Mixed polyester recycling can enable a circular plastic economy with environmental benefits
- National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); BOTTLE Consortium, Golden, CO (United States)
- Amazon, Seattle, WA (United States)
The mixed and varied nature of fossil-based and bio-based plastic waste requires complex and costly separations to enable compatibility with recycling technologies. A circular plastic economy based on mixed polyesters through cleaving ester bonds to produce monomers, while re-utilizing bio-based monomers to produce high-quality sustainable plastics, charts an exciting solution. However, the feasibility of such a circular economy solution remains underexplored. Here, in this study, we conducted a techno-economic analysis and life-cycle assessment of three polyester depolymerization recycling processes-methanolysis, glycolysis, and acid hydrolysis-for a mixed feedstock (polyethylene terephthalate [PET], polylactic acid [PLA], and polybutylene adipate terephthalate [PBAT]). Methanolysis outperforms glycolysis and hydrolysis economically and environmentally due to more efficient downstream separations, generating products with a 31% decrease in selling price and 21%-46% reduction in acidification, carcinogenic toxicity, fossil-fuel depletion, global warming potential, particulate formation, and smog formation compared to conventional polyester manufacturing. This study highlights the viability of a circular plastic economy for mixed polyesters via a single chemical recycling process.
- Research Organization:
- National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), Energy Efficiency Office. Advanced Materials & Manufacturing Technologies Office (AMMTO); USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), Office of Sustainable Transportation. Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO)
- Grant/Contract Number:
- AC36-08GO28308
- OSTI ID:
- 2491422
- Report Number(s):
- NREL/JA--5100-87422
- Journal Information:
- One Earth, Journal Name: One Earth Journal Issue: 12 Vol. 7; ISSN 2590-3322
- Publisher:
- Cell PressCopyright Statement
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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