Feedstock agnostic upcycling of industrial mixed plastic from shredder residue pragmatically through a composite approach
File(s)
Published version
Author(s)
Singkronart, Kanjanawadee
Gaduan, Andre
Shamsuddin, Siti Rosminah
Ward, Keeran
Lee, Koon-Yang
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
Shredding of a vehicle or an electrical and electronic equipment at its end-of-life (EOL) is a common practice to extract valuable critical raw materials. Unfortunately, this has the unintended consequence of mixing different polymers together and the only EOL options for this industrial mixed plastic waste are landfilling and incineration. Here in this work, we show that low value and highly heterogenous industrial mixed plastic can be mechanically upcycled sustainably using a composite approach, i.e., reinforcing with carbon fibres (CFs), glass fibres (GFs) and wood flour (WF). It was found that industrial mixed plastic can be successfully reprocessed, albeit possessing significantly poorer mechanical properties compared to its virgin counterpart. Nevertheless, the mechanical properties of the reinforced industrial mixed plastics were observed to be governed by the fibre or filler reinforcement, instead of the more inferior brittle industrial mixed plastic matrix. A lifecycle analysis (LCA) model with a functional unit designed using finite element analysis was developed to determine the environmental impact of upcycling industrial mixed plastic from shredder residue using this composite approach. In a “business as usual” scenario, our LCA model estimated a global warming potential (GWP) of 23 kg CO2-eq. per f.u. and a net abiotic depletion potential of fossil (ADPf) of 431 MJ f.u.−1. Using our proposed feedstock agnostic and pragmatic solution, the GWP and net ADPf could be reduced to only 11 kg CO2-eq. per f.u. and 160 MJ f.u.−1, respectively, when 40 wt% WF reinforcing filler was used. Our work also reports the influence of reinforcement on the tensile, flexural and fracture toughness properties, as well as the LCA hot spots in such an upcycling approach.
Date Issued
2023-10-21
Date Acceptance
2023-08-30
Citation
Green Chemistry, 2023, 25 (20), pp.8241-8252
ISSN
1463-9262
Publisher
Royal Society of Chemistry
Start Page
8241
End Page
8252
Journal / Book Title
Green Chemistry
Volume
25
Issue
20
Copyright Statement
© The Royal Society of Chemistry 2023 Open Access Article. This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported Licence.
License URL
Identifier
https://www.webofscience.com/api/gateway?GWVersion=2&SrcApp=PARTNER_APP&SrcAuth=LinksAMR&KeyUT=WOS:001080814400001&DestLinkType=FullRecord&DestApp=ALL_WOS&UsrCustomerID=a2bf6146997ec60c407a63945d4e92bb
Subjects
BLENDS
Chemistry
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
FIBER
GLASS
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
IMPACT
LIFE-CYCLE ASSESSMENT
MECHANICAL-PROPERTIES
MORPHOLOGY
Physical Sciences
REINFORCEMENT
Science & Technology
Science & Technology - Other Topics
STABILITY
WASTE
Publication Status
Published
Date Publish Online
2023-09-05