Search for Articles:
Title / Keyword
Author / Affiliation / Email
Journal
Article Type
 
 
Advanced Search
 
Section
Special Issue
Volume
Issue
Number
Page
 
6.8
4.6
Journals
Recycling
Special Issues
Challenges and Opportunities in Plastic Waste Management
share announcement

Challenges and Opportunities in Plastic Waste Management

A special issue of Recycling (ISSN 2313-4321).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 December 2024 | Viewed by 8198

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Wan-Ting (Grace) Chen

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Plastics Engineering, UMass Lowell Francis College of Engineering, Lowell, MA 01854, USA
Interests: chemical recycling; microplastics; biodegradable materials; ocean plastic waste; hydrothermal processing
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Daniel Lachos-Perez

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Plastics Engineering, UMass Lowell Francis College of Engineering, Lowell, MA 01854, USA
Interests: chemical recycling; plastic waste; biomass conversion; supercritical fluids; hydrothermal processing
Dr. Taofeng Lu

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor Assistant
National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO 80401, USA
Interests: physical recycling; chemical recycling; polymer deconstruction; solvent-based recycling; hydrothermal processing

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Plastic waste has a significant impact on the environment, affecting ecosystems and human health. Inadequate plastic waste handling practices, such as lack of recycling, incineration, or proper disposal in landfills, result in severe environmental repercussions. Annually, an alarming one to two million tonnes of plastic find their way into the oceans, endangering marine life and ecosystems.

This Special Issue aims to address the challenges and opportunities in plastic waste management. It will cover the latest technologies and methods for plastic waste treatment and recycling and discuss sustainable waste management solutions to reduce environmental degradation. Additionally, this Special Issue will explore the economic and environmental benefits that a plastic circular economy may provide.

Dr. Wan-Ting (Grace) Chen
Dr. Daniel Lachos-Perez
Guest Editors

Dr. Taofeng Lu
Guest Editor Assistant

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Recycling is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1800 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • physical recycling
  • chemical recycling
  • plastic waste
  • microplastics
  • hydrothermal process
  • pyrolysis

Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue

  • Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
  • Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
  • Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
  • External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
  • e-Book format: Special Issues with more than 10 articles can be published as dedicated e-books, ensuring wide and rapid dissemination.

Further information on MDPI's Special Issue polices can be found here.

Published Papers (4 papers)

Download All Papers
Order results
Result details
Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

12 pages, 1684 KiB  
Article
Effect of Joining Mechanism on the Mechanical Recycling of Polymer–Metal Composite Parts
by Sandra Boekhoff, Harald Zetzener and Arno Kwade
Recycling 2024, 9(6), 106; https://doi.org/10.3390/recycling9060106 - 4 Nov 2024
Viewed by 1206
Abstract
In order to be able to recycle composite components made of polymer and metal, which are used in the automotive industry, the joints must be broken. The success of the separation is influenced by the stress and also by the joining mechanism between [...] Read more.
In order to be able to recycle composite components made of polymer and metal, which are used in the automotive industry, the joints must be broken. The success of the separation is influenced by the stress and also by the joining mechanism between the polymer and the metal. Here, force-fit and form-fit connected components are produced and crushed in a rotor impact mill with two different rotors. The results show that the crushing results differ significantly for the different rotors and for the various joining processes. In short, the hammer-type rotor provides much finer and better-separated fragments and the force-fit joints enable a better separation of metal and polymers. The additional cooling of the samples also changes the result in a way, where deep cooling significantly improves the separation of the metal and the polymer. Different types of polymers also led to a different separation result with both rotors. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Challenges and Opportunities in Plastic Waste Management)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

18 pages, 5460 KiB  
Article
GC/MS Screening of Substances Released from Post-Consumer Recycled HDPE Pellets into 95% Ethanol: Reproducibility and Variation between Production Batches
by Melanie Brandt, Jens-Peter Vietzke, Dennis Bankmann and Heiner Gers-Barlag
Recycling 2024, 9(5), 101; https://doi.org/10.3390/recycling9050101 - 16 Oct 2024
Viewed by 1700
Abstract
The use of post-consumer recycled (PCR) plastic materials in sensitive packaging applications, such as for cosmetic products and detergents, requires a clear understanding of the identities and quantities of chemical substances, which they may release into packed products. With many potential sources of [...] Read more.
The use of post-consumer recycled (PCR) plastic materials in sensitive packaging applications, such as for cosmetic products and detergents, requires a clear understanding of the identities and quantities of chemical substances, which they may release into packed products. With many potential sources of and thus different types of potentially releasable substances, a reliable non-targeted screening method is required to assess these materials. Such a method should be readily applicable in industrial practice and provide a realistic estimation of substance release. This investigation focused on the use of gas chromatography/coupled mass spectrometry (GC/MS) to analyze substances, which recycled HDPE (rHDPE) plastic pellets release into 95% ethanol under accelerated testing conditions. The results of the repeated testing of reference samples clearly demonstrated the good reproducibility of the described methodology, with standard deviations of repeated determinations of the total released substance amounts of 6.8–8.1%. The application to several production batches of three commercial rHDPE grades additionally demonstrated that the batch-to-batch variation of substances which rHDPE materials release can be confined to less than 10% of variation of the total detectable substance amount. The described methodology is therefore seen as a pragmatic, repeatable assessment of recycled HDPE plastic batches with a view to substance release. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Challenges and Opportunities in Plastic Waste Management)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

20 pages, 1980 KiB  
Article
Mechanical Recycling of PET Multi-Layer Post-Consumer Packaging: Effects of Impurity Content
by Giusy Santomasi, Francesco Todaro, Andrea Petrella, Michele Notarnicola and Eggo Ulphard Thoden van Velzen
Recycling 2024, 9(5), 93; https://doi.org/10.3390/recycling9050093 - 8 Oct 2024
Viewed by 2420
Abstract
The recycling of PET trays is highly challenging. The aim of this paper was to investigate the issues related to the mechanical recycling process and, the correlation between feedstock composition and the quality of the produced rPET. Four feedstocks with different degrees of [...] Read more.
The recycling of PET trays is highly challenging. The aim of this paper was to investigate the issues related to the mechanical recycling process and, the correlation between feedstock composition and the quality of the produced rPET. Four feedstocks with different degrees of impurity were mechanically recycled at a laboratory pilot scale. The optical and thermal properties of the rPET products were examined to determine the quality and to seek relations with the starting level of impurities. The final products of the PET trays’ mechanical recycling were found to be affected by the presence of impurities (organics) and multi-material (non-PET) elements in the feedstocks. The rPET products crystallised faster for contaminated feedstocks showed lower molecular mass and higher yellow index values due to thermal degradation. Yellowing is a crucial parameter in assessing the thermal degradation of rPET. Injection moulded samples corresponding to higher contamination levels, reported values of Yellow Index equal to 179 and 177 compared to 15 of mono-PET sample. The intrinsic viscosity decreased from 0.60 dL/g to just above 0.30 dL/g, and losses were more significant for soiled or multi-material feedstocks. A method of improving the final quality would involve the purification of the starting feedstock from impurities. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Challenges and Opportunities in Plastic Waste Management)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

17 pages, 567 KiB  
Article
Closing the Loop between Plastic Waste Management and Energy Cogeneration: An Innovative Design for a Flexible Pyrolysis Small-Scale Unit
by Dimitrios-Aristotelis Koumpakis, Alexandra V. Michailidou, Christos Vlachokostas and Christos Mertzanakis
Recycling 2024, 9(5), 92; https://doi.org/10.3390/recycling9050092 - 5 Oct 2024
Viewed by 2225
Abstract
This study proposes a simplified unit that can be employed in an industrial facility for the utilization of its own abundant plastic waste, primarily from discarded packaging, to achieve full or partial energy autonomy. By converting this waste into synthetic pyrolysis oil equivalent [...] Read more.
This study proposes a simplified unit that can be employed in an industrial facility for the utilization of its own abundant plastic waste, primarily from discarded packaging, to achieve full or partial energy autonomy. By converting this waste into synthetic pyrolysis oil equivalent to 91,500 L, the industry can power a combined heat and power generation unit. The proposed unit was designed with a focus on maintaining high temperatures efficiently while minimizing oxygen exposure to protect the integrity of hydrocarbons until they transform into new compounds. Pyrolysis stands as a foundational procedure, paving the way for subsequent thermochemical transformations such as combustion and gasification. This study delves into the factors affecting pyrolysis and presents analytically the mathematical formulations and relevant calculations in order to effectively design and apply a real-life system. On this basis, fuels from plastic waste can be produced, suitable for utilization in typical equipment meant to produce heat, estimated for six months’ operation and 800 MWh of electricity. This study enhances the transition towards a more circular and resource-efficient economy with technologies that unlock the latent energy contained within the discarded matter. Additionally, it demonstrates the feasibility of a moderate investment in a co-generation system for industries utilizing 568 tonnes of plastic waste per year. The design and accurate calculations of this study highlight the theoretical potential of this technology, promoting environmental sustainability and resource conservation. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Challenges and Opportunities in Plastic Waste Management)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:
 
Displaying articles 1-4
Back to TopTop