Chemical Recycling of Plastic Waste: Comparative Evaluation of Environmental and Economic Performances of Gasification- and Incineration-based Treatment for Lightweight Packaging Waste

Abstract

Chemical recycling (CR) – in enabling the use of plastic waste back as secondary carbon feedstock for production – could play a complementary role to mechanical recycling in supporting the transformation from a linear to a circular carbon economy. To date, research has predominantly focused on assessing technological aspects associated with CR of pure plastic waste streams. Little is known about its potential for treating low-quality and mixed plastic waste fractions which are unsuitable for conventional recycling and are currently incinerated. To address this gap, this investigation utilizes an integrated approach comprising of life cycle assessment and techno-economic analysis to evaluate the environmental and economic performance of CR of lightweight packaging waste via waste gasification compared to direct and indirect incineration in Germany. Results show that CR can contribute significantly – irrespective of the energy mix – to reducing climate change, terrestrial acidification, and fossil resource scarcity. In terms of economic performance, findings suggest that while CR requires higher capital investment, a multi-pronged approach which encompasses upscaling, waiver of carbon dioxide certificate costs, and price premium for CR products could increase profitability of CR to incineration. This study provides empirical support for the potential contribution of CR to complement existing strategies to combat the plastic waste challenge, and insights into market conditions which could promote its economic attractiveness. Additionally, it provides comprehensive inventory data for conventional and alternative waste treatment plants for lightweight packaging waste to inform future research on systemic assessment of CR technologies and their contributions to a circular economy.

A consequential approach to life cycle sustainability assessment with an agent‐based model to determine the potential contribution of chemical recycling to UN Sustainable Development Goals

“…Environmental sustainability is assessed based on Voss et al. (2022), Keller et al. (2020), and Meys et al.…”

“…However, to date, CR literature-with its predominant focus on evaluating the technical applicability of CR technologies (Ragaert et al, 2017;Solis & Silveira, 2020;Thiounn & Smith, 2020)-provides limited insights to support a systemic evaluation of its potential impacts and contribution to environmental, economic, and social sustainability. To address this gap, current life cycle assessments (LCA) for CR (de Andrade et al, 2016;Keller et al, 2020;Voss et al, 2022;Zamani et al, 2015) can provide a methodological basis, but need to be further developed regarding four central shortcomings:…”

Towards a Structured Framework for Techno‐Economic Analyses of Chemical Recycling Technologies

“…Three aspects are recommended for consideration: Generates additional insights and improvements to the technology via diffusion and application at various sites -Waste origin: This is closely connected to the geographical scope of the study and supports decisions about reference waste treatment processes and reference chemical production processes for benchmarking. -Waste quantity: This is closely linked to the definition of the functional unit (i.e., the quantitative performance of the investigated CR system) and assumptions regarding the dimensioning of a CR plant that can substantially impact its profitability [3,19]. -Waste characteristics: A comprehensive and structured analysis of material and fuel characteristics facilitates the traceability of the TEA, in addition to delivering valuable data for potential computerized process modeling in the inventory development stage.…”

“…Waste quantity : This is closely linked to the definition of the functional unit (i.e., the quantitative performance of the investigated CR system) and assumptions regarding the dimensioning of a CR plant that can substantially impact its profitability 3, 19.…”

A Feasibility Study to Minimize the Carbon Footprint of Cast Iron Production While Maintaining the Technical Requirements

“…Nonetheless, relevant approaches have been developed by studies addressing material recycling in other industries. For example, the recent studies of [24,25] assess the recovery processes of alumina from aluminum dross from the economic and environmental perspectives, while [26][27][28][29] conducted various TEE assessments on plastic recycling.…”