Cascading Polymer Macro-Debris Upcycling and Microparticle Removal as an Effective Life Cycle Plastic Pollution Mitigation Strategy

Abstract

Plastic pollution caused by material losses and their subsequent chemical emissions is pervasive in the natural environment and varies with age. Cascading the life cycles of plastic losses with solid waste reclamation via re-manufacturing virgin polymers or producing fuels and energy may extend resource availability while minimizing waste generation and environmental exposure. Here, we systematically investigate this cascaded plastic waste processing over other waste end-of-life management pathways by analyzing the environmental consequences of plastic losses across the entire life cycle. Plastic losses can form volatile organic chemicals via photo-degradation and pose non-negligible global warming, ecotoxicity, and air pollution effects that worsen by at least 189% in the long run. These environmental burdens increase by above 9.96% under high ultraviolet radiation levels and participation rates, which facilitate plastic particulate compartment transport and degradation. Cascaded plastic waste processing aided by fast pyrolysis upcycling technologies can effectively cut environmental losses and outperform landfills and incineration in reducing 23.35% ozone formation and 19.91% air pollution by offsetting the external monomer manufacturing and fuels and energy production while saving at least 25.75% fossil fuels.

Microplastic Human Dietary Uptake from 1990 to 2018 Grew across 109 Major Developing and Industrialized Countries but Can Be Halved by Plastic Debris Removal

“…The MP retained each year includes all MPs generated from the aforementioned plastic debris input sources, as given in eq . The MP compartment transport model used in our previous paper is employed to deduce the compartment transport parameters ( b n ) from other compartments to water . In the first year, the concentrations of plastic debris and aquatic MP input are equal to the mismanaged plastic input to freshwater and ocean and the derived MP generation, as provided in eqs and , respectively.…”

“…By practices, wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) are proven technologically feasible in aqueous MP removal, and existing practices have shown over 90% removal efficiency . The ideal case is to remove more than 99% of aquatic polymeric debris under the global treaty on plastic pollution mitigation . By taking this plastic waste removal measure, the MP human uptake will decrease by 53–60%, which helps alleviate the potential public health risks due to plastic particle ingestion and inhalation.…”

“…The MP compartment transport model used in our previous paper is employed to deduce the compartment transport parameters ( b n ) from other compartments to water. 10 In the first year, the concentrations of plastic debris and aquatic MP input are equal to the mismanaged plastic input to freshwater and ocean and the derived MP generation, as provided in eqs 21 and 22 , respectively. Eq 23 assesses the airborne MP concentration ( CAA n ( t )) from aquatic sources calculated by the compartment transport parameters b n and e n .…”

“… 64 The ideal case is to remove more than 99% of aquatic polymeric debris under the global treaty on plastic pollution mitigation. 10 By taking this plastic waste removal measure, the MP human uptake will decrease by 53–60%, which helps alleviate the potential public health risks due to plastic particle ingestion and inhalation. However, effective MP removal practices, including WWTP, are currently not widely applied in some developing countries 65 and their lacking efforts on water quality control can cause overestimates of the effectiveness of MP uptake reduction.…”

“…These plastic particulates can contaminate water systems, counteracting with SDG 6 (Clean Water and Sanitation). MPs in the freshwater and saltwater environments are then dispersed via water currents or air transmission and penetrate into the food chain. Organisms in water, especially phytoplankton or zooplankton, the prey sizes of which mimic MPs, ingest these plastic particulates from water, air, and prey .…”