Techno-Economic and Life Cycle Analyses of Thermochemical Upcycling Technologies of Low-Density Polyethylene Waste

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Author(s)Hernández, Borja
Author(s)Kots, Pavel
Author(s)Selvam, Esun
Author(s)Vlachos, Dionisios G.
Author(s)Ierapetritou, Marianthi G.
Date Accessioned2023-07-17T18:20:20Z
Date Available2023-07-17T18:20:20Z
Publication Date2023-05-08
DescriptionThis document is the Accepted Manuscript version of a Published Work that appeared in final form in ACS Sustainable Chemistry and Engineering, copyright © 2023 American Chemical Society after peer review and technical editing by the publisher. To access the final edited and published work see https://doi.org/10.1021/acssuschemeng.3c00636. This article will be embargoed until 05/08/2024.
AbstractIn this study we compare techno-economics and life cycle assessment of thermochemical depolymerization technologies, including pyrolysis, gasification, hydrocracking, hydrothermal liquefaction, and hydrogenolysis, to generate various products from low-density polyethylene (LDPE) waste. We elucidate the effects of production scale, collection cost, and concentration of LDPE in plastic waste. Pyrolysis of LDPE to olefins followed by their conversion to lubricant oils is the most profitable technology. Hydrogenolysis, producing a small fraction of lubricant oils, becomes profitable at plant sizes above 25 kt/y and produces the lowest CO2 emissions. Hydrocracking is the second most environmentally friendly technology but becomes economically competitive at sufficiently large scales, and the supply chain for collecting plastics is optimized. Gasification of LDPE to H2 produces high emissions, and the price of H2 of ∼3 $/kg is higher than current markets and recently announced goals. Similarly, hydrothermal liquefaction also gives high emissions, making carbon capture systems imperative for both technologies. Our results demonstrate that lowering the cost of sorting LDPE from plastic waste, collecting waste near big cities, building sufficiently large plants, and achieving high selectivity to value-added products are critical to successful plastic waste management.
SponsorThis work was financially supported by the National Science Foundation grants No. OIA – 2119754 and No. 2134471. P.K. and E.S. provided insights into the plastics recycling technologies, products, and yields and were funded as part of the Center for Plastics Innovation, an Energy Frontier Research Center funded by the US Department of Energy, Office of Science, Office of Basic Energy Sciences under award number DE-SC0021166.
CitationHernández, Borja, Pavel Kots, Esun Selvam, Dionisios G. Vlachos, and Marianthi G. Ierapetritou. “Techno-Economic and Life Cycle Analyses of Thermochemical Upcycling Technologies of Low-Density Polyethylene Waste.” ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering 11, no. 18 (May 8, 2023): 7170–81. https://doi.org/10.1021/acssuschemeng.3c00636.
ISSN2168-0485
URLhttps://udspace.udel.edu/handle/19716/32998
Languageen_US
PublisherACS Sustainable Chemistry and Engineering
Keywordsplastics waste
Keywordsupcycling
Keywordsrecycling
Keywordspyrolysis
Keywordsgasification
Keywordshydrogenolysis
Keywordshydrocracking
TitleTechno-Economic and Life Cycle Analyses of Thermochemical Upcycling Technologies of Low-Density Polyethylene Waste
TypeArticle
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