Quantification and evaluation of plastic waste in the United States

Milbrandt, Anelia; Coney, Kamyria; Badgett, Alex; Beckham, Gregg T.

doi:10.1016/j.resconrec.2022.106363

Cited by 72 publications

(52 citation statements)

References 23 publications

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“…In the United States, a total of 32.4 MMT/year of plastic waste was generated, according to U.S. EPA data, though it is worth mentioning that another study using a “bottom-up” approach determined a number above 40 MMT/year . Of this 32.4 MMT/year, about 41% (13.2 MMT) of total plastic waste generated was found in the “containers and packaging” EOL product category, followed by “durable goods” (38%, 12.4 MMT) and “non-durable goods” (21%, 6.8 MMT) categories.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 87%

“…Looking at the EOL supply chain infrastructure, there are 367 65 −532 16 MRFs, 1269 16 −1776 40 active landfills and 75 16 − 85 40 municipal solid waste incinerators facilities in the United States. A minimum of 69 PET and polyolefin reclaimers exist in the United States 66 with most located in the South and Midwest regions.…”

Section: ■ Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In the United States, a total of 32.4 MMT/year of plastic waste was generated, according to U.S. EPA data, 16 though it is worth mentioning that another study using a "bottom-up" approach determined a number above 40 MMT/year. 40 Of this 32.4 MMT/year, about 41% (13.2 MMT) of total plastic waste generated was found in the "containers and packaging" EOL product category, followed by "durable goods" (38%, 12.4 MMT) and "non-durable goods" (21%, 6.8 MMT) categories. The share of PET and polyolefin plastic waste in the total U.S. plastic waste generated was 79% (25.7 MMT), with most of it dominated by LDPE/LLDPE (24%, 7.8 MMT) followed by PP (23%, 7.4 MMT), HDPE (18%, 5.7 MMT), and PET (15%, 4.8 MMT).…”

Section: Baseline Materials Flow System Of Pet and Polyolefinmentioning

confidence: 97%

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Material Flow Analysis and Life Cycle Assessment of Polyethylene Terephthalate and Polyolefin Plastics Supply Chains in the United States

Chaudhari

Johnson

Reck

et al. 2022

ACS Sustainable Chem. Eng.

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Plastics are useful and beneficial materials that contribute to an improved quality of life, yet they generate significant solid wastes and emissions and consume significant energy resources. Systems analysis is incomplete on current linear production systems of plastics supply chains and their associated processes. Our study combines material flow and life cycle assessment data sets of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and the main polyolefin polymers in the United States, comprising over 70% of plastics flows. This study estimates the total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and energy consumption of these supply chains, including transportation and end-of-life processes, lacking in prior studies. We calculate annual GHG emissions and energy consumption of these plastic supply chains to be 101 MMT CO2-eq and 3248 PJ in 2019, respectively. The GHG emissions of these supply chains represented 1.5% of the total U.S. emissions and 5% of the total U.S. industry-related GHG emissions. The total energy consumption of these supply chains represented 3.1% of the total U.S. energy consumption in 2019. Transportation of PET and polyolefin plastic materials contributes 5% and 2% to the total supply chain GHG emissions and energy consumption, respectively. This baseline study provides a benchmark and enables a comparison to future circular production systems for plastics in the United States.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 87%

Section: ■ Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Baseline Materials Flow System Of Pet and Polyolefinmentioning

confidence: 97%

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Material Flow Analysis and Life Cycle Assessment of Polyethylene Terephthalate and Polyolefin Plastics Supply Chains in the United States

Chaudhari

Johnson

Reck

et al. 2022

ACS Sustainable Chem. Eng.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…lastics have revolutionized modern life because of their low cost and utility in a vast range of applications. However, the accumulation of synthetic polymers in landfills and the environment has created a global pollution crisis that the existing reclamation and recycling infrastructure is not equipped to resolve (1)(2)(3). This challenge has accelerated investigation into new chemical recycling technologies that could enable the conversion of plastic waste streams into valuable chemicals and support the creation of a circular plastics economy (3)(4)(5)(6)(7)(8)(9)(10)(11).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Mixed plastics waste valorization through tandem chemical oxidation and biological funneling

Sullivan

Werner

Ramirez

et al. 2022

Science

Self Cite

232

179

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Mixed plastics waste represents an abundant and largely untapped feedstock for the production of valuable products. The chemical diversity and complexity of these materials, however, present major barriers to realizing this opportunity. In this work, we show that metal-catalyzed autoxidation depolymerizes comingled polymers into a mixture of oxygenated small molecules that are advantaged substrates for biological conversion. We engineer a robust soil bacterium, Pseudomonas putida , to funnel these oxygenated compounds into a single exemplary chemical product, either β-ketoadipate or polyhydroxyalkanoates. This hybrid process establishes a strategy for the selective conversion of mixed plastics waste into useful chemical products.

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“…Globally, only around 16% of plastic waste is recycled . In the United States, recycling rates for poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET), high-density PE (HDPE), PP, and low-density/linear-low-density PE (LDPE/LLDPE) in 2019 were 15, 10, 3, and 2% respectively, and landfill rates were 76, 82, 88, and 88%, respectively . These high landfill rates contribute to significant economic losses, with an estimated market value of $7.2 billion (2019) .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Role of Bifunctional Ru/Acid Catalysts in the Selective Hydrocracking of Polyethylene and Polypropylene Waste to Liquid Hydrocarbons

et al. 2022

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Hydrogenolysis of C–C bonds over Ru-based catalysts has emerged as a deconstruction strategy to convert single-use polyolefin waste to liquid alkanes at relatively mild conditions, but this approach exhibits limitations, including methane formation resulting from terminal C–C bond scission. In this study, a variety of catalysts were investigated for the reductive deconstruction of polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP) to identify supports that promote nonterminal C–C bond scission. We found that Ru nanoparticles supported on Brønsted-acidic zeolites with the faujasite (FAU) and Beta (BEA) topologies were highly active for the cleavage of C–C bonds in PE and PP, exhibiting improved liquid yields and suppressed methane formation. For the deconstruction of PE, supporting ruthenium nanoparticles (5 wt %) on FAU increased the yields of liquid alkanes to 67% compared to 33% over an inert silica support (5 wt % Ru/SiO2) at 200 °C, 16 h, under 30 bar of H2. A dramatic selectivity enhancement toward liquid hydrocarbons was also observed for PP over Ru/FAU and Ru/BEA compared to Ru/SiO2. To understand the origin of this selectivity improvement, a combination of ex situ and operando characterization techniques were used to reveal that both catalyst structure and acidity play key roles in PE and PP conversion. Operando X-ray absorption spectroscopy studies with model polyolefins over Ru-supported catalysts with varying acidity levels revealed that the local chemical environment of Ru[0] during the reaction is consistent across multiple acidic supports, although the onset of reduction during synthesis of the nanoparticles varies across different supports. These results, combined with reactivity data, demonstrate the importance of the acid-noble metal cooperativity in promoting selective C–C bond scission toward liquid alkanes that shifts the mechanism from hydrogenolysis to ideal hydrocracking.

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Quantification and evaluation of plastic waste in the United States

Cited by 72 publications

References 23 publications

Material Flow Analysis and Life Cycle Assessment of Polyethylene Terephthalate and Polyolefin Plastics Supply Chains in the United States

Material Flow Analysis and Life Cycle Assessment of Polyethylene Terephthalate and Polyolefin Plastics Supply Chains in the United States

Mixed plastics waste valorization through tandem chemical oxidation and biological funneling

Role of Bifunctional Ru/Acid Catalysts in the Selective Hydrocracking of Polyethylene and Polypropylene Waste to Liquid Hydrocarbons

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