Life Cycle Assessment of Poly(Lactic Acid) (PLA): Comparison Between Chemical Recycling, Mechanical Recycling and Composting

Andrade, Marina Fernandes Cosate de; Souza, Patrícia Moraes Sinohara; Cavalett, Otávio; Morales, Ana Rita

doi:10.1007/s10924-016-0787-2

Cited by 169 publications

(92 citation statements)

References 28 publications

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“…Lastly, there are some concerns regarding the end-of-life scenarios for this polymer, since they play a very important role on the environmental impact of PLA. Some studies, such as those conducted by Piemonte [11], Cosate de Andrade et al [12] and Rossi et al [13] point out that composting is not necessarily the best alternative in the case of PLA, suggesting that mechanical recycling might be a more interesting alternative. This is especially important in the commercial grades used in packaging applications, since they degrade at a slower rate than the accumulation of wastes [14][15][16].…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of Aging and Different Mechanical Recycling Processes on the Structure and Properties of Poly(lactic acid)-clay Nanocomposites

et al. 2017

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confidence: 99%

Effects of Aging and Different Mechanical Recycling Processes on the Structure and Properties of Poly(lactic acid)-clay Nanocomposites

et al. 2017

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“…It is thought that small molecules formed during biodegradation are less harmful to the environment than are microplastics, but they may add to the atmospheric burden of greenhouse gases (GHG), albeit that, on the basis of a lifecycle analysis, it was deduced that the GHG emissions are lower for PLA production than for petroleum-based plastics. 39 It has been concluded that, taken as part of a combined strategy of 'reduce, reuse, recycle', the implementation of biodegradable polymers could usefully help to reduce the quantity of plastic pollution in the environment; however, any significant substitution of conventional plastics by them will require further advances in R&D. 14 There is the further issue of matching the specific properties of a petroleum-derived plastic with those of a 'biological' alternative that is intended to replace it. For example, in an article published in Chemistry World, it is argued that it is impossible to replace polyester and polyamide completely with natural fibres, because it is very difficult to replicate those same properties that make an item of clothing able to withstand the elements and also to make it biodegradable under the same conditions.…”

Section: Bioplasticsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Solving the plastic problem: From cradle to grave, to reincarnation

Rhodes¹

2019

Science Progress

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Plastic packaging accounts for 36% of all plastics made, but amounts to 47% of all plastic waste; 90% of all plastic items are used once and then discarded, which corresponds to around 50% of the total mass of plastics manufactured. Evidence for the ubiquity of microplastic pollution is accumulating rapidly, and wherever such material is sought, it seems to be found. Thus, microplastics have been identified in Arctic ice, the air, food and drinking water, soils, rivers, aquifers, remote maintain regions, glaciers, the oceans and ocean sediments, including waters and deep sea sediments around Antarctica, and within the deepest marine trenches of the Earth. They have also been detected in the bodies of animals, including humans, and as being passed along the hierarchy of food chains, up to marine top predators. Evidence has also been presented that microplastics are able to cross different life stages of mosquito that use different habitats -larva (feeding) to pupa (non-feeding) to adult terrestrial (flying) -and therefore can be spread from aquatic systems by flying insects. The so-called 'missing plastic problem' appears to be, in part, due to limitations in sampling methods, that is, many of the very small microplastic particles may simply escape capture in the trawl nets that are typically employed to collect them, but have been evidenced in grab-sampling experiments. Moreover, it is simply not possible to measure entirely through the vast, oceanic volumes of the oceans. It can, however, be concluded with some confidence that the majority of the plastic is not located at the sea surface, and indeed, several different sinks have been proposed for microplastics, including the sea floor and sediments, the ocean column itself, ice sheets, glaciers and soils. The treatment of land with sewage sludge is also thought to make a significant contribution of microplastics to soil. A substantial amount of airborne microparticulate pollution is created by the abrasion of tyres on road surfaces (and other 'non-exhaust' sources), meaning that even electric vehicles are not 'clean' in this regard, despite their elimination of tailpipe PM 2.5 and PM 10 emissions. The emergence of nanoplastics in the environment poses a new set of potential threats, although any impacts on human health are not yet known, save, as indicated from model studies. While improved design, manufacture, collection, reuse, repurposing and reprocessing/recycling of plastic items are necessary, overwhelmingly, a Article Rhodes 219 curbing in the use of plastic materials in the first place is demanded, particularly from single-use packaging. However, plastic pollution is just one element in the overall matrix of a changing climate ('the world's woes') and must be addressed as part of an integrated consideration of how we use all resources, fossil and otherwise, and the need to change our expectations, goals and lifestyles. In this effort, the role of deglobalisation/relocalisation may prove critical: thus, food and other necessities might be produced more on...

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“…Mechanical recycling, the re-processing of materials, generally by melting, is generally described as one of the most costefficient and eco-friendly ways to revalorize End-of-Life (EoL) products (Cosate de Andrade et al, 2016;Gundupalli et al, 2017;WRAP, 2008). However, it meets several strong limitations, as management and collection are complex.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

MIR spectral characterization of plastic to enable discrimination in an industrial recycling context: II. Specific case of polyolefins

et al. 2019

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Sorting at industrial scale is required to perform mechanical recycling of plastics in order to obtain properties that could be competitive with virgin polymers. As a matter of fact, the most part of the various types of plastic waste are not miscible and even compatible. Mid-Infrared (MIR) HyperSpectral Imagery (HSI) is viewed as one of the solutions to the problem of black plastic sorting. Many Waste of Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) plastics are black. Nowadays, these materials are difficult to sort at an industrial scale because the main used pigment to produce this color, carbon black, masks the Near-Infrared (NIR) spectra of polymers, the currently most used technology for acute sorting in industrial conditions. In this study, laboratory Fourier-Transform Infrared (FTIR) in Attenuated Total Reflection mode (ATR) has been used as a theoretical toolbox based on physical chemistry to help building an automated HSI discrimination despite its limited conditions, especially shorter wavelengths ranges. Weaker resolution and very short acquisition times are other HSI limitations. Helping fast and exhaustive laboratory characterizations of polymeric waste stocks is the other goal of this study. This study focusses on polyolefins as they represent the second biggest fraction of WEEE plastics (WEEP) after styrenics and since little quantities mixed to styrenics during mechanical recycling can lead to important decrease in mechanical properties. Twelve references were thus evaluated and compared between each other and with real waste samples to highlight spectral elements, which can enable differentiation. Charts compiling the signals of discussed polymers were built aiming to the same objective.

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Life Cycle Assessment of Poly(Lactic Acid) (PLA): Comparison Between Chemical Recycling, Mechanical Recycling and Composting

Cited by 169 publications

References 28 publications

Effects of Aging and Different Mechanical Recycling Processes on the Structure and Properties of Poly(lactic acid)-clay Nanocomposites

Effects of Aging and Different Mechanical Recycling Processes on the Structure and Properties of Poly(lactic acid)-clay Nanocomposites

Solving the plastic problem: From cradle to grave, to reincarnation

MIR spectral characterization of plastic to enable discrimination in an industrial recycling context: II. Specific case of polyolefins

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