Environmental and economic assessment of mixed plastic waste pelletization in the Gulf Cooperation Council region

Pelletizing mixed plastic wastes (MPW) has gained interest as an upcycling technology and an alternative to conventional recycling. To investigate its potential, we conducted a cost analysis and life-cycle assessment (LCA) for a conceptual pelletization facility designed to produce 1 kg of pellets p...

وصف كامل

محفوظ في:
التفاصيل البيبلوغرافية
المؤلف الرئيسي: Junaid, Saleem (author)
مؤلفون آخرون: Moghal, Zubair Khalid Baig (author), Tahir, Furqan (author), Al-Ansari, Tareq (author), McKay, Gordon (author)
التنسيق: article
منشور في: 2024
الموضوعات:
الوصول للمادة أونلاين:http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jhazmat.2024.136349
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0304389424029285
http://hdl.handle.net/10576/64270
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author Junaid, Saleem
author2 Moghal, Zubair Khalid Baig
Tahir, Furqan
Al-Ansari, Tareq
McKay, Gordon
author2_role author
author
author
author
author_facet Junaid, Saleem
Moghal, Zubair Khalid Baig
Tahir, Furqan
Al-Ansari, Tareq
McKay, Gordon
author_role author
dc.creator.none.fl_str_mv Junaid, Saleem
Moghal, Zubair Khalid Baig
Tahir, Furqan
Al-Ansari, Tareq
McKay, Gordon
dc.date.none.fl_str_mv 2024-12-05
2025-04-17T07:24:16Z
dc.format.none.fl_str_mv application/pdf
dc.identifier.none.fl_str_mv http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jhazmat.2024.136349
03043894
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0304389424029285
http://hdl.handle.net/10576/64270
480
1873-3336
dc.language.none.fl_str_mv en
dc.publisher.none.fl_str_mv Elsevier
dc.rights.none.fl_str_mv http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
dc.subject.none.fl_str_mv Life-cycle assessment
CO2 emissions
Climate change
Pelletization
Carbon footprints
Embodied energy
Environmental impacts
Plastic waste
Recycling
dc.title.none.fl_str_mv Environmental and economic assessment of mixed plastic waste pelletization in the Gulf Cooperation Council region
dc.type.none.fl_str_mv Article
info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion
info:eu-repo/semantics/article
description Pelletizing mixed plastic wastes (MPW) has gained interest as an upcycling technology and an alternative to conventional recycling. To investigate its potential, we conducted a cost analysis and life-cycle assessment (LCA) for a conceptual pelletization facility designed to produce 1 kg of pellets per batch of MPW (comprising polyethylene-PE and polypropylene-PP). This work has the following merits: (i) evaluating environmental impact (EI), cost analysis, and mechanical strength based on actual experimental data and its comparison with local and international manufacturers; (ii) enabling the evaluation of LCA impacts of MPW pellets; and (iii) emphasizing the significance of waste management in reducing EIs. The following ten EIs were assessed: climate change (CC), net energy, particulate matter formation, natural land transformation, metal depletion, marine ecotoxicity, ionising radiation, freshwater ecotoxicity, freshwater eutrophication, and terrestrial ecotoxicity. The CC of the as-synthesized pellets is 1.26 kg CO2 eq., significantly lower than the data obtained from the Gulf Petrochemicals and Chemicals Association (GPCA) and an actual plant in Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries. Additionally, the net energy required for the production of 1 kg of pellets is 54.1 MJ, while the cost is around 0.55 USD. The tensile strength of MPW pellets (24.63 MPa) falls between that of PE virgin pellets (21.12 MPa) and PP virgin pellets (28.12 MPa). This suggests that the MPW pellets exhibit competitive strength characteristics, warranting its consideration for applications where moderate strength is required. Overall, the competitive cost, coupled with the reduced EIs, demonstrates the potential of pelletization as a sustainable and economically viable waste management solution.
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spelling Environmental and economic assessment of mixed plastic waste pelletization in the Gulf Cooperation Council regionJunaid, SaleemMoghal, Zubair Khalid BaigTahir, FurqanAl-Ansari, TareqMcKay, GordonLife-cycle assessmentCO2 emissionsClimate changePelletizationCarbon footprintsEmbodied energyEnvironmental impactsPlastic wasteRecyclingPelletizing mixed plastic wastes (MPW) has gained interest as an upcycling technology and an alternative to conventional recycling. To investigate its potential, we conducted a cost analysis and life-cycle assessment (LCA) for a conceptual pelletization facility designed to produce 1 kg of pellets per batch of MPW (comprising polyethylene-PE and polypropylene-PP). This work has the following merits: (i) evaluating environmental impact (EI), cost analysis, and mechanical strength based on actual experimental data and its comparison with local and international manufacturers; (ii) enabling the evaluation of LCA impacts of MPW pellets; and (iii) emphasizing the significance of waste management in reducing EIs. The following ten EIs were assessed: climate change (CC), net energy, particulate matter formation, natural land transformation, metal depletion, marine ecotoxicity, ionising radiation, freshwater ecotoxicity, freshwater eutrophication, and terrestrial ecotoxicity. The CC of the as-synthesized pellets is 1.26 kg CO2 eq., significantly lower than the data obtained from the Gulf Petrochemicals and Chemicals Association (GPCA) and an actual plant in Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries. Additionally, the net energy required for the production of 1 kg of pellets is 54.1 MJ, while the cost is around 0.55 USD. The tensile strength of MPW pellets (24.63 MPa) falls between that of PE virgin pellets (21.12 MPa) and PP virgin pellets (28.12 MPa). This suggests that the MPW pellets exhibit competitive strength characteristics, warranting its consideration for applications where moderate strength is required. Overall, the competitive cost, coupled with the reduced EIs, demonstrates the potential of pelletization as a sustainable and economically viable waste management solution.This publication was made possible by NPRP grant number NPRP12S-0325–190443 from the Qatar National Research Fund (a member of the Qatar Foundation). Open access funding provided by Qatar National Library.Elsevier2025-04-17T07:24:16Z2024-12-05Articleinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersioninfo:eu-repo/semantics/articleapplication/pdfhttp://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jhazmat.2024.13634903043894https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0304389424029285http://hdl.handle.net/10576/642704801873-3336enhttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccessoai:qspace.qu.edu.qa:10576/642702025-04-17T19:06:48Z
spellingShingle Environmental and economic assessment of mixed plastic waste pelletization in the Gulf Cooperation Council region
Junaid, Saleem
Life-cycle assessment
CO2 emissions
Climate change
Pelletization
Carbon footprints
Embodied energy
Environmental impacts
Plastic waste
Recycling
status_str publishedVersion
title Environmental and economic assessment of mixed plastic waste pelletization in the Gulf Cooperation Council region
title_full Environmental and economic assessment of mixed plastic waste pelletization in the Gulf Cooperation Council region
title_fullStr Environmental and economic assessment of mixed plastic waste pelletization in the Gulf Cooperation Council region
title_full_unstemmed Environmental and economic assessment of mixed plastic waste pelletization in the Gulf Cooperation Council region
title_short Environmental and economic assessment of mixed plastic waste pelletization in the Gulf Cooperation Council region
title_sort Environmental and economic assessment of mixed plastic waste pelletization in the Gulf Cooperation Council region
topic Life-cycle assessment
CO2 emissions
Climate change
Pelletization
Carbon footprints
Embodied energy
Environmental impacts
Plastic waste
Recycling
url http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jhazmat.2024.136349
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0304389424029285
http://hdl.handle.net/10576/64270