Implications of the Circular Economy in the Context of Plastic Recycling: The Case Study of Opaque PET
The use of recycled opaque PET (r-O-PET, with TiO<sub>2</sub>) as a reinforcement for the recycled polypropylene matrix (r-PP) was evaluated through the life cycle assessment according to different scenarios corresponding to two different recycled blends and considered two virgin raw pla...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2022-10-01
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| Series: | Polymers |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4360/14/21/4639 |
| _version_ | 1797466663777468416 |
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| author | Noel León Albiter Orlando Santana Pérez Magali Klotz Kishore Ganesan Félix Carrasco Sylvie Dagréou Maria Lluïsa Maspoch César Valderrama |
| author_facet | Noel León Albiter Orlando Santana Pérez Magali Klotz Kishore Ganesan Félix Carrasco Sylvie Dagréou Maria Lluïsa Maspoch César Valderrama |
| author_sort | Noel León Albiter |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The use of recycled opaque PET (r-O-PET, with TiO<sub>2</sub>) as a reinforcement for the recycled polypropylene matrix (r-PP) was evaluated through the life cycle assessment according to different scenarios corresponding to two different recycled blends and considered two virgin raw plastic material as reference materials when comparing the environmental performance of the proposed treatments. The results indicate that the environmental performance was quite different for each blend, since the additional extrusion process required in scenario 2 (blend with TiO<sub>2</sub>) causes all impact categories analysed to report higher values when compared with scenario 1 (blend without TiO<sub>2</sub>). The stage that contributes the most corresponds to the different extrusion processes included in both recycling blends, representing at least 80% of the total for global warming. Compared with virgin raw materials, the blend with TiO<sub>2</sub> showed better performance in all the impact categories analysed in comparison with virgin PA66, while the blend without TiO<sub>2</sub> showed the opposite trend when compared to PP. Furthermore, the fact that the upcycling treatment was carried out on a pilot scale provides room for improvement when implemented on a full scale. It is worth noting the high energy consumption of the treatment processes and their associated cost, in addition to the market cost of virgin raw materials, however, when considering the environmental cost of raw materials, it is observed that when substituting virgin materials PP and PA66 for the blends evaluated in this study results in a reduction of the environmental price of up to 2.5 times. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T18:42:54Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-4d3d6f78b135459a8d525786528fdaa9 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2073-4360 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T18:42:54Z |
| publishDate | 2022-10-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Polymers |
| spelling | doaj.art-4d3d6f78b135459a8d525786528fdaa92023-11-24T06:29:28ZengMDPI AGPolymers2073-43602022-10-011421463910.3390/polym14214639Implications of the Circular Economy in the Context of Plastic Recycling: The Case Study of Opaque PETNoel León Albiter0Orlando Santana Pérez1Magali Klotz2Kishore Ganesan3Félix Carrasco4Sylvie Dagréou5Maria Lluïsa Maspoch6César Valderrama7Centre Català del Plàstic (CCP)—Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya Barcelona Tech (EEBE-UPC), ePLASCOM, Avda, Eduard Maristany, 14, 08019 Barcelona, SpainCentre Català del Plàstic (CCP)—Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya Barcelona Tech (EEBE-UPC), ePLASCOM, Avda, Eduard Maristany, 14, 08019 Barcelona, SpainCentre Català del Plàstic (CCP)—Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya Barcelona Tech (EEBE-UPC), ePLASCOM, Avda, Eduard Maristany, 14, 08019 Barcelona, SpainChemical Engineering Department, UPC-BarcelonaTECH, C/Eduard Maristany, 10-14 (Campus Diagonal-Besòs), 08019 Barcelona, SpainDepartment of Chemical Engineering, Universitat de Girona (UdG), C/Maria Aurèlia Capmany 61, 17003 Girona, SpainCNRS, Institut Des Sciences Analytiques et de Physico-Chimie Pour l’Environnement et les Matériaux (IPREM), Université de Pau et des Pays de l’Adour, E2S UPPA, UMR5254, 64053 Pau, FranceCentre Català del Plàstic (CCP)—Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya Barcelona Tech (EEBE-UPC), ePLASCOM, Avda, Eduard Maristany, 14, 08019 Barcelona, SpainChemical Engineering Department, UPC-BarcelonaTECH, C/Eduard Maristany, 10-14 (Campus Diagonal-Besòs), 08019 Barcelona, SpainThe use of recycled opaque PET (r-O-PET, with TiO<sub>2</sub>) as a reinforcement for the recycled polypropylene matrix (r-PP) was evaluated through the life cycle assessment according to different scenarios corresponding to two different recycled blends and considered two virgin raw plastic material as reference materials when comparing the environmental performance of the proposed treatments. The results indicate that the environmental performance was quite different for each blend, since the additional extrusion process required in scenario 2 (blend with TiO<sub>2</sub>) causes all impact categories analysed to report higher values when compared with scenario 1 (blend without TiO<sub>2</sub>). The stage that contributes the most corresponds to the different extrusion processes included in both recycling blends, representing at least 80% of the total for global warming. Compared with virgin raw materials, the blend with TiO<sub>2</sub> showed better performance in all the impact categories analysed in comparison with virgin PA66, while the blend without TiO<sub>2</sub> showed the opposite trend when compared to PP. Furthermore, the fact that the upcycling treatment was carried out on a pilot scale provides room for improvement when implemented on a full scale. It is worth noting the high energy consumption of the treatment processes and their associated cost, in addition to the market cost of virgin raw materials, however, when considering the environmental cost of raw materials, it is observed that when substituting virgin materials PP and PA66 for the blends evaluated in this study results in a reduction of the environmental price of up to 2.5 times.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4360/14/21/4639circular economyupcyclingsustainabilitypolyblendsrPPPA66 |
| spellingShingle | Noel León Albiter Orlando Santana Pérez Magali Klotz Kishore Ganesan Félix Carrasco Sylvie Dagréou Maria Lluïsa Maspoch César Valderrama Implications of the Circular Economy in the Context of Plastic Recycling: The Case Study of Opaque PET Polymers circular economy upcycling sustainability polyblends rPP PA66 |
| title | Implications of the Circular Economy in the Context of Plastic Recycling: The Case Study of Opaque PET |
| title_full | Implications of the Circular Economy in the Context of Plastic Recycling: The Case Study of Opaque PET |
| title_fullStr | Implications of the Circular Economy in the Context of Plastic Recycling: The Case Study of Opaque PET |
| title_full_unstemmed | Implications of the Circular Economy in the Context of Plastic Recycling: The Case Study of Opaque PET |
| title_short | Implications of the Circular Economy in the Context of Plastic Recycling: The Case Study of Opaque PET |
| title_sort | implications of the circular economy in the context of plastic recycling the case study of opaque pet |
| topic | circular economy upcycling sustainability polyblends rPP PA66 |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4360/14/21/4639 |
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