Wax from Pyrolysis of Waste Plastics as a Potential Source of Phase Change Material for Thermal Energy Storage

Over the past half-century, plastic consumption has grown rapidly due to its versatility, low cost, and unrivaled functional properties. Among the diff erent implemented strategies for recycling waste plastics, pyrolysis is deemed the most economical option. Currently, the wax obtained from the pyrolysis of waste plastics is mainly used as a feedstock to manufacture chemicals and fuels or added to asphalt for pavement construction, with no other applications of wax being reported. Herein, the thermal pyrolysis of three common waste polyolefin plastics: high-density polyethylene(HDPE), low-density polyethylene(LDPE), and polypropylene(PP), was conducted at 450 ℃. The waste plastics-derived waxes were characterized and studied for a potential new application: phase change materials(PCMs) for thermal energy storage(TES). Gas chromatography–mass spectrometry analysis showed that paraffin makes up most of the composition of HDPE and LDPE waxes, whereas PP wax contains a mixture of naphthene, isoparaffin, olefin, and paraffin. Diff erential scanning calorimetry(DSC) analysis indicated that HDPE and LDPE waxes have a peak melting temperature of 33.8 ℃ and 40.3 ℃, with a relatively high latent heat of 103.2 J/g and 88.3 J/g, respectively, whereas the PP wax was found to have almost negligible latent heat. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and DSC results revealed good chemical and thermal stability of HDPE and LDPE waxes after 100 cycles of thermal cycling. Performance evaluation of the waxes was also conducted using a thermal storage pad to understand their thermoregulation characteristics for TES applications.

Disposal of Waste Plastics With Traditional Coking Process

A new technology for treating waste plastics （WP） by traditional coking process was introduced. With a thermo-balance and a 10 g atmospheric fixed bed reactor, the thermo-gravimetric behavior and product were studied during co-coking of WP with blended coal. And then, using a coke-oven with capacity of 200 kg, the characteristics of products were assessed. The results showed that there is an overlapping temperature range （200-550℃ ） of decomposition between WP and blended coal, and the pyrolysis synergism index η and synergism strength β proposed could evaluate the synergism between them. 1% of added WP results in the maximum synergism in all series experiments. The increase of added WP decreases the synergism. Tar yield in co-coking is increased with the decrease of water yield for synergism. Moreover, it was also found that the quality indexes of coke, such as M10, M40, CRI and CSR, are degraded with the increase of WP until 4%, though the quality of tar and gas is optimized for WP addition.

Techno-Economic Evaluation of Thermal and Catalytic Pyrolysis Plants for the Conversion of Heterogeneous Waste Plastics to Liquid Fuels in Nigeria

Techno-economic potentials of thermal and catalytic pyrolysis plants for the conversion of waste plastics to liquid fuels have been widely studied, but it is not obvious which of the two plants is more profitable, as the existing studies used different assumptions and cost bases in their analyses, thereby making it difficult to compare the economic potentials of the two plants. In this study, industrial-scale thermal and catalytic waste plastics pyrolysis plants were designed and economically analyzed using ASPEN PLUS. Amorphous silica-alumina was considered the optimum catalyst, with 3:1 feed to catalyst ratio. Based on 20,000 tons/year of feed and 20% interest rate, the catalytic plant, having a net present value (NPV) of &#83582208 million, was found to be economically less attractive than the thermal plant, having the NPV of &#83582426.4 million. On the contrary, sensitivity analyses of the two plants at a feed rate of 50,000 tons/year gave rise to a slightly higher NPV for the catalytic plant (&#83589861 million) than the thermal plant having NPV of &#83589838 million, thereby making the former more economically attractive for processing large amounts of waste plastics into liquid fuels. Consequently, as the catalytic plant showed a better scale economy and would produce higher quality liquid fuels than the thermal plant, it is recommended for commercialization in Nigeria.

Three-stage pyrolysis–steam reforming–water gas shift processing of household,commercial and industrial waste plastics for hydrogen production

Five common single plastics and nine different household,commercial and industrial waste plastics were processed using a three-stage(i)pyrolysis,(ii)catalytic steam reforming and(iii)water gas shift reaction system to produce hydrogen.Pyrolysis of plastics produces a range of different hydrocarbon species which are subsequently catalytically steam reformed to produce H_(2)and CO and then undergo water gas shift reaction to produce further H_(2).The process mimics the commercial process for hydrogen production from natural gas.Processing of the single polyalkene plastics(high-density polyethylene(HDPE),low-density polyethylene(LDPE),and polypropylene(PP))produced similar H_(2)yields between 115 mmol and 120 mmol per gram plastic.Even though PS produced an aromatic product slate from the pyrolysis stage,further stages of reforming and water gas shift reaction produced a gas yield and composition similar to that of the polyalkene plastics(115 mmol H_(2)per gram plastic).PET gave significantly lower H_(2)yield(41 mmol per gram plastic)due to the formation of mainly CO,CO_(2)and organic acids from the pyrolysis stage which were not conducive to further reforming and water gas shift reaction.A mixture of the single plastics typical of that found in municipal solid waste produced a H_(2)yield of 102 mmol per gram plastic.Knowing the gas yields and composition from the single plastics enabled an estimation of the yields from a simulated waste plastic mixture and a‘real-world’waste plastic mixture to be determined.The different household,commercial and industrial waste plastic mixtures produced H_(2)yields between 70 mmol and 107 mmol per gram plastic.The H_(2)yield and gas composition from the single waste plastics gave an indication of the type of plastics in the mixed waste plastic samples.

Microwave-assisted pyrolysis of waste plastics for their resource reuse:A technical review

Rapidly increasing plastics have been used and finally become wastes,resulting in increasing pressures to the environment.Microwave-assisted pyrolysis is a promising technology for converting organic wastes as waste plastics into value-added products.At present,many works on microwave-assisted pyrolysis of plastics have been published,but the achievements,challenges,and future directions of microwave-assisted pyrolysis of waste plastics have not been well summarized and discussed.In this work,the principle of microwave-assisted pyrolysis technology is introduced.Then,the progress of its application to recover useful products from plastics is reviewed and discussed in terms of key parameters including microwave power,pyrolysis temperature,reaction time,types of catalyst,microwave absorbents and feedstock mixing ratio.Especially,the yields and properties of the produced oil,gas and char are correlated with the process parameters.Finally,the existing challenges and prospects of disposal/reuse of waste plastics by microwave-assisted pyrolysis technology are discussed.

Impact of Plastic Waste on the Human Health in Low-Income Countries: A Systematic Review

Background: Plastic pollution is the accumulation of waste composed of plastic and its derivatives all over the environment. Whether in the form of visible garbage or microparticles, as it slowly degrades, plastic pollution poses significant threats to terrestrial and aquatic habitats and the wildlife that call them home, whether through ingestion, entanglement or exposure to the chemicals contained in the material. Unfortunately, there is a lack of documentation on the impact of plastic waste on human health in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Methods: We searched five electronic databases (PubMed, Embase, Global Health, CINAHL and Web of Science) and gray literature, following the preferred reporting elements for systematic reviews and meta-analyses (PRISMA), for the impact of plastic waste on human health in developing countries. We included quantitative and qualitative studies written in English and French. We assessed the quality of the included articles using the Mixed Methods Appraisal tool (MMAT). Results: A total of 3779 articles were initially identified by searching electronic databases. After eliminating duplicates, 3167 articles were reviewed based on title and abstract, and 26 were selected for full-text review. Only three articles were retained. The three articles dealt with practices likely to lead to oral exposure to plastic chemicals in human health, as well as the level of awareness of participants concerning the possible impact of plastic on human health, namely, the use of plastic baby bottles, the use of microwaves to cook food and reheat precooked food, the use of plastic bottles to store water in the refrigerator, water purifier containers with plastic bodies and plastic lunch boxes, the reuse of plastic bags and the inadequacy of treatment facilities. Conclusion: Plastic waste poses different risks to human health at every stage of its life cycle. Hence, strategies must be adopted to raise public awareness of the dangers of plastic waste to their health. Trial registration: The review protocol is registered in the PROSPERO international prospective register of systematic reviews (ID = CRD42023409087).

Investigation on Co-Combustion Kinetics of Anthracite and Waste Plastics by Thermogravimetric Analysis

In order to effectively recycle resource for the benefit of the global environment, the utilization of waste plastics as auxiliary injectant for blast furnaces is becoming increasingly important. Combustion kinetics of plastics-coal blends with 0, 10%, 20% and 40% waste plastics (WP) are investigated separately by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) from ambient temperature to 900 ℃ in air atmosphere. These blends are combusted at the heating rates of 5, 10 and 20 ℃/min. The results indicate that, with the increase of waste plastics content, the combustion processes of blends could be divided into one stage, two stages and three stages. The waste plastics content and heating rates have important effects on the main combustion processes of blends. With the increase of waste plastics content, the ignition temperature and the final combustion temperature of blends tend to decrease, while the combustion reaction becomes fiercer. With the increase of the heating rate, the ignition temperature, the mass loss rate of the peaks and the final combustion temperature of blends combustion tend to increase. The Flynn-Wall-Ozawa (FWO) iso-conversional method is used for the kinetic analysis of the main combustion process. The results indicate that, when the waste plastics content varied from 0 to 40%, the values of activation energy increase from 126.05 to 184.12 kJ /mol.

Review of recycling waste plastics in asphalt paving materials

An ever-growing demand for depleted natural resources is one of the significant challenges facing the global asphalt pavement industry in building and maintaining global asphalt pavements.Because plastics are ubiquitous in the global economy,they are the latest in a series of high-profile materials to attract attention.Their low material recovery rates and the environmental impact of current disposal methods pose a threat to plastic recycling.Recycling plastic wastes in asphalt pavement is a possible approach to reducing environmental pressure and the demand for depleted natural resources.Many studies have proposed recycling plastic waste in asphalt pavement using dry-and wet-processed technologies.This review aims to comprehensively evaluate the feasibility of various recycled plastics in asphalt pavement concerning the properties of compatibility,storage stability,microstructure,thermo-rheology,and mechanical performance and to identify hallenges and recommendations for the future.This review discusses recent developments and the feasibility of using plastic wastes as modifiers or additives to asphalt binders or asphalt mixtures in dry and wet processes,focusing on different materials from waste streams,how to produce such modified materials,and the characteristics of plastic waste modified asphalt,thus contributing to the sustainable management of resources and production of useful paving materials.

Looking for a Chinese solution to global problems:The situation and countermeasures of marine plastic waste and microplastics pollution governance system in China

As one of the top ten environmental problems to be solved in the world,marine plastic waste and microplastic pollution seriously affect the health of marine ecosystems and the sustainable development of Marine economies.It is necessary to promote the establishment of a scientific and systematic Marine plastic waste and microplastic pollution control system and take strong measures to fundamentally curb and reverse the trend of marine pollution intensification in China.This paper first explains the practical significance of marine plastic waste and microplastic pollution control from three aspects:the sustainable development of the blue economy,the structural upgrading of the pan-plastic industry,and the improvement of public health awareness.Secondly,the particularity of marine plastic waste and microplastic pollution control system is summarized from three aspects of formation mechanism,migration path and damage performance.Then,it identifies domestic and international governance strategies and action plans from the perspectives of mechanism,subject,object,and measures,summarizes existing problems in the existing marine plastic waste and microplastic pollution control system,and gives directions for future improvement.Finally,some countermeasures and suggestions are put forward to accelerate the construction of China’s marine plastic waste and microplastic pollution control system,including the formation of a cross sectoral integrated land and sea control system,a full life cycle waste management process,a multi-participation model for marine ecological and environmental governance,and a global marine pollution prevention and control system.

Evaluation of the Influence of Plastic Waste in Improving the Mechanical Characteristics of Asphalt Mixes (Senegal, West Africa)

The recovery of plastic waste has a positive impact on two fronts: The environment, through waste reduction, and the economy, through its use in road construction. This work involves recycling plastic variants such as Polypropylene (PP) 50% and LDPE (Low Density Polyethylene) 50% in proportions of 2% to 8%, incorporated into a 0/14 BBSG. The results of the Marshall test gave stability values ranging from 826 to 1523 kg and creep values from 5.5 to 2.45 mm. The Duriez test gave r/R values ranging from 0.769 to 0.786, with water absorption percentages from 2.24% to 0.69%. The PCG test at 80 gyrations gave void percentages ranging from 11.9% to 5.23%. The rutting test gives a rutting depth percentage that drops at 30,000 cycles from 11.5% to 1.3%. This study shows a considerable increase in the mechanical characteristics of asphalt mixes by adding plastic waste.

Effect of Polyethylene Terephthalate Plastic Waste on the Physico-Mechanical and Thermal Characteristics of Stabilized Laterite Bricks

The present work investigated the effect of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) plastic waste on the physico-mechanical and thermal properties of cement-stabilized laterite bricks to see the durability of the modified bricks (CSLB). Samples were formulated by mixing laterite, cement, and different percentages of PET (0%, 3%, 5%, and 7%) by volume. The bricks were produced using the M7MI Hydraform standard interlocking block and kept in the shade for a curing period of 28 days. The addition of 3% to 5% PET to the laterite stabilized with 10% cement results in a decrease in both dry and wet compressive strength, which is determined using the Controlab compression machine. However, the obtained results are in concordance with the standards. The thermal conductivity of CSLB, determined using the box method with the EI700 measurement cell, decreases as the PET content of the mixture increases. A decrease in bulk density from 1.67 to 1.58 g/cm3 was observed.

Synthesis of Activated Carbon from Polyethylene Terephthalate(PET)Plastic Waste and Its Application for Removal of Organic Dyes from Water

Synthetic plastics are often considered to be materials that cannot be broken down by natural processes.One such plastic,polyethylene terephthalate(PET),is commonly used in everyday items but when these products are discarded,they can cause serious harm to the environment and human health.In this study,PET plastic waste was used to create activated carbon using a physical activation process that involved using CO2 gas.The researchers investigated the effects of different temperatures,carbonization,and activation times on the resulting activated carbon’s surface area.The activated carbon was then analyzed using scanning electron microscopy(SEM),X-ray diffraction(XRD),FTIR,and BET.The activated carbon created from PET plastic waste showed excellent absorption properties for methylene blue in aqueous solutions across a wide range of pH levels.By creating activated carbon from plastic waste,not only are environmental issues addressed,but high-value activated carbon is produced for environmental remediation purposes.

New steelmaking process based on clean deoxidation technology

After the converter steelmaking process,a considerable number of ferroalloys are needed to remove dissolved oxygen from the molten steel,but it also forms a lot of oxide inclusions that cannot be completely removed.At the same time,it increases the carbon emis-sions in the steel production process.After years of research,our team have developed a series of clean deoxidation technologies,includ-ing carbon deoxidation,hydrogen deoxidation,and waste plastic deoxidation of molten steel to address the aforementioned issues.In this study,thermodynamic calculations and laboratory experiments were employed to verify that carbon and hydrogen can reduce the total oxygen content in the molten steel melt to below 5×10^(-6) and 10×10^(-6),respectively.An analysis of the deoxidation mechanisms and ef-fects of polyethylene and polypropylene was also conducted.In addition,the applications of carbon deoxidation technology in different steels with the hot-state experiment and industrial production were discussed carefully.The carbon deoxidation experimental results of different steels were as follows:(1)the oxygen content of bearing steel was effectively controlled at 6.3×10^(-6) and the inclusion number density was lowered by 74.73%compared to aluminum deoxidized bearing steel;(2)the oxygen content in gear steel was reduced to 7.7×10^(-6) and a 54.49%reduction of inclusion number density was achieved with almost no inclusions larger than 5μm from the average level of industry gear steels;(3)a total oxygen content of M2 high-speed steel was as low as 3.7×10^(-6).In industrial production practice,car-bon deoxidation technique was applied in the final deoxidation stage for non-aluminum deoxidized bearing steel,and it yielded excellent results that the oxygen content was reduced to below 8×10^(-6) and the oxide inclusions in the steel mainly consist of silicates,along with small amounts of spinel and calcium aluminate.

Self-Floating Efficient Solar Steam Generators Constructed Using Super-Hydrophilic N,O Dual-Doped Carbon Foams from Waste Polyester

Solar evaporation is recognized as a prospective technique to produce freshwater from non-drinkable water using inexhaustible solar energy.However,it remains a challenge to fabricate low-cost solar evaporators with obviously reduced water evaporation enthalpy to achieve high evaporation rates.Herein,N,O dual-doped carbon foam(NCF)is fabricated from the lowtemperature carbonization of poly(ethylene terephthalate)(PET)waste by melamine/molten salts at 340℃.During carbonization,melamine reacts with carboxylic acids of PET degradation products to yield a crosslinking network,and then molten salts catalyze the decarboxylation and dehydration to construct a stable framework.Owing to rich N,O-containing groups,3D interconnected pores,super-hydrophilicity,and ultra-low thermal conductivity(0.0599 W m^(−1) K^(−1)),NCF not only achieves high light absorbance(ca.99%)and solar-to-thermal conversion,but also promotes the formation of water cluster to reduce water evaporation enthalpy by ca.37%.Consequently,NCF exhibits a high evaporation rate(2.4 kg m^(−2) h^(−1)),surpassing the-state-of-the-art solar evaporators,and presents good antiacid/basic abilities,long-term salt-resistance,and self-cleaning ability.Importantly,a large-scale NCF-based outdoor solar desalination device is developed to produce freshwater.The daily freshwater production amount per unit area(6.3 kg)meets the two adults’daily water consumption.The trash-to-treasure strategy will give impetus to the development of low-cost,advanced solar evaporators from waste plastics for addressing the global freshwater shortage.

New possibility for PET plastic recycling by a tailored hydrolytic enzyme

Plastic waste puts a huge burden on the ecosystem due to the current lack of mature recycling technology.Poly(ethylene terephthalate)(PET)is one of the most produced plastics in the world.Enzymatic decomposition holds the promise of recovering monomers from PET plastic,and the monomers can be used to regenerate new PET products.However,there are still limitations in the activity and thermal stability of the existing PET hydrolases.The recent study by Lu et al.introduced a novel PET hydrolase via machine learning-aided engineering.The obtained PET hydrolase showed excellent activity and thermal stability in the hydrolysis of PET and is capable of directly degrading large amounts of postconsumer PET products.This approach provides an effective method for recycling PET waste and is expected to improve the current state of plastic pollution worldwide.

Rapid chemical recycling of waste polyester plastics catalyzed by recyclable catalyst

Waste plastics are serious environmental threats due to their low degradability and low recycling rate.Rapid and efficient waste plastics recycling technologies are urgently demanded for a sustainable future.Herein,we report a rapid,closed-loop,and streamlined process to convert polyesters such as poly(ethylene terephthalate)(PET)back to its purified monomers.Using trifluoromethanesulfonic acid or metal triflates as the recyclable catalyst,polyesters such as PET can be completely depolymerized by simple carboxylic acids within 1 h.By coupling this acidolysis with a subsequent hydrogenolysis process,the consumed carboxylic acid was recovered and the closed-loop of PET depolymerization could be established.All catalysts and depolymerization agents are fully recycled while only PET and hydrogen are consumed.

Studying the Utilization of Plastic Waste by Chemical Recycling Method

The rapid increase in the use of plastic materials in the recent years led to the accumulation of excessive amounts of plastic waste. The so-called thermoplastics such as PE, PP, PS, PVC and PET as well as materials that are derived from these are the type of plastic that is most used and consequently creates most of the waste. In this study, the original and waste forms of PE and PP plastic types have been chosen for thermal and catalytic degradation. As process parameter, 410oC - 450oC temperature interval and 600 mL/min constant flow rate nitrogen gas have been chosen as the carrier gas and the reaction time was considered to be 90 minutes for all experiments. Liquid products collected in experiments were separated by means of fractioned distillation process. For purposes of determining product distribution, the fractions, which were separated by distillation, were diluted in an appropriate solution for analysis of GC/MS. In the study conducted, it has been observed that the liquid product distribution obtained mainly consists of a mixture of saturated and unsaturated (heptane, heptane, octane, nonane, dodecane, etc.) hydrocarbons.

Estimation and prediction of plastic waste annual input into the sea from China

Marine plastic debris has been a pervasive issue since the last century, and research on its sources and fates plays a vital role in the establishment of mitigation measures. However, data on the quantity of plastic waste that enters the sea on a certain timescale remain largely unavailable in China. Here, we established a model using material flow analysis method based on life cycle assessment to follow plastic product from primary plastic to plastic waste with statistical data and monitoring data from accurate sources. This model can be used to estimate and forecast the annual input of plastic waste into the sea from China until 2020. In 2011, 0.547 3-0.751 5 million tons of plastic waste entered the seas in China, with a growth rate of 4.55% per year until 2017. And the amount will decrease to 0.257 1 to 0.353 1 million tons in 2020 under the influence of governmental management. The amount of plastic waste discharged from coastal areas calculated in this study was much larger than that from river, thus it is suggested to strengthen the governance and control of plastic waste in coastal fishery activities in China in order to reduce the amount of marine plastic waste input.

Experimental Investigation on Hydrophobic Behavior of Carbon Spheres Coated Surface Made from Microplastics

In this paper,a simple method to plate a hydrophobic coating on the inner surface of a small-scaled tube was proposed,where the coating consisted of carbon microspheres.Three common plastics polystyrene,polycarbonate and polyethylene were used as the feedstocks to be processed in supercritical water in a quartz tubular reactor.After reaction,the contact angle of droplet on the inner surface of the quartz tube was turned out to be over 100°,significantly larger than that of the blank tube 54°.When processing polystyrene in the 750℃ supercritical water for 10 min,the largest contact angle was obtained,up to 145°.Besides,in this sample,the size of carbon spheres was smallest,about 2.09μm diameter on average.When comparing among different types of plastics under the same condition,the contact angle of surface made from PC took the dominant position over that of PS and PE,124°,100°and 90°,respectively.In the sample made from PC,carbon spheres adhered into a mountainlike shape,producing a binary geometric structure.Furthermore,this research could be helpful in the discussion of plastic waste management and carbon spheres fabrication with low cost.

An Experience from Japan:The Challenge to Establish a Plastic Waste Recycling-Based Society in Vietnam

As a result of expanding economies and a growing pattern of mass production,mass consumption,and mass disposal,these last decades have seen an increase in the discharge of domestic waste on a global basis.Used plastic products are frequently pathogen-contaminated,and ought to be handled as hazardous waste.We have learned that companies and policy makers in Vietnam want to transform plastic waste to value and to create its first zero plastic waste cities,but they struggle to make connections,especially across industries,material types and districts.This paper gives a prospective outlook on plastic waste management practices in Vietnam.Based on Japanese plastic waste recycling basic laws systematically,we also discuss and propose the future tasks to apply them in Vietnam.The initiative is expected to help governments,enterprises,and social organizations develop knowledge,capacity,policy planning and plans of action to reduce plastic waste pollution.