técnica Superior de Edificación, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Calle Juan de Herrera n°6, 28040 Madrid (Spain); Villoria Sáez, P., E-mail: paola.villoria@upm.es [Escuela Técnica Superior de Edificación, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Calle Juan de Herrera n°6, 28040 Madrid (Spain); Del Río Merino, M., E-mail: mercedes.delrio@upm.es [Escuela Técnica Superior de Edificación, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Calle Juan de Herrera n°6, 28040 Madrid (Spain); Liébana Carrasco, O., E-mail: oscar.liebana@uem.es [Escuela de Arquitectura, Universidad Europea de Madrid, Calle Tajo s/n, 28670 Villaviciosa de Odón (Spain)

2014-11-15

Highlights: • On-site segregation level: 1.80%; training and motivation strategies were not effective. • 70% Cardboard waste: from switches and sockets during the building services stage. • 40% Plastic waste: generated during structures and partition works due to palletizing. • >50% Wood packaging waste, basically pallets, generated during the envelope works. - Abstract: The construction sector is responsible for around 28% of the total waste volume generated in Europe, which exceeds the amount of household waste. This has led to an increase of different research studies focusing on construction waste quantification. However, within the research studies made, packaging waste has been analyzed to a limited extent. This article focuses on the packaging waste stream generated in the construction sector. To this purpose current on-site waste packaging management has been assessed by monitoring ten Mediterranean residential building works. The findings of the experimental data collection revealed that the incentive measures implemented by the construction company to improve on-site waste sorting failed to achieve the intended purpose, showing low segregation ratios. Subsequently, through an analytical study the generation patterns for packaging waste are established, leading to the identification of the prevailing kinds of packaging and the products responsible for their generation. Results indicate that plastic waste generation maintains a constant trend throughout the whole construction process, while cardboard becomes predominant towards the end of the construction works with switches and sockets from the electricity stage. Understanding the production patterns of packaging waste will be beneficial for adapting waste management strategies to the identified patterns for the specific nature of packaging waste within the context of construction worksites.

Production patterns of packaging waste categories generated at typical Mediterranean residential building worksites

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

González Pericot, N.; Villoria Sáez, P.; Del Río Merino, M.; Liébana Carrasco, O.

2014-01-01

Highlights: • On-site segregation level: 1.80%; training and motivation strategies were not effective. • 70% Cardboard waste: from switches and sockets during the building services stage. • 40% Plastic waste: generated during structures and partition works due to palletizing. • >50% Wood packaging waste, basically pallets, generated during the envelope works. - Abstract: The construction sector is responsible for around 28% of the total waste volume generated in Europe, which exceeds the amount of household waste. This has led to an increase of different research studies focusing on construction waste quantification. However, within the research studies made, packaging waste has been analyzed to a limited extent. This article focuses on the packaging waste stream generated in the construction sector. To this purpose current on-site waste packaging management has been assessed by monitoring ten Mediterranean residential building works. The findings of the experimental data collection revealed that the incentive measures implemented by the construction company to improve on-site waste sorting failed to achieve the intended purpose, showing low segregation ratios. Subsequently, through an analytical study the generation patterns for packaging waste are established, leading to the identification of the prevailing kinds of packaging and the products responsible for their generation. Results indicate that plastic waste generation maintains a constant trend throughout the whole construction process, while cardboard becomes predominant towards the end of the construction works with switches and sockets from the electricity stage. Understanding the production patterns of packaging waste will be beneficial for adapting waste management strategies to the identified patterns for the specific nature of packaging waste within the context of construction worksites

Influence of uncoated and coated plastic waste coarse aggregates to concrete compressive strength

OpenAIRE

Purnomo Heru; Pamudji Gandjar; Satim Madsuri

2017-01-01

The use of plastic waste as coarse aggregates in concrete is part of efforts to reduce environmental pollution. In one hand the use of plastic as aggregates can provide lighter weight of the concrete than concrete using natural aggregates, but on the other hand bond between plastic coarse aggregates and hard matrix give low concrete compressive strength. Improvement of the bond between plastic coarse aggregate and hard matrix through a sand coating to plastic coarse aggregate whole surface is...

Removal of brominated flame retardant from electrical and electronic waste plastic by solvothermal technique

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zhang, Cong-Cong [Research Center For Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 18 Shuangqing Road, Beijing 100085 (China); Zhang, Fu-Shen, E-mail: fszhang@rcees.ac.cn [Research Center For Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 18 Shuangqing Road, Beijing 100085 (China)

2012-06-30

Highlights: Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer A process for brominated flame retardants (BFRs) removal in plastic was established. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer The plastic became bromine-free with the structure maintained after this treatment. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer BFRs transferred into alcohol solvent were easily debrominated by metallic copper. - Abstract: Brominated flame retardants (BFRs) in electrical and electronic (E and E) waste plastic are toxic, bioaccumulative and recalcitrant. In the present study, tetrabromobisphenol A (TBBPA) contained in this type of plastic was tentatively subjected to solvothermal treatment so as to obtain bromine-free plastic. Methanol, ethanol and isopropanol were examined as solvents for solvothermal treatment and it was found that methanol was the optimal solvent for TBBPA removal. The optimum temperature, time and liquid to solid ratio for solvothermal treatment to remove TBBPA were 90 Degree-Sign C, 2 h and 15:1, respectively. After the treatment with various alcohol solvents, it was found that TBBPA was finally transferred into the solvents and bromine in the extract was debrominated catalyzed by metallic copper. Bisphenol A and cuprous bromide were the main products after debromination. The morphology and FTIR properties of the plastic were generally unchanged after the solvothermal treatment indicating that the structure of the plastic maintained after the process. This work provides a clean and applicable process for BFRs-containing plastic disposal.

Polyurethane Production from Waste Bale Fibers

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

İbrahim BİLİCİ

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Nowadays, the methods of eliminating the pollution from wastes of the materials produced as much as the production methods are important. This requires efficiently use of sources economical and ecologically. Polyester based polymers, which is one of the most important consumed plastic materials in the world, have lots of number of recycling methods. Basically it is called chemical and physical recycling. Chemical recycle methods include glycolysis, aminolysis, methanolysis, hydrolysis and etc.. In this study aromatic polyester polyols produced from bale fiber wastes via glycolysis method. Zinc Acetate used as a catalysts and diethylene glycol used for the glycolysis reaction and moiety of glycol investigated as an experimental parameter. Polyurethane material produced via obtained polyol and TDI (Toluene di Isocyanate reaction. Obtained polyurethane material investigated via FTIR and TGA and compared with the commercial polyurethane. As a result, it has been decided that glycolysis is usable and applicable method for the waste bale fibers.

Use of zinc and copper (I) salts to reduce sulfur and nitrogen impurities during the pyrolysis of plastic and rubber waste to hydrocarbons

Science.gov (United States)

Wingfield, Jr., Robert C.; Braslaw, Jacob; Gealer, Roy L.

1984-01-01

An improvement in a process for the pyrolytic conversion of rubber and plastic waste to hydrocarbon products which results in reduced levels of nitrogen and sulfur impurities in these products. The improvement comprises pyrolyzing the waste in the presence of at least about 1 weight percent of salts, based on the weight of the waste, preferably chloride or carbonate salts, of zinc or copper (I). This invention was made under contract with or subcontract thereunder of the Department of Energy Contract #DE-AC02-78-ER10049.

Our plastic age

OpenAIRE

Thompson, Richard C.; Swan, Shanna H.; Moore, Charles J.; vom Saal, Frederick S.

2009-01-01

Within the last few decades, plastics have revolutionized our daily lives. Globally we use in excess of 260 million tonnes of plastic per annum, accounting for approximately 8 per cent of world oil production. In this Theme Issue of Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society, we describe current and future trends in usage, together with the many benefits that plastics bring to society. At the same time, we examine the environmental consequences resulting from the accumulation of waste pl...

Effect of Waste Plastic as Bitumen Modified in Asphalt Mixture

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Abdullah Mohd Ezree

2017-01-01

Full Text Available The objectives of this study are to investigate the engineering properties of the asphalt mixtures containing waste plastic at different percentages i.e. 4%, 6%, 8%, and 10% by weight of bitumen. The experimental tests performed in the study were stability, tensile strength, resilient modulus and dynamic creep test. Results showed that the mixture with 4% plastic has the highest stability (184kN. However, the stability slightly decreases with the increase of plastic additive. On the other hand, the highest tensile strength among the modified asphaltic concrete is 1049kPa (8% plastic added. The modified asphalt mixture with 8% plastic has the highest resilient modulus, which is 3422 MPa (25°C and 494Mpa (40°C. Where the highest creep modulus recorded is 73.30Mpa at 8% plastic added. It can be concluded that the addition of 8% plastic gave the highest value properties of asphalt mixture. Finally, it can be said that 8% plastic is the optimum value adding.

A hierarchical classification approach for recognition of low-density (LDPE) and high-density polyethylene (HDPE) in mixed plastic waste based on short-wave infrared (SWIR) hyperspectral imaging

Science.gov (United States)

Bonifazi, Giuseppe; Capobianco, Giuseppe; Serranti, Silvia

2018-06-01

The aim of this work was to recognize different polymer flakes from mixed plastic waste through an innovative hierarchical classification strategy based on hyperspectral imaging, with particular reference to low density polyethylene (LDPE) and high-density polyethylene (HDPE). A plastic waste composition assessment, including also LDPE and HDPE identification, may help to define optimal recycling strategies for product quality control. Correct handling of plastic waste is essential for its further "sustainable" recovery, maximizing the sorting performance in particular for plastics with similar characteristics as LDPE and HDPE. Five different plastic waste samples were chosen for the investigation: polypropylene (PP), LDPE, HDPE, polystyrene (PS) and polyvinyl chloride (PVC). A calibration dataset was realized utilizing the corresponding virgin polymers. Hyperspectral imaging in the short-wave infrared range (1000-2500 nm) was thus applied to evaluate the different plastic spectral attributes finalized to perform their recognition/classification. After exploring polymer spectral differences by principal component analysis (PCA), a hierarchical partial least squares discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) model was built allowing the five different polymers to be recognized. The proposed methodology, based on hierarchical classification, is very powerful and fast, allowing to recognize the five different polymers in a single step.

A pyrolysis study for the thermal and kinetic characteristics of an agricultural waste with two different plastic wastes.

Science.gov (United States)

Çepelioğullar, Özge; Pütün, Ayşe E

2014-10-01

In this study, thermochemical conversion of plastic wastes (PET and PVC) together with an agricultural waste (hazelnut shell) was investigated. In order to determine the thermal and kinetic behaviours, pyrolysis experiments were carried out from room temperature to 800 °C, with a heating rate of 10 °C min(-1) in the presence of a N2 atmosphere in a thermogravimetric analyzer. With the obtained thermogravimetric data, an appropriate temperature was specified for the pyrolysis of biomass-plastic wastes in a fixed-bed reactor. At the second step, pyrolysis experiments were carried out at the same conditions with the thermogravimetric analyzer, except the final temperature which was up to 500 °C in this case. After pyrolysis experiments, pyrolysis yields were calculated and characterization studies for bio-oil were investigated. Experimental results showed that co-pyrolysis has an important role in the determination of the pyrolysis mechanism and the process conditions while designing/implementing a thermochemical conversion method where biomass-plastic materials were preferred as raw materials. © The Author(s) 2014.

A Perspective on the Prowaste Concept: Efficient Utilization of Plastic Waste through Product Design and Process Innovation.

Science.gov (United States)

Greco, Antonio; Frigione, Mariaenrica; Maffezzoli, Alfonso; Marseglia, Alessandro; Passaro, Alessandra

2014-07-23

This work is aimed to present an innovative technology for the reinforcement of beams for urban furniture, produced by in-mold extrusion of plastics from solid urban waste. This material, which is usually referred to as "recycled plastic lumber", is characterized by very poor mechanical properties, which results in high deflections under flexural loads, particularly under creep conditions. The Prowaste project, founded by the EACI (European Agency for Competitiveness and Innovation) in the framework of the Eco-Innovation measure, was finalized to develop an innovative technology for selective reinforcement of recycled plastic lumber. Selective reinforcement was carried out by the addition of pultruded glass rods in specific positions with respect to the cross section of the beam, which allowed optimizing the reinforcing efficiency. The reinforcement of the plastic lumber beams with pultruded rods was tested at industrial scale plant, at Solteco SL (Alfaro, Spain). The beams obtained, characterized by low cost and weight, were commercialized by the Spanish company. The present paper presents the most relevant results of the Prowaste project. Initially, an evaluation of the different materials candidates for the reinforcement of recycled plastic lumber is presented. Plastic lumber beams produced in the industrial plant were characterized in terms of flexural properties. The results obtained are interpreted by means of beam theory, which allows for extrapolation of the characteristic features of beams produced by different reinforcing elements. Finally, a theoretical comparison with other approaches which can be used for the reinforcement of plastic lumber is presented, highlighting that, among others, the Prowaste concept maximizes the stiffening efficiency, allowing to significantly reduce the weight of the components.

Polybrominated diphenyl ethers in plastic products, indoor dust, sediment and fish from informal e-waste recycling sites in Vietnam: a comprehensive assessment of contamination, accumulation pattern, emissions, and human exposure.

Science.gov (United States)

Anh, Hoang Quoc; Nam, Vu Duc; Tri, Tran Manh; Ha, Nguyen Manh; Ngoc, Nguyen Thuy; Mai, Pham Thi Ngoc; Anh, Duong Hong; Minh, Nguyen Hung; Tuan, Nguyen Anh; Minh, Tu Binh

2017-08-01

Residue concentrations of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) in different kinds of samples including consumer products, indoor dust, sediment and fish collected from two e-waste recycling sites, and some industrial, urban and suburban areas in Vietnam were determined to provide a comprehensive assessment of the contamination levels, accumulation pattern, emission potential and human exposure through dust ingestion and fish consumption. There was a large variation of PBDE levels in plastic parts of obsolete electronic equipment (from 1730 to 97,300 ng/g), which is a common result observed in consumer plastic products reported elsewhere. PBDE levels in indoor dust samples collected from e-waste recycling sites ranged from 250 to 8740 ng/g, which were markedly higher than those in industrial areas and household offices. Emission rate of PBDEs from plastic parts of disposed electronic equipment to dust was estimated to be in a range from 3.4 × 10 -7 to 1.2 × 10 -5 (year -1 ) for total PBDEs and from 2.9 × 10 -7 to 7.2 × 10 -6 (year -1 ) for BDE-209. Some fish species collected from ponds in e-waste recycling villages contained elevated levels of PBDEs, especially BDE-209, which were markedly higher than those in fish previously reported. Overall, levels and patterns of PBDE accumulation in different kinds of samples suggest significant emission from e-waste sites and that these areas are potential sources of PBDE contamination. Intakes of PBDEs via fish consumption were generally higher than those estimated through dust ingestion. Intake of BDE-99 and BDE-209 through dust ingestion contributes a large proportion due to higher concentrations in dust and fish. Body weight normalized daily intake through dust ingestion estimated for the e-waste recycling sites (0.10-3.46 ng/day/kg body wt.) were in a high range as compared to those reported in other countries. Our results highlight the potential releases of PBDEs from informal recycling activities and

Microbial biotechnology addressing the plastic waste disaster

OpenAIRE

Narancic, Tanja; O'Connor, Kevin E.

2017-01-01

Oceans are a major source of biodiversity, they provide livelihood, and regulate the global ecosystem by absorbing heat and CO 2. However, they are highly polluted with plastic waste. We are discussing here microbial biotechnology advances with the view to improve the start and the end of life of biodegradable polymers, which could contribute to the sustainable use of marine and coastal ecosystems (UN Sustainability development goal 14).

Post-consumer plastic packaging waste in England: Assessing the yield of multiple collection-recycling schemes.

Science.gov (United States)

Hahladakis, John N; Purnell, Phil; Iacovidou, Eleni; Velis, Costas A; Atseyinku, Maryann

2018-05-01

The European Commission (EC) recently introduced a 'Circular Economy Package', setting ambitious recycling targets and identifying waste plastics as a priority sector where major improvements are necessary. Here, the authors explain how different collection modalities affect the quantity and quality of recycling, using recent empirical data on household (HH) post-consumer plastic packaging waste (PCPP) collected for recycling in the devolved administration of England over the quarterly period July-September 2014. Three main collection schemes, as currently implemented in England, were taken into account: (i) kerbside collection (KS), (ii) household waste recycling centres (HWRCs) (also known as 'civic amenity sites'), and (iii) bring sites/banks (BSs). The results indicated that: (a) the contribution of KS collection scheme in recovering packaging plastics is higher than HWRCs and BBs, with respective percentages by weight (wt%) 90%, 9% and 1%; (b) alternate weekly collection (AWC) of plastic recyclables in wheeled bins, when collected commingled, demonstrated higher yield in KS collection; (c) only a small percentage (16%) of the total amount of post-consumer plastics collected in the examined period (141 kt) was finally sent to reprocessors (22 kt); (c) nearly a third of Local Authorities (LAs) reported insufficient or poor data; and (d) the most abundant fractions of plastics that finally reached the reprocessors were mixed plastic bottles and mixed plastics. Crown Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Thermo-Catalytic Pyrolysis of Waste Plastics from End of Life Vehicle

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Miskolczi Norbert

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Pyrolysis of waste plastics is widely used recycling method. Owing to the end-of-life vehicles regulations, 95% of passenger cars and vehicles must reused/recovered after the dismantling. Pyrolysis of waste polyethylene and polypropylene obtained from end-of-life vehicles was investigated in a continuously stirred batch reactor using 500 and 600°C temperatures. To ensure the pyrolysis reactions the tested catalysts (5% of ZSM-5, HZSM-5, Ni-ZSM-5 and Fe-ZSM-5 were added directly to the mixtures of raw materials. Products of pyrolysis were separated into gases, pyrolysis oil and heavy oil, which was further analyzed by gas-chromatography, Fourier transformed infrared spectroscopy and other standardized methods. Based on the results it was concluded, that the catalysts significantly increase the yields of volatile products, and modify their composition. Especially the alkane/alkene ratio, the methane concentration and the concentration of branched hydrocarbon could be affected by the applied catalysts. Ni-ZSM-5 catalyst had the highest activity in methane production, while HZSM-5 catalyst proved effective in isomerization reactions. Using H-ZSM-5, Ni-ZSM-5, and Fe-ZSM-5 catalyst notably decreased average molecular weight of pyrolysis oils and significantly higher aromatic content was observed.

Chemical recycling of plastic wastes made from polyethylene (LDPE and HDPE) and polypropylene (PP)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Achilias, D.S.; Roupakias, C.; Megalokonomos, P.; Lappas, A.A.; Antonakou, E.V.

2007-01-01

The recycling of either model polymers or waste products based on low-density polyethylene (LDPE), high-density polyethylene (HDPE) or polypropylene (PP) is examined using the dissolution/reprecipitation method, as well as pyrolysis. In the first technique, different solvents/non-solvents were examined at different weight percent amounts and temperatures using as raw material both model polymers and commercial products (packaging film, bags, pipes, food-retail outlets). The recovery of polymer in every case was greater than 90%. FT-IR spectra and tensile mechanical properties of the samples before and after recycling were measured. Furthermore, catalytic pyrolysis was carried out in a laboratory fixed bed reactor with an FCC catalyst using again model polymers and waste products as raw materials. Analysis of the derived gases and oils showed that pyrolysis gave a mainly aliphatic composition consisting of a series of hydrocarbons (alkanes and alkenes), with a great potential to be recycled back into the petrochemical industry as a feedstock for the production of new plastics or refined fuels

Chemical recycling of plastic wastes made from polyethylene (LDPE and HDPE) and polypropylene (PP).

Science.gov (United States)

Achilias, D S; Roupakias, C; Megalokonomos, P; Lappas, A A; Antonakou, Epsilon V

2007-11-19

The recycling of either model polymers or waste products based on low-density polyethylene (LDPE), high-density polyethylene (HDPE) or polypropylene (PP) is examined using the dissolution/reprecipitation method, as well as pyrolysis. In the first technique, different solvents/non-solvents were examined at different weight percent amounts and temperatures using as raw material both model polymers and commercial products (packaging film, bags, pipes, food-retail outlets). The recovery of polymer in every case was greater than 90%. FT-IR spectra and tensile mechanical properties of the samples before and after recycling were measured. Furthermore, catalytic pyrolysis was carried out in a laboratory fixed bed reactor with an FCC catalyst using again model polymers and waste products as raw materials. Analysis of the derived gases and oils showed that pyrolysis gave a mainly aliphatic composition consisting of a series of hydrocarbons (alkanes and alkenes), with a great potential to be recycled back into the petrochemical industry as a feedstock for the production of new plastics or refined fuels.

Task 3 - Pyrolysis of Plastic Waste. Semiannual report, November 1, 1996--March 31, 1997

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ness, Robert O.; Aulich, Ted R.

1997-01-01

Over the last 50 years, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has produced a wide variety of radioactive wastes from activities associated with nuclear defense and nuclear power generation. These wastes include low-level radioactive solid wastes, mixed wastes, and transuranic (TRU) wastes. A portion of these wastes consists of high- organic-content materials, such as resins, plastics, and other polymers; synthetic and natural rubbers; cellulosic-based materials; and oils, organic solvents, and chlorinated organic solvents. Many of these wastes contain hazardous and/or pyrophoric materials in addition to radioactive species. Physical forms of the waste include ion-exchange resins used to remove radioactive elements from nuclear reactor cooling water, lab equipment and tools (e.g., measurement and containment vessels, hoses, wrappings, equipment coverings and components, and countertops), oil products (e.g., vacuum pump and lubrication oils), bags and other storage containers (for liquids, solids, and gases), solvents, gloves, lab coats and anti-contamination clothing, and other items. Major polymer and chemical groups found in high-organic-content radioactive wastes include polyvinyl chloride (PVC), low-density polyethylene (LDPE), polypropylene (PP), Teflon(TM), polystyrene (PS), nylon, latex, polyethylene terephthalate (PET), vinyl, high-density polyethylene (HDPE), polycarbonate, nitriles, Tygon(R), butyl, and Tyvec(R)

Mass, energy and material balances of SRF production process. Part 1: SRF produced from commercial and industrial waste.

Science.gov (United States)

Nasrullah, Muhammad; Vainikka, Pasi; Hannula, Janne; Hurme, Markku; Kärki, Janne

2014-08-01

This paper presents the mass, energy and material balances of a solid recovered fuel (SRF) production process. The SRF is produced from commercial and industrial waste (C&IW) through mechanical treatment (MT). In this work various streams of material produced in SRF production process are analyzed for their proximate and ultimate analysis. Based on this analysis and composition of process streams their mass, energy and material balances are established for SRF production process. Here mass balance describes the overall mass flow of input waste material in the various output streams, whereas material balance describes the mass flow of components of input waste stream (such as paper and cardboard, wood, plastic (soft), plastic (hard), textile and rubber) in the various output streams of SRF production process. A commercial scale experimental campaign was conducted on an MT waste sorting plant to produce SRF from C&IW. All the process streams (input and output) produced in this MT plant were sampled and treated according to the CEN standard methods for SRF: EN 15442 and EN 15443. The results from the mass balance of SRF production process showed that of the total input C&IW material to MT waste sorting plant, 62% was recovered in the form of SRF, 4% as ferrous metal, 1% as non-ferrous metal and 21% was sorted out as reject material, 11.6% as fine fraction, and 0.4% as heavy fraction. The energy flow balance in various process streams of this SRF production process showed that of the total input energy content of C&IW to MT plant, 75% energy was recovered in the form of SRF, 20% belonged to the reject material stream and rest 5% belonged with the streams of fine fraction and heavy fraction. In the material balances, mass fractions of plastic (soft), plastic (hard), paper and cardboard and wood recovered in the SRF stream were 88%, 70%, 72% and 60% respectively of their input masses to MT plant. A high mass fraction of plastic (PVC), rubber material and non

A study on synthesis of energy fuel from waste plastic and assessment of its potential as an alternative fuel for diesel engines.

Science.gov (United States)

Kaimal, Viswanath K; Vijayabalan, P

2016-05-01

The demand for plastic is ever increasing and has produced a huge amount of plastic waste. The management and disposal of plastic waste have become a major concern, especially in developing cities. The idea of waste to energy recovery is one of the promising techniques used for managing the waste plastic. This paper assesses the potential of using Waste Plastic Oil (WPO), synthesized using pyrolysis of waste plastic, as an alternative for diesel fuel. In this research work, the performance and emission characteristics of a single cylinder diesel engine fuelled with WPO and its blends with diesel are studied. In addition to neat plastic oil, three blends (PO25, PO50 and PO75) were prepared on a volumetric basis and the engine was able to run on neat plastic oil. Brake thermal efficiency of blends was lower compared to diesel, but PO25 showed similar performance to that of diesel. The emissions were reduced considerably while using blends when compared to neat plastic oil. The smoke and NOX were reduced by 22% and 17.8% respectively for PO25 than that of plastic oil. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Separation of polyethylene terephthalate from municipal waste plastics by froth flotation for recycling industry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang, Chong-Qing; Wang, Hui; Liu, You-Nian

2015-01-01

Highlights: • Factors of NaOH treatment were studied by orthogonal and single factor experiments. • Mechanism of alkaline treatment for facilitating flotation was manifested. • Flotation separation of PET was achieved with high purity and efficiency. • A flow sheet of purification PET from MWP was designed. - Abstract: Recycling is an effective way to manage plastic wastes and receives considerable attention. Since plastic mixtures are difficult to recycle because of their intrinsic characteristics, separation of mixed plastics is the key problem for recycling. Separation of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) from municipal waste plastics (MWP) by froth flotation combined with alkaline pretreatment was investigated for recycling industry. The effect of process variables was estimated by L 9 (3 4 ) orthogonal array of experiments and single factor experiments. The optimum conditions of alkaline pretreatment are 10 wt% sodium hydroxide, 20 min and 70 °C. After alkaline pretreatment under optimum conditions, flotation separation PET from acrylonitrile–butadiene–styrene, polystyrene, polycarbonate or polyvinyl chloride was achieved with high purity and efficiency. The purity of PET is up to 98.46% and the recovery is above 92.47%. A flow sheet of separation PET from MWP by a combination of froth flotation and sink float separation was designed. This study facilitates industrial application of plastics flotation and provides technical insights into recycling of waste plastics

Separation of polyethylene terephthalate from municipal waste plastics by froth flotation for recycling industry

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wang, Chong-Qing; Wang, Hui, E-mail: huiwang1968@163.com; Liu, You-Nian

2015-01-15

Highlights: • Factors of NaOH treatment were studied by orthogonal and single factor experiments. • Mechanism of alkaline treatment for facilitating flotation was manifested. • Flotation separation of PET was achieved with high purity and efficiency. • A flow sheet of purification PET from MWP was designed. - Abstract: Recycling is an effective way to manage plastic wastes and receives considerable attention. Since plastic mixtures are difficult to recycle because of their intrinsic characteristics, separation of mixed plastics is the key problem for recycling. Separation of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) from municipal waste plastics (MWP) by froth flotation combined with alkaline pretreatment was investigated for recycling industry. The effect of process variables was estimated by L{sub 9} (3{sup 4}) orthogonal array of experiments and single factor experiments. The optimum conditions of alkaline pretreatment are 10 wt% sodium hydroxide, 20 min and 70 °C. After alkaline pretreatment under optimum conditions, flotation separation PET from acrylonitrile–butadiene–styrene, polystyrene, polycarbonate or polyvinyl chloride was achieved with high purity and efficiency. The purity of PET is up to 98.46% and the recovery is above 92.47%. A flow sheet of separation PET from MWP by a combination of froth flotation and sink float separation was designed. This study facilitates industrial application of plastics flotation and provides technical insights into recycling of waste plastics.

Comparing Pedagogies for Plastic Waste Management at University Level

Science.gov (United States)

Yeung, Siu-Kit; So, Wing-Mui Winnie; Cheng, Nga-Yee Irene; Cheung, Tsz-Yan; Chow, Cheuk-Fai

2017-01-01

Purpose: This paper aims to compare the learning outcomes of gaming simulation and guided inquiry in sustainability education on plastic waste management. The current study targets the identification of success factors in these teaching approaches. Design/methodology/approach: This study used a quasi-experimental design with undergraduate…

Pyrolysis of fibre residues with plastic contamination from a paper recycling mill: Energy recoveries

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Brown, Logan Jeremy; Collard, François-Xavier; Görgens, Johann

2017-01-01

Highlights: • Pyrolysis of fibre-plastics residues from paper recycling mill into fuel products. • Product with remarkable energy content up to 42.8 MJ/kg. • Influence of temperature on the product yields and fuel properties. • Effect of plastic composition on product properties. - Abstract: Pyrolysis is a promising technology for the production of marketable energy products from waste mixtures, as it decomposes heterogeneous material into homogenous fuel products. This research assessed the ability of slow pyrolysis to convert three waste streams, composed of fibre residues contaminated with different plastic mixtures, into char and tarry phase products at three different temperatures (300, 425 and 550 °C). The products were characterised in terms of mass yield, higher heating value (HHV) and gross energy conversion (EC). Significant amounts of hydrocarbon plastics in the feed materials increased the calorific values of the char (up to 32.9 MJ/kg) and tarry phase (up to 42.8 MJ/kg) products, comparable to high volatile bituminous A coal and diesel respectively. For all three waste streams converted at 300 °C, the majority of the energy in the feedstock was recovered in the char product (>80%), while deoxygenation of fibre component resulted in char with increased calorific value (up to 31.6 MJ/kg) being produced. Pyrolysis at 425 °C for two of the waste streams containing significant amounts of plastic produced both a valuable char and tarry phase, which resulted in an EC greater than 74%. Full conversion of plastic at 550 °C increased the tarry phase yield but dramatically decreased the char HHV. The influence of temperature on product yield and HHV was discussed based on the pyrolysis mechanisms and in relation to the plastic composition of the waste streams.

Hydraulic separation of plastic wastes: Analysis of liquid-solid interaction.

Science.gov (United States)

Moroni, Monica; Lupo, Emanuela; La Marca, Floriana

2017-08-01

The separation of plastic wastes in mechanical recycling plants is the process that ensures high-quality secondary raw materials. An innovative device employing a wet technology for particle separation is presented in this work. Due to the combination of the characteristic flow pattern developing within the apparatus and density, shape and size differences among two or more polymers, it allows their separation into two products, one collected within the instrument and the other one expelled through its outlet ducts. The kinematic investigation of the fluid flowing within the apparatus seeded with a passive tracer was conducted via image analysis for different hydraulic configurations. The two-dimensional turbulent kinetic energy results strictly connected to the apparatus separation efficacy. Image analysis was also employed to study the behaviour of mixtures of passive tracer and plastic particles with different physical characteristics in order to understand the coupling regime between fluid and solid phases. The two-dimensional turbulent kinetic energy analysis turned out to be fundamental to this aim. For the tested operating conditions, two-way coupling takes place, i.e., the fluid exerts an influence on the plastic particle and the opposite occurs too. Image analysis confirms the outcomes from the investigation of the two-phase flow via non-dimensional numbers (particle Reynolds number, Stokes number and solid phase volume fraction). Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Brominated flame retardant emissions from the open burning of five plastic wastes and implications for environmental exposure in China

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ni, Hong-Gang; Lu, Shao-You; Mo, Ting; Zeng, Hui

2016-01-01

Based on the most widely used plastics in China, five plastic wastes were selected for investigation of brominated flame retardant (BFR) emission behaviors during open burning. Considerable variations were observed in the emission factors (EF) of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) and hexabromocyclododecanes (HBCDs) from the combustion of different plastic wastes. Distribution of BFR output mass showed that ΣPBDE was emitted mainly by the airborne particle (51%), followed by residual ash (44%) and the gas phase (5.1%); these values for ΣHBCD were 62%, 24%, and 14%, respectively. A lack of mass balance after the burning of the plastic wastes for some congeners (output/input mass ratios > 1) suggested that formation and survival exceeded PBDE decomposition during the burns. However, that was not the case for HBCD. A comparison with literature data showed that the open burning of plastic waste is major source of PBDE compared to regulated combustion activities. Even for state-of-the-art waste incinerators equipped with sophisticated complex air pollution control technologies, BFRs are released on a small scale to the environment. According to our estimate, ΣPBDE release to the air and land from municipal solid waste (MSW) incineration plants in China in 2015 were 105 kg/year and 7124 kg/year. These data for ΣHBCD were 25.5 and 71.7 kg/year, respectively. Considering the fact that a growing number of cities in China are switching to incineration as the preferred method for MSW treatment, our estimate is especially important. This study provides the first data on the environmental exposure of BFRs emitted from MSW incineration in China. - Highlights: • Airborne particle and residue ash are two major emissions from burns of plastic waste. • Mass unbalance showed formation of PBDE occurred during burning process. • Open burning of plastic waste is major source of PBDE compared to industrial sources. • BFRs in residual ash of waste combustion would be

Value-Added Products Derived from Waste Activated Sludge: A Biorefinery Perspective

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wei Zhang

2018-04-01

Full Text Available Substantial research has been carried out on sustainable waste activated sludge (WAS management in the last decade. In addition to the traditional approach to reduce its production volume, considering WAS as a feedstock to produce bio-products such as amino acids, proteins, short chain fatty acids, enzymes, bio-pesticides, bio-plastics, bio-flocculants and bio-surfactants represents a key component in the transformation of wastewater treatment plants into biorefineries. The quality of these bio-products is a key factor with respect to the feasibility of non-conventional WAS-based production processes. This review provides a critical assessment of the production process routes of a wide range of value-added products from WAS, their current limitations, and recommendations for future research to help promote more sustainable management of this under-utilised and ever-growing waste stream.

Experimental investigation of the quality characteristics of agricultural plastic wastes regarding their recycling and energy recovery potential

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Briassoulis, D.; Hiskakis, M.; Babou, E.; Antiohos, S.K.; Papadi, C.

2012-01-01

Highlights: ► Definition of parameters characterising agricultural plastic waste (APW) quality. ► Analysis of samples to determine APW quality for recycling or energy recovery. ► Majority of APW samples from various countries have very good quality for recycling. ► Upper limit of 50% w/w soil contamination in APW acceptable for energy recovery. ► Chlorine and heavy metals content in APW below the lowest limit for energy recovery. - Abstract: A holistic environmentally sound waste management scheme that transforms agricultural plastic waste (APW) streams into labelled guaranteed quality commodities freely traded in open market has been developed by the European research project LabelAgriWaste. The APW quality is defined by the APW material requirements, translated to technical specifications, for recycling or energy recovery. The present work investigates the characteristics of the APW quality and the key factors affecting it from the introduction of the virgin product to the market to the APW stream reaching the disposer. Samples of APW from different countries were traced from their application to the field through their storage phase and transportation to the final destination. The test results showed that the majority of APW retained their mechanical properties after their use preserving a “very good quality” for recycling in terms of degradation. The degree of soil contamination concerning the APW recycling and energy recovery potential fluctuates depending on the agricultural plastic category and application. The chlorine and heavy metal content of the tested APW materials was much lower than the maximum acceptable limits for their potential use in cement industries.

Pyrolysis of virgin and waste polypropylene and its mixtures with waste polyethylene and polystyrene.

Science.gov (United States)

Kiran Ciliz, Nilgun; Ekinci, Ekrem; Snape, Colin E

2004-01-01

A comparison of waste and virgin polypropylene (PP) plastics under slow pyrolysis conditions is presented. Moreover, mixtures of waste PP with wastes of polyethylene (PE) and polystyrene (PS) were pyrolyzed under the same operating conditions. Not only the impact of waste on degradation products but also impacts of the variations in the mixing ratio were investigated. The thermogravimetric weight loss curves and their derivatives of virgin and waste PP showed differences due to the impurities which are dirt and food residues. The liquid yield distribution concerning the aliphatic, mono-aromatic and poly-aromatic compounds varies as the ratio of PP waste increases in the waste plastic mixtures. In addition to this, the alkene/alkane ratio of gas products shows variations depending on the mixing ratio of wastes.

Recycling of plastics

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kaminsky, W; Menzel, J; Sinn, H

1976-01-01

Considering the shortage of raw materials and environmental pollution, the recycling of plastic waste is a very important topic. Pilot plants for research in Funabashi Japan, Franklin (Ohio) U.S.A., and the R 80-process of Krauss Maffei, W. Germany, have demonstrated the possibility of reclaiming plastics from refuse. Old tires and waste from the plastic producing and manufacturing industries are readily available. The pyrolysis of plastic yields gaseous and liquid products, and the exploitation of this cracking reaction has been demonstrated by pilot plants in Japan and Great Britain. Further laboratory scale experiments are taking place in W. Germany. In continuous fluidized beds and in molten salts, polyethylene, polypropylene, polyvinylchloride, polystyrene and rubber are pyrolysed and better than 98 percent conversion is obtained. Up to 40 percent of the feed can be obtained as aromatic compounds, and a pilot plant is under construction. As a first step PVC-containing material can be almost quantitatively dehydrochlorinated.

Pyrolytic conversion of plastic and rubber waste to hydrocarbons with basic salt catalysts

Science.gov (United States)

Wingfield, Jr., Robert C.; Braslaw, Jacob; Gealer, Roy L.

1985-01-01

The invention relates to a process for improving the pyrolytic conversion of waste selected from rubber and plastic to low molecular weight olefinic materials by employing basis salt catalysts in the waste mixture. The salts comprise alkali or alkaline earth compounds, particularly sodium carbonate, in an amount of greater than about 1 weight percent based on the waste feed.

Co-processing of agricultural plastic waste and switchgrass via tail gas reactive pyrolysis

Science.gov (United States)

Mixtures of agricultural plastic waste in the form of polyethylene hay bale covers (PE) (4-37%) and switchgrass were investigated using the US Department of Agriculture’s tail gas reactive pyrolysis (TGRP) at different temperatures (400-570 deg C). TGRP of switchgrass and plastic mixtures significan...

Post Separation of Plastic Waste: Better for the Environment and Lower Collection Costs

NARCIS (Netherlands)

E. Dijkgraaf (Elbert); R.H.J.M. Gradus (Raymond)

2016-01-01

textabstractThe European Union (EU) advocates a plastic waste recycling rate of more than 55% through home separation by households. Even for the Netherlands, which has already invested heavily in plastic recycling policies, there is still a challenge to meet this target. We show that post

Biocide Usage in Plastic Products

OpenAIRE

Kavak, Nergizhan; Çakır, Ayşegül; Koltuk, Fatmagül; Uzun, Utku

2015-01-01

People’s demand of improving their life quality caused to the term of hygiene become popular and increased the tendency to use more reliable and healthy products. This tendency makes the continuous developments in the properties of the materials used in manufactured goods compulsory. It is possible to create anti-bacterial plastic products by adding biocidal additives to plastic materials which have a wide-range of application in the areas such as health (medicine), food and many other indust...

Physico-chemical properties of excavated plastic from landfill mining and current recycling routes.

Science.gov (United States)

Canopoli, L; Fidalgo, B; Coulon, F; Wagland, S T

2018-06-01

In Europe over 5.25 billion tonnes of waste has been landfilled between 1995 and 2015. Among this large amount of waste, plastic represents typically 5-25 wt% which is significant and has the potential to be recycled and reintroduced into the circular economy. To date there is still however little information available of the opportunities and challenges in recovering plastics from landfill sites. In this review, the impacts of landfill chemistry on the degradation and/or contamination of excavated plastic waste are analysed. The feasibility of using excavated plastic waste as feedstock for upcycling to valuable chemicals or liquid fuels through thermochemical conversion is also critically discussed. The limited degradation that is experienced by many plastics in landfills (>20 years) which guarantee that large amount is still available is largely due to thermooxidative degradation and the anaerobic conditions. However, excavated plastic waste cannot be conventionally recycled due to high level of ash, impurities and heavy metals. Recent studies demonstrated that pyrolysis offers a cost effective alternative option to conventional recycling. The produced pyrolysis oil is expected to have similar characteristics to petroleum diesel oil. The production of valuable product from excavated plastic waste will also increase the feasibility of enhanced landfill mining projects. However, further studies are needed to investigate the uncertainties about the contamination level and degradation of excavated plastic waste and address their viability for being processed through pyrolysis. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Evaluation of Quality of Output Product in the Technology Group for Pyrolisis of Organic Waste Substances

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Stanislav HONUS

2011-06-01

Full Text Available The issue of ecological removal of organic polymer materials and wastes polluting the environment is very much alive and it is clear that it will take on ever greater importance. a promising and innovative technology for environmentally friendly disposal of waste organic matter is pyrolysis. This method of thermal processing of waste for its degradation as well as a source of valuable energy products using the new system Pyromatic. This paper presents its technical description and evaluation of the quality of output product from the pyrolysis of tires, plastics and coal.

UTILIZATION OF MINERAL FIBER WASTE IN THE PRODUCTION OF GYPSUM PRODUCTS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Solov'ev Vitaliy Nikolaevich

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Subject: the effectiveness of using compositions with the use of basalt fibers is proven, but the composition must be selected depending on the binder and additives chosen. Research objectives: we examine the possibility of waste recycling of basalt fiber production during manufacturing of modified gypsum composite material with improved characteristics. Materials and methods: as a raw material, a gypsum binder of Samara production was used. As a reinforcement additive, a disperse waste of basalt fiber production of Tver region was used. Studying characteristics of the gypsum binder and modified mixture, and also comparative analysis of these characteristics by average density, total porosity, strength in compression and flexure of the gypsum composite were carried out using standard techniques. Results: dependence of physical and mechanical properties of the modified gypsum material on the content of the basalt fiber additive is established. It was found that an increase in concentration of the additive requires an increased water content or additional use of plasticizer. Conclusions: modification of gypsum stone with a mineral basalt additive will increase the strength, density and durability of thin-walled gypsum products, and, consequently, the demand for products due to ensuring their high quality in transportation and installation.

FY 2000 report on the survey of the project to promote and support the formation of the environmentally friendly energy community. Study of the industrialization of the gasification power generation business by the pressurized two-stage gasification process using organic waste such as waste plastic as raw materials; 2000 nendo kankyo chowagata energy community keisei sokushin hojo jigyo chosa hokokusho. Kaatsu nidan gas ka process ni yoru hai plastic nado yuki haikibutsu wo genryo to suru gas ka hatsuden jigyo no jigyoka kento

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2001-03-01

Viability was studied of the power generation business using plastic waste as fuel and the methanol production business. In the project, the container packing waste plastic which was sorted/collected is supplied by tender, and the organic waste such as shredder dust is mixed. And the electric power is supplied to the gasification power generation facilities by the pressurized two-stage gasification process, neighboring plants, etc. As an alternative, the methanol production was also studied. As a result of the study, if the total amount of the waste plastic needed at the supply price assumed at present can be supplied, the business can be viable economically even without subsidy, but if the supply risk in supposing tender is considered, a subsidy of approximately 10% of the equipment/plant investment is needed. As to the methanol production as an alternative, it was indicated that the economical efficiency is almost the same, but the profitability gets fast worse due to the waste plastic supply cost since there is not much income and expenses are high despite of the smaller investment size than that in the case of the power generation. (NEDO)

Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) in China: policies and recommendations for sound management of plastics from electronic wastes.

Science.gov (United States)

Ni, Kun; Lu, Yonglong; Wang, Tieyu; Shi, Yajuan; Kannan, Kurunthachalam; Xu, Li; Li, Qiushuang; Liu, Shijie

2013-01-30

Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), used as flame retardants (BFRs), are incorporated in plastics of most electronic equipment. Among BFR mixtures, deca-BDE is the most widely used commercial additive in the polymer industry and the use of deca-BDE is currently not subject to any restrictions in China. However, debate over environmental and health risks associated with deca-BDE still remains. Regulatory agencies in developed countries have adopted and/or established environmentally sound strategies for the management of potential threat posed by PBDEs to the environment and human health. No regulations or management policies for PBDEs currently exist in China at either central or provincial government levels. Large amounts of plastics containing PBDEs are still in use and must be disposed of after their lifetimes, creating outdoor reservoirs for the future dispersal of PBDEs into the environment. Concerted action is needed not only to regulate the production and use of PBDEs but also to find ways to effectively manage waste electrical and electronic products that contain PBDEs. This article is the first to investigate the policy issues and current problems related to the use of PBDEs in China. In addition, we estimate the mass flows of PBDEs contained in Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) in China. We suggest alternatives to PBDEs and sound management of plastics used in electrical and electronic equipment (EEE) that contain PBDEs. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Experimental investigation of the quality characteristics of agricultural plastic wastes regarding their recycling and energy recovery potential.

Science.gov (United States)

Briassoulis, D; Hiskakis, M; Babou, E; Antiohos, S K; Papadi, C

2012-06-01

A holistic environmentally sound waste management scheme that transforms agricultural plastic waste (APW) streams into labelled guaranteed quality commodities freely traded in open market has been developed by the European research project LabelAgriWaste. The APW quality is defined by the APW material requirements, translated to technical specifications, for recycling or energy recovery. The present work investigates the characteristics of the APW quality and the key factors affecting it from the introduction of the virgin product to the market to the APW stream reaching the disposer. Samples of APW from different countries were traced from their application to the field through their storage phase and transportation to the final destination. The test results showed that the majority of APW retained their mechanical properties after their use preserving a "very good quality" for recycling in terms of degradation. The degree of soil contamination concerning the APW recycling and energy recovery potential fluctuates depending on the agricultural plastic category and application. The chlorine and heavy metal content of the tested APW materials was much lower than the maximum acceptable limits for their potential use in cement industries. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Tobacco Product Waste: An Environmental Approach to Reduce Tobacco Consumption.

Science.gov (United States)

Novotny, Thomas E; Slaughter, Elli

2014-01-01

Cigarette butts and other tobacco product wastes (TPW) are the most common items picked up in urban and beach cleanups worldwide. TPW contains all the toxins, nicotine, and carcinogens found in tobacco products, along with the plastic nonbiodegradable filter attached to almost all cigarettes sold in the United States and in most countries worldwide. Toxicity studies suggest that compounds leached from cigarette butts in salt and fresh water are toxic to aquatic micro-organisms and test fish. Toxic chemicals have also been identified in roadside TPW. With as much as two-thirds of all smoked cigarettes (numbering in the trillions globally) being discarded into the environment each year, it is critical to consider the potential toxicity and remediation of these waste products. This article reviews reports on the toxicity of TPW and recommends several policy approaches to mitigation of this ubiquitous environmental blight.

Pyrolysis and dehalogenation of plastics from waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE): a review.

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Xiaoning; Sun, Lushi; Xiang, Jun; Hu, Song; Su, Sheng

2013-02-01

Plastics from waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) have been an important environmental problem because these plastics commonly contain toxic halogenated flame retardants which may cause serious environmental pollution, especially the formation of carcinogenic substances polybrominated dibenzo dioxins/furans (PBDD/Fs), during treat process of these plastics. Pyrolysis has been proposed as a viable processing route for recycling the organic compounds in WEEE plastics into fuels and chemical feedstock. However, dehalogenation procedures are also necessary during treat process, because the oils collected in single pyrolysis process may contain numerous halogenated organic compounds, which would detrimentally impact the reuse of these pyrolysis oils. Currently, dehalogenation has become a significant topic in recycling of WEEE plastics by pyrolysis. In order to fulfill the better resource utilization of the WEEE plastics, the compositions, characteristics and dehalogenation methods during the pyrolysis recycling process of WEEE plastics were reviewed in this paper. Dehalogenation and the decomposition or pyrolysis of WEEE plastics can be carried out simultaneously or successively. It could be 'dehalogenating prior to pyrolysing plastics', 'performing dehalogenation and pyrolysis at the same time' or 'pyrolysing plastics first then upgrading pyrolysis oils'. The first strategy essentially is the two-stage pyrolysis with the release of halogen hydrides at low pyrolysis temperature region which is separate from the decomposition of polymer matrixes, thus obtaining halogenated free oil products. The second strategy is the most common method. Zeolite or other type of catalyst can be used in the pyrolysis process for removing organohalogens. The third strategy separate pyrolysis and dehalogenation of WEEE plastics, which can, to some degree, avoid the problem of oil value decline due to the use of catalyst, but obviously, this strategy may increase the cost of

Damage-plasticity model of the host rock in a nuclear waste repository

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Koudelka, Tomáš; Kruis, Jaroslav, E-mail: kruis@fsv.cvut.cz [Department of Mechanics, Faculty of Civil Engineering, Czech Technical University in Prague, Thákurova 7, 166 29 Prague (Czech Republic)

2016-06-08

The paper describes damage-plasticity model for the modelling of the host rock environment of a nuclear waste repository. Radioactive Waste Repository Authority in Czech Republic assumes the repository to be in a granite rock mass which exhibit anisotropic behaviour where the strength in tension is lower than in compression. In order to describe this phenomenon, the damage-plasticity model is formulated with the help of the Drucker-Prager yield criterion which can be set to capture the compression behaviour while the tensile stress states is described with the help of scalar isotropic damage model. The concept of damage-plasticity model was implemented in the SIFEL finite element code and consequently, the code was used for the simulation of the Äspö Pillar Stability Experiment (APSE) which was performed in order to determine yielding strength under various conditions in similar granite rocks as in Czech Republic. The results from the performed analysis are presented and discussed in the paper.

A testing program to evaluate the effects of simulant mixed wastes on plastic transportation packaging components

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nigrey, P.J.; Dickens, T.G.

1997-01-01

Based on regulatory requirements for Type A and B radioactive material packaging, a Testing Program was developed to evaluate the effects of mixed wastes on plastic materials which could be used as liners and seals in transportation containers. The plastics evaluated in this program were butadiene-acrylonitrile copolymer (Nitrile rubber), cross-linked polyethylene, epichlorohydrin, ethylene-propylene rubber (EPDM), fluorocarbons, high-density polyethylene (HDPE), butyl rubber, polypropylene, polytetrafluoroethylene, and styrene-butadiene rubber (SBR). These plastics were first screened in four simulant mixed wastes. The liner materials were screened using specific gravity measurements and seal materials by vapor transport rate (VTR) measurements. For the screening of liner materials, Kel-F, HDPE, and XLPE were found to offer the greatest resistance to the combination of radiation and chemicals. The tests also indicated that while all seal materials passed exposure to the aqueous simulant mixed waste, EPDM and SBR had the lowest VTRs. In the chlorinated hydrocarbon simulant mixed waste, only Viton passed the screening tests. In both the simulant scintillation fluid mixed waste and the ketone mixture waste, none of the seal materials met the screening criteria. Those materials which passed the screening tests were subjected to further comprehensive testing in each of the simulant wastes. The materials were exposed to four different radiation doses followed by exposure to a simulant mixed waste at three temperatures and four different exposure times (7, 14, 28, 180 days). Materials were tested by measuring specific gravity, dimensional, hardness, stress cracking, VTR, compression set, and tensile properties. The second phase of this Testing Program involving the comprehensive testing of plastic liner has been completed and for seal materials is currently in progress

Recycling of polyethylene terephthalate (PET plastic bottle wastes in bituminous asphaltic concrete

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Adebayo Olatunbosun Sojobi

2016-12-01

Full Text Available This research sheds light on the concept of eco-friendly road construction which comprises eco-design, eco-extraction, eco-manufacturing, eco-construction, eco-rehabilitation, eco-maintenance, eco-demolition, and socioeconomic empowerment. It also revealed the challenges being faced in its adoption and the benefits derivable from its application. Furthermore, the effects of recycling PET plastic bottle wastes produced in North Central Nigeria in bituminous asphaltic concrete (BAC used in flexible pavement construction were also evaluated. The mix design consists of 60/70 penetration-grade asphaltic concrete (5%, 68% coarse aggregate, 6% fine aggregate, and 21% filler using the dry process at 170°C. The optimum bitumen content (OBC for conventional BAC was obtained as 4% by weight of total aggregates and filler. Polymer-coated aggregate (PCA-modified BAC seems preferable because it has the potential to utilize more plastic wastes with a higher optimum plastic content (OPC of 16.7% by weight of total aggregates and filler compared to that of 9% by weight of OBC achieved by PMB-BAC. For both PMB- and PCA-modified BAC, an increase in air void, void in mineral aggregate, and Marshall stability were observed. Eco-friendly road construction which recycles PET wastes should be encouraged by government considering its potential environmental and economic benefits.

21 CFR 310.509 - Parenteral drug products in plastic containers.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... 21 Food and Drugs 5 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Parenteral drug products in plastic containers... Parenteral drug products in plastic containers. (a) Any parenteral drug product packaged in a plastic... parenteral drug product for intravenous use in humans that is packaged in a plastic immediate container on or...

Case study: Is the 'catch-all-plastics bin' useful in unlocking the hidden resource potential in the residual waste collection system?

Science.gov (United States)

Kranzinger, Lukas; Schopf, Kerstin; Pomberger, Roland; Punesch, Elisabeth

2017-02-01

Austria's performance in the collection of separated waste is adequate. However, the residual waste still contains substantial amounts of recyclable materials - for example, plastics, paper and board, glass and composite packaging. Plastics (lightweight packaging and similar non-packaging materials) are detected at an average mass content of 13% in residual waste. Despite this huge potential, only 3% of the total amount of residual waste (1,687,000 t y -1 ) is recycled. This implies that most of the recyclable materials contained in the residual waste are destined for thermal recovery and are lost for recycling. This pilot project, commissioned by the Land of Lower Austria, applied a holistic approach, unique in Europe, to the Lower Austrian waste management system. It aims to transfer excess quantities of plastic packaging and non-packaging recyclables from the residual waste system to the separately collected waste system by introducing a so-called 'catch-all-plastics bin'. A quantity flow model was constructed and the results showed a realistic increase in the amount of plastics collected of 33.9 wt%. This equals a calculated excess quantity of 19,638 t y -1 . The increased plastics collection resulted in a positive impact on the climate footprint (CO 2 equivalent) in line with the targets of EU Directive 94/62/EG (Circular Economy Package) and its Amendments. The new collection system involves only moderate additional costs.

Mass, energy and material balances of SRF production process. Part 3: solid recovered fuel produced from municipal solid waste.

Science.gov (United States)

Nasrullah, Muhammad; Vainikka, Pasi; Hannula, Janne; Hurme, Markku; Kärki, Janne

2015-02-01

This is the third and final part of the three-part article written to describe the mass, energy and material balances of the solid recovered fuel production process produced from various types of waste streams through mechanical treatment. This article focused the production of solid recovered fuel from municipal solid waste. The stream of municipal solid waste used here as an input waste material to produce solid recovered fuel is energy waste collected from households of municipality. This article presents the mass, energy and material balances of the solid recovered fuel production process. These balances are based on the proximate as well as the ultimate analysis and the composition determination of various streams of material produced in a solid recovered fuel production plant. All the process streams are sampled and treated according to CEN standard methods for solid recovered fuel. The results of the mass balance of the solid recovered fuel production process showed that 72% of the input waste material was recovered in the form of solid recovered fuel; 2.6% as ferrous metal, 0.4% as non-ferrous metal, 11% was sorted as rejects material, 12% as fine faction and 2% as heavy fraction. The energy balance of the solid recovered fuel production process showed that 86% of the total input energy content of input waste material was recovered in the form of solid recovered fuel. The remaining percentage (14%) of the input energy was split into the streams of reject material, fine fraction and heavy fraction. The material balances of this process showed that mass fraction of paper and cardboard, plastic (soft) and wood recovered in the solid recovered fuel stream was 88%, 85% and 90%, respectively, of their input mass. A high mass fraction of rubber material, plastic (PVC-plastic) and inert (stone/rock and glass particles) was found in the reject material stream. © The Author(s) 2014.

Performance Test on Compression Ignition Engine by Blending Ethanol and Waste Plastic Pyrolysis Oil with Cetane Additive

Science.gov (United States)

Padmanabhan, S.; Ganesan, S.; Jeswin Arputhabalan, J.; Chithrala, Varun; Ganesh Bairavan, P.

2017-05-01

The demand for diesel fuel is higher than that of petrol throughout the world hence seeking alternative to mineral diesel is a natural choice. Alternative fuels should be easily available at lower cost, environment friendly and fulfill energy needs without modifying engine’s operational parameters. Waste to energy is the trend in the selection of alternate fuels. In this work, Waste Plastic Pyrolysis oil (WPPO), Ethanol, Diesel blend with Cetane additive has been attempted as an alternative fuel. A Twin cylinder, Direct Injection engine was used to assess the engine performance and emission characteristics of waste plastic pyrolysis oil with cetane additive. Experimental results of blended plastic fuel and diesel fuel were compared.

Microbial biotechnology addressing the plastic waste disaster.

Science.gov (United States)

Narancic, Tanja; O'Connor, Kevin E

2017-09-01

Oceans are a major source of biodiversity, they provide livelihood, and regulate the global ecosystem by absorbing heat and CO 2 . However, they are highly polluted with plastic waste. We are discussing here microbial biotechnology advances with the view to improve the start and the end of life of biodegradable polymers, which could contribute to the sustainable use of marine and coastal ecosystems (UN Sustainability development goal 14). © 2017 The Authors. Microbial Biotechnology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd and Society for Applied Microbiology.

Conversion of food industrial wastes into bioplastics.

Science.gov (United States)

Yu, P H; Chua, H; Huang, A L; Lo, W; Chen, G Q

1998-01-01

The usage of plastics in packaging and disposable products, and the generation of plastic waste, have been increasing drastically. Broader usage of biodegradable plastics in packaging and disposable products as a solution to environmental problems would heavily depend on further reduction of costs and the discovery of novel biodegradable plastics with improved properties. In the authors' laboratories, various carbohydrates in the growth media, including sucrose, lactic acid, butyric acid, valeric acid, and various combinations of butyric and valeric acids, were utilized as the carbon (c) sources for the production of bioplastics by Alcaligenes eutrophus. As the first step in pursuit of eventual usage of industrial food wastewater as nutrients for microorganisms to synthesize bioplastics, the authors investigated the usage of malt wastes from a beer brewery plant as the C sources for the production of bioplastics by microorganisms. Specific polymer production yield by A. Latus DSM 1124 increased to 70% polymer/cell (g/g) and 32 g/L cell dry wt, using malt wastes as the C source. The results of these experiments indicated that, with the use of different types of food wastes as the C source, different polyhydroxyalkanoate copolymers could be produced with distinct polymer properties.

Toxicity characterization of waste mobile phone plastics.

Science.gov (United States)

Nnorom, I C; Osibanjo, O

2009-01-15

Waste plastic housing units (N=60) of mobile phones (of different models, and brands), were collected and analyzed for lead, cadmium, nickel and silver using atomic absorption spectrophotometry after acid digestion using a 1:1 mixture of H2SO4 and HNO3. The mean (+/-S.D.) and range of the results are 58.3+/-50.4mg/kg (5.0-340mg/kg) for Pb, 69.9+/-145mg/kg (4.6-1005mg/kg) for Cd, 432+/-1905mg/kg (5.0-11,000mg/kg) for Ni, and 403+/-1888mg/kg (5.0-12,500mg/kg) for Ag. Approximately 90% of the results for the various metals were plastic housing if appropriately treated/managed. However, considering the large quantities generated and the present low-end management practices in most developing countries, such as open burning, there appears a genuine concern over the potential for environmental pollution and toxicity to man and the ecology.

Use of Plastic Mulch for Vegetable Production

OpenAIRE

Maughan, Tiffany; Drost, Dan

2016-01-01

Plastic mulches are used commercially for both vegetables and small fruit crops. Vegetable crops well suited for production with plastic mulch are typically high value row crops. This fact sheet describes the advantages, disadvantages, installation, and planting considerations. It includes sources for plastic and equipment.

High density Polyethylene plastic waste treatment with microwave heating pyrolysis method using coconut-shell activated carbon to produce alternative fuels

Science.gov (United States)

Juliastuti, S. R.; Hisbullah, M. I.; Abdillah, M.

2018-03-01

Pyrolysis is a technology that could crack polimer such as plastic waste into alternative fuels. This research uses microwave heating methode, which more efficient than conventional heating methode. The plastic waste used is 200 grams of HDPE, with feed to catalyst weight ratio are 1:1, 0.6:1, 0.4:1. Pyrolysis was run at temperatures of 250, 300, 350, & 400 °C for 15, 30 and 45 min. From the experimental result, the best variable of pyrolysis process with microwave method is at 45 minutes, at 400°C, and 1:1 feed to catalyst weight ratio. Result shows that yield of liquid and gas product is 99.22%; yield of residue is 0.78%; value of liquid product’s composition (cycloparaffin and n-paraffin) is 54.09% and concentration of methane gas is 10.2%.

Replacing fossil based plastic performance products by bio-based plastic products-Technical feasibility.

Science.gov (United States)

van den Oever, Martien; Molenveld, Karin

2017-07-25

Larger scale market introduction of new bio-based products requires a clear advantage regarding sustainability, as well as an adequate techno-economic positioning relative to fossil based products. In a previous paper [Broeren et al., 2016], LCA results per kg and per functionality equivalent of bio-based plastics were presented, together with economic considerations. The present paper discusses the mechanical and thermal properties of a range of commercially available bio-based plastics based on polylactic acid (PLA), cellulose esters, starch and polyamides, and the feasibility of replacing fossil-based counterparts based on performance. The evaluation is approached from an end user perspective. First, potentially suitable bio-based plastics are selected based on manufacturers' specifications in technical data sheets, then a first experimental evaluation is performed on injection moulded ISO specimens, and finally a further selection of plastics is tested on large 50×70cm panels. This technical feasibility study indicates that so far bio-based plastics do not completely match the properties of high performance materials like flame retardant V-0 PC/ABS blends used in electronic devices. The performance gap is being decreased by the development of stereocomplex PLA and hybrid PLA blends with polycarbonate, which offer clearly improved properties with respect to maximum usage temperature and toughness. In addition, several materials meet the V-0 flammability requirements needed in specific durable applications. On the other hand, improving these properties so far has negative consequences for the bio-based content. This study also shows that replacement of bulk polymers like PS is feasible using PLA compounds with a bio-based content as high as 85%. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Assessment of Fire Growth and Mitigation in Submarine Plastic Waste Stowage Compartments

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Ndubizu, Chuka

2000-01-01

This report presents the results of tests to assess the fire growth characteristics and the ease of fire control in the proposed Virginia-class and the Ohio-class submarine plastic waste stowage compartments...

USE MANURE AND ORGANIC WASTE AS PLANTING MEDIA OF SEED POTATOES PRODUCTION

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Meksy Dianawati

2014-02-01

Full Text Available Manure and organic waste could be used as organic media at potato seed production of G1. The goal of this research was to increase production of potato seed G1 by several kinds of manure and organic waste. This research was conducted at plastic house in Lembang, West Java, from June to September 2014. This research used randomized completed block design with two treatment factors and six replications. The first factor was kinds of manure i.e chicken manure and sheep manure. The second factor was kinds of organic waste. Data was analysed by F test and followed by Duncan and correlation test at 95 percent confidence level. The results showed that media of husk waste with chicken and sheep manure has higher tuber weight and number of big-size tuber per plant than one of cocopeat significantly. Media of sheep manure with husk and bamboo waste has highest tuber weight per plant significantly. Number of total tuber was effected by number of smallsized tuber by 84 percent.

Application of fluidization to separate packaging waste plastics.

Science.gov (United States)

Carvalho, M Teresa; Ferreira, Célia; Portela, Antía; Santos, João Tiago

2009-03-01

The objective of the experimental work described in this paper is the study of the separation of PS (polystyrene) from PET (polyethylene terephthalate) and PVC (polyvinyl chloride) from drop-off points using a fluidized bed separator. This is a low-cost process commonly used in the hydro-classification of mineral ores. Firstly, experimental tests were carried out with artificial granulated samples with different grain sizes, types and sources of plastic ("separability tests"). The particle settling velocities were determined under different operating conditions. Then, based on the results, the laboratory tests continued with real mixtures of waste plastics ("separation tests") and the efficiency of the process was evaluated. From a PET-rich mixture, a concentrate of PS with a 75% grade in PS was produced while the underflow was quite clear from PS (grade less than 0.5% in PS).

Experimental investigation on the properties of concrete containing post-consumer plastic waste as coarse aggregate replacement

OpenAIRE

Zasiah TAFHEEM; Rakibul Islam RAKIB; MD. ESHARUHULLAH; S.M. REDUANUL ALAM; Md. MASHFIQUL ISLAM

2018-01-01

The consumption of various forms of plastic has been increased in recent days due to the boost in industrialization and other human activities. Most of the plastic wastes are abandoned and require large landfill area for storage. More importantly, the low biodegradability of plastic poses a serious threat to environment protection issue. Various methods have been followed for the disposal of plastic in an attempt to reduce the negative impact of the plastic on the environment. Recently, vario...

The Use of Chemical Modification of Polymer Waste for Obtaining Polymer Flocculants

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

W.W.Sulkowski; K.Nowak; A.Sulkowska; A.Wolin; ska; S.Malanka; W.M.Baldur; D.Pentak

2007-01-01

1 Results Chemical modification of polymer plastic wastes to useful products can be one of the way of effective waste plastics management (chemical recycling). Chemical modification of polymers and polymer plastic wastes can yield products with suitable physical and chemical properties. In consequence they can be used as polyelectrolytes[1]. The variety of pollutants, universality of various water and sewage treatment technologies, introduction of new water quality improved technologies have caused a gr...

Direct liquefaction of plastics and coprocessing of coal with plastics

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Huffman, G.P.; Feng, Z.; Mahajan, V. [Univ. of Kentucky, Lexington, KY (United States)

1995-12-31

The objectives of this work were to optimize reaction conditions for the direct liquefaction of waste plastics and the coprocessing of coal with waste plastics. In previous work, the direct liquefaction of medium and high density polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PPE), poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET), and a mixed plastic waste, and the coliquefaction of these plastics with coals of three different ranks was studied. The results established that a solid acid catalyst (HZSM-5 zeolite) was highly active for the liquefaction of the plastics alone, typically giving oil yields of 80-95% and total conversions of 90-100% at temperatures of 430-450 {degrees}C. In the coliquefaction experiments, 50:50 mixtures of plastic and coal were used with a tetralin solvent (tetralin:solid = 3:2). Using approximately 1% of the HZSM-5 catalyst and a nanoscale iron catalyst, oil yields of 50-70% and total conversion of 80-90% were typical. In the current year, further investigations were conducted of the liquefaction of PE, PPE, and a commingled waste plastic obtained from the American Plastics Council (APC), and the coprocessing of PE, PPE and the APC plastic with Black Thunder subbituminous coal. Several different catalysts were used in these studies.

Biodegradation of compostable and oxodegradable plastic films by backyard composting and bioaugmentation.

Science.gov (United States)

Quecholac-Piña, Xochitl; García-Rivera, Mariel Anel; Espinosa-Valdemar, Rosa María; Vázquez-Morillas, Alethia; Beltrán-Villavicencio, Margarita; Cisneros-Ramos, Adriana de la Luz

2017-11-01

Plastics are widely used in the production of short-life products, which are discarded producing an accumulation of these materials and problems due to their persistence in the environment and waste management systems. Degradable plastics (compostable, oxodegradable) have been presented as an alternative to decrease the negative effect of plastic waste. In this research, the feasibility of degrading a commercially available compostable film and oxodegradable polyethylene, with and without previous abiotic oxidation, is assessed in a home composting system. Reactors (200 L) were used to degrade the plastic films along with a mixture of organic food waste (50 %), mulch (25 %), and dry leaves (25 %), amended with yeast and a solution of brown sugar to increase the speed of the process. The presence of the plastic film did not affect the composting process, which showed an initial increase in temperature and typical profiles for moisture content, pH, with a final C/N of 17.4. After 57 days, the compostable plastic has decreased its mechanical properties in more than 90 %, while the oxodegradable film did not show significant degradation if it was not previously degraded by UV radiation. The use of these plastics should be assessed against the prevailing waste management system in each city or country. In the case of Mexico, which lacks the infrastructure for industrial composting, home composting could be an option to degrade compostable plastics along organic waste. However, more testing is needed in order to set the optimal parameters of the process.

Combined toxicity of mercury and plastic wastes to crustacean and gastropod inhabiting the waters in Kuwait.

Science.gov (United States)

Bu-Olayan, A H; Thomas, B V

2015-11-01

The present study determined total mercury (T-Hg) in crustacean Portunus pelagicus (blue crab) and mollusc Tapes sulcarius (Furrowed Venus: Cockle) following suspected rise in beach plastic wastes and their effect on marine organisms. Live samples were collected from beaches representing six Kuwait Governorate areas and exposed to toxicity (96hr) and bio accumulation tests for 180 d with inclusion of plastic wastes and environmental conditions simulated in laboratory. Results revealed high T-Hg concentrations in T sulcarius (1.44ng l(-1)) compared to P. pelagicus (1.03ng l(-1)) during winter than summer, with bio accumulation factor (BAF) > 1 labelled these species as hyper-accumulators. Significantly, combination of T-Hg concentrations from plastic wastes and in seawater validated the possibilities of detrimental effects of other marine lives besides deteriorating the aesthetic values of scenic beaches and likelihood of invasive species in such coastal areas.

Method for solidifying powdery radioactive wastes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yasumura, Keijiro; Matsuura, Hiroyuki; Tomita, Toshihide.

1978-01-01

Purpose: To solidify powdery radioactive wastes through polymerization in a vessel at a high impregnation speed with no cloggings in pipes. Method: A drum can is lined with an inner liner layer of a predetermined thickness made of inflammable material such as glass fiber. A plurality of pipes for supplying liquid plastic monomer are provided in adjacent to the upper end face of the inflammable material or inserted between the vessel and the inflammable material. Then powdery radioactive wastes are filled in the vessel and the liquid plastic monomer dissolving therein a polymerization initiator is supplied through the pipes. The liquid plastic monomer impregnates through the inflammable material layer into the radioactive wastes and the plastic monomer is polymerized by the aid of the polymerization initiator after a predetermined of time to produce solidified plastic products of radioactive wastes. (Seki, T.)

Uniform separation of plastic wastes; Sortenreine Trennung von Kunststoffabfaellen

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Eisenmann, R [Hochschule fuer Technik und Wirtschaft des Saarlandes, Saarbruecken (Germany)

1995-04-01

The position of raw material recycling is defined by comparison of different recycling levels. Means and limits of the main applicable methods for separating uniform plastic fractions from mixed wastes are summarized. (orig.) [Deutsch] Durch Vergleich der verschiedenen Recyclingebenen wird der Stellenwert des werkstofflichen Recycling bestimmt. Eine Zusammenfassung der wichtigsten derzeit verfuegbaren Verfahren zur Abtrennung sortenreiner Kunststoff-Fraktionen aus Abfallgemischen zeigt Moeglichkeiten und Grenzen der einzelnen Methoden. (orig.)

Recycling plastic bottles in a creative way

OpenAIRE

Pavlin, Suzana

2016-01-01

Beside other plastic products, plastic bottles represent a true environmental disaster in the last few years. We assume that hardly anyone asks what happens after they drink that last drop of water out of it. Just like most municipal waste, a plastic bottle can be reused, recycled, burned or deposited into landfill. When the Environment Protection Act is not respected, plastic bottle ends up in the nature, very often in the sea, where it decomposes very slowly and has negative influence on th...

Propelling plastics into the circular economy - weeding out the toxics first.

Science.gov (United States)

Leslie, H A; Leonards, P E G; Brandsma, S H; de Boer, J; Jonkers, N

2016-09-01

The Stockholm Convention bans toxic chemicals on its persistent organic pollutants (POPs) list in order to promote cleaner production and prevent POPs accumulation in the global environment. The original 'dirty dozen' set of POPs has been expanded to include some of the brominated diphenyl ether flame retardants (POP-BDEs). In addition to cleaner production, there is an urgent need for increased resource efficiency to address the finite amount of raw materials on Earth. Recycling plastic enhances resource efficiency and is part of the circular economy approach, but how clean are the materials we are recycling? With the help of a new screening method and detailed analyses, we set out to investigate where these largely obsolete BDEs were showing up in Dutch automotive and electronics waste streams, calculate mass flows and determine to what extent they are entering the new product chains. Our study revealed that banned BDEs and other toxic flame retardants are found at high concentrations in certain plastic materials destined for recycling markets. They were also found in a variety of new consumer products, including children's toys. A mass flow analysis showed that 22% of all the POP-BDE in waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) is expected to end up in recycled plastics because these toxic, bioaccumulative and persistent substances are currently not effectively separated out of plastic waste streams. In the automotive sector, this is 14%, while an additional 19% is expected to end up in second-hand parts (reuse). These results raise the issue of delicate trade-offs between consumer safety/cleaner production and resource efficiency. As petroleum intensive materials, plastic products ought to be repaired, reused, remanufactured and recycled, making good use of the 'inner circles' of the circular economy. Keeping hazardous substances - whether they are well known POPs or emerging contaminants - out of products and plastic waste streams could make these

Research and Development of a New Waste Collection Bin to Facilitate Education in Plastic Recycling

Science.gov (United States)

Chow, Cheuk-fai; So, Wing-Mui Winnie; Cheung, Tsz-Yan

2016-01-01

Plastic recycling has been an alternative method for solid waste management apart from landfill and incineration. However, recycling quality is affected when all plastics are discarded into a single recycling bin that increases cross contaminations and operation cost to the recycling industry. Following the engineering design process, a new…

Spatial distribution, input and dispersion of plastic pellets in coastal zones

OpenAIRE

Danilo Balthazar Silva

2016-01-01

The production and the usage of plastic material increases since the decade of 1950. Nowadays, the elevated production rate, the misusing and the waste turned plastic material in an urgent environmental and economic problem. One of the major environmental problems related to this issue is the contamination of marine environments by microplastics. These constitute plastic particles of size between 1 and 5 mm. Microplastics might occur by breaking of larger plastic pieces or as a manufactured p...