Plastic waste has emerged as a serious issue due to its impact on environmental degradation and resource scarcity. Plastic recycling, especially of halogen-containing plastics, presents challenges ...due to potential secondary pollution and lower-value implementations. Chemical recycling via pyrolysis is the most versatile and robust approach for combating plastic waste. In this Review, we present recent advancements in halogen-plastic pyrolysis for resource utilization and the potential pathways from “reducing to recycling to upcycling” halogens. We emphasize the advanced management of halogen-plastics through copyrolysis with solid wastes (waste polymers, biomass, coal, etc.), which is an efficient method for dealing with mixed wastes to obtain high-value products while reducing undesirable substances. Innovations in catalyst design and reaction configurations for catalytic pyrolysis are comprehensively evaluated. In particular, a tandem catalysis system is a promising route for halogen removal and selective conversion of targeted products. Furthermore, we propose novel insights regarding the utilization and upcycling of halogens from halogen-plastics. This includes the preparation of halogen-based sorbents for elemental mercury removal, the halogenation–vaporization process for metal recovery, and the development of halogen-doped functional materials for new materials and energy applications. The reutilization of halogens facilitates the upcycling of halogen-plastics, but many efforts are needed for mutually beneficial outcomes. Overall, future investigations in the development of copyrolysis and catalyst-driven technologies for upcycling halogen-plastics are highlighted.
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IJS, KILJ, NUK, PNG, UL, UM
42.
Policy: Classify plastic waste as hazardous Rochman, Chelsea M; Browne, Mark Anthony; Halpern, Benjamin S ...
Nature (London),
2013-Feb-14, Volume:
494, Issue:
7436
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
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DOBA, IJS, IZUM, KILJ, KISLJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Herein we describe the design of natural curcumin ester and ether derivatives and their application as potential bioplasticizers, to prepare photosensitive phthalate-free PVC-based materials. The ...preparation of PVC-based films incorporating several loadings of newly synthesized curcumin derivatives along with their standard solid-state characterization is also described. Remarkably, the plasticizing effect of the curcumin derivatives in the PVC material was found to be similar to that observed in previous PVC-phthalate materials. Finally, studies applying these new materials in the photoinactivation of S. aureus planktonic cultures revealed a strong structure/activity correlation, with the photosensitive materials reaching up to 6 log CFU reduction at low irradiation intensities.
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IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, UL, UM, UPUK
The COVID-19 pandemic has reemphasized the indispensable role of plastics in our daily life. Plastics in terms of personal protective equipment (PPEs) and other single-use medical equipment along ...with packaging solutions owing to their inherent properties have emerged as a life-savior for protecting the health and safety of the frontline health workers and the common citizens during the pandemic. However, plastics have been deemed as evil polluter due to their indiscriminate littering and mismanagement amid increased plastic usage and waste generation during this unprecedented crisis. This article reviews and assesses to dwell upon whether plastics in the time of pandemic are acting as protector of the public health or polluter of the environment. Considering the utilities and limitations of plastic along with its management or mismanagement, and the fate, an equitable appraisal suggests that the consumers' irresponsible behavior, and attitude and poor awareness, and the stress on waste management infrastructure in terms of collection, operation, and financial constraints as the major drivers, leading to mismanagement, turn plastic into an evil polluter of the environment. Plastic can be a protector if managed properly and complemented by the circular economy strategies in terms of reduction, recycle and recovery, and thereby preventing leakage into the environment. To safeguard the supply chain of PPEs, several decontamination techniques have been adopted worldwide ensuring their effective reprocessing to prioritize the circular economy within the system. Policy guidelines encouraging to adopt safer practices and sustainable technical solutions along with consumers' education for awareness creation are the need of the hour for preventing plastic to turn from protector with high utility to polluter.
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•COVID-19 pandemic has reemphasized the indispensable role of plastics in our daily life.•Usage of PPEs and packing materials amid COVID-19 is causing plastic pandemic worldwide.•Provisional reversal or stay on SUPs ban during COVID-19 may change consumers' behavior.•Effective decontamination for reprocessing of PPEs reduces plastic waste generation.•Automated waste management and product innovation may lead to environmental sustainability.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
Applications and societal benefits of plastics Andrady, Anthony L.; Neal, Mike A.
Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B. Biological sciences,
07/2009, Volume:
364, Issue:
1526
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
Open access
This article explains the history, from 1600 BC to 2008, of materials that are today termed ‘plastics’. It includes production
volumes and current consumption patterns of five main commodity ...plastics: polypropylene, polyethylene, polyvinyl chloride,
polystyrene and polyethylene terephthalate. The use of additives to modify the properties of these plastics and any associated
safety, in use, issues for the resulting polymeric materials are described. A comparison is made with the thermal and barrier
properties of other materials to demonstrate the versatility of plastics. Societal benefits for health, safety, energy saving
and material conservation are described, and the particular advantages of plastics in society are outlined. Concerns relating
to littering and trends in recycling of plastics are also described. Finally, we give predictions for some of the potential
applications of plastic over the next 20 years.
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BFBNIB, NMLJ, NUK, PNG, SAZU, UL, UM, UPUK
Plastic waste poses an ecological challenge
and enzymatic degradation offers one, potentially green and scalable, route for polyesters waste recycling
. Poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) accounts ...for 12% of global solid waste
, and a circular carbon economy for PET is theoretically attainable through rapid enzymatic depolymerization followed by repolymerization or conversion/valorization into other products
. Application of PET hydrolases, however, has been hampered by their lack of robustness to pH and temperature ranges, slow reaction rates and inability to directly use untreated postconsumer plastics
. Here, we use a structure-based, machine learning algorithm to engineer a robust and active PET hydrolase. Our mutant and scaffold combination (FAST-PETase: functional, active, stable and tolerant PETase) contains five mutations compared to wild-type PETase (N233K/R224Q/S121E from prediction and D186H/R280A from scaffold) and shows superior PET-hydrolytic activity relative to both wild-type and engineered alternatives
between 30 and 50 °C and a range of pH levels. We demonstrate that untreated, postconsumer-PET from 51 different thermoformed products can all be almost completely degraded by FAST-PETase in 1 week. FAST-PETase can also depolymerize untreated, amorphous portions of a commercial water bottle and an entire thermally pretreated water bottle at 50 ºC. Finally, we demonstrate a closed-loop PET recycling process by using FAST-PETase and resynthesizing PET from the recovered monomers. Collectively, our results demonstrate a viable route for enzymatic plastic recycling at the industrial scale.
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EMUNI, FIS, FZAB, GEOZS, GIS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, MFDPS, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, SBMB, SBNM, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK, VKSCE, ZAGLJ
Increasing the stream of recycled plastic necessitates an approach beyond the traditional recycling via melting and re‐extrusion. Various chemical recycling processes have great potential to enhance ...recycling rates. In this Review, a summary of the various chemical recycling routes and assessment via life‐cycle analysis is complemented by an extensive list of processes developed by companies active in chemical recycling. We show that each of the currently available processes is applicable for specific plastic waste streams. Thus, only a combination of different technologies can address the plastic waste problem. Research should focus on more realistic, more contaminated and mixed waste streams, while collection and sorting infrastructure will need to be improved, that is, by stricter regulation. This Review aims to inspire both science and innovation for the production of higher value and quality products from plastic recycling suitable for reuse or valorization to create the necessary economic and environmental push for a circular economy.
Plastic fantastic: Plastic can rise again and again as a new product. Researchers now know methods with which new plastics can be produced from 100 % recycled material, products that can even be used for food applications. This development is possible thanks to chemical recycling, through which polymer chains are first broken to then be reformed into new molecules, such as plastics but also other chemicals.
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BFBNIB, FZAB, GIS, IJS, KILJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, SAZU, SBCE, SBMB, UL, UM, UPUK
This is a practical reference for all plastics engineers who are seeking to answer a question, solve a problem, reduce a cost, improve a design or fabrication process, or even venture into a new ...market. It covers both polymer basics and recent developments enabling practitioners to discover which options best fit their requirements.
Transforming the plastic industry toward producing more sustainable alternatives than conventional plastics, as an essential enabler of the bio-based circular economy (CE), requires reinforcing ...initiatives to drive solutions from the lab to the market. In this regard, startups and ideation and innovation events can potentially play significant roles in consolidating efforts and investments by academia and industry to foster bio-based and biodegradable plastic-related developments. This study aimed to present the current trends and challenges of bioplastics and bio-based materials as sustainable alternatives for plastics. On this basis, having conducted a systematic literature review, the seminal research themes of the bio-based materials and bioplastics literature were unfolded and discussed. Then, the most recent developments of bio-based sustainable products in Ukraine, as alternatives to petroleum-based plastics, that have gained publicity through local startup programs and hackathons were presented. The findings shed light on the potential of the bio-based sector to facilitate the CE transition through (i) rendering innovative solutions most of which have been less noticed in academia before; (ii) enhancing academic debate and bridging the gap between developers, scholars, and practitioners within the plastic industry toward creating circularity across the supply chain; (iii) identifying the main challenges and future perspectives for further investigations in the future.
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