Biobased and Recycled Petroleum-Based Plastics

CHAPTER 5 Biobased and Recycled Petroleum-Based Plastics... 

Mechanical recycling makes great sense for petroleum-based plastic and biobased plastics. Mechanical recycling has the appropriate recycling infrastructure established in the United States, Europe, Australia, and Asia. The recycling system requires a collection system for plastic products labeled as 1 through 7. 

Sustainable plastics are those plastics made with lower energy, lower carbon footprint, lower waste, and lower pollution than conventional plastics. Plastics that are made from plants or biobased sources and from recycled plastics can be made with lower energy, lower carbon footprint, lower waste, and lower pollution than conventional plastics. Biobased polyethylene, propylene, and PET can be made from sugarcane or other agricultural materials. Biobased plastics can be made with nearly identical mechanical properties as conventional petroleum-based plastics and can be manufactured on identical plastics processing equipment. 

Chemical recycling is a process by which the polymer starting chemicals are retrieved from the plastic with high temperatures and in the absence of oxygen. The chemical recycling process can produce primary chemicals to produce new polymers. Chemical recychng process can be used for petroleum-based and biobased plastics. 

The goal of the LCA is to determine the LCAs of plastic packaging with biobased, petroleum-based, and recycled plastics. Sustainable plastic packaging can be compared with virgin PET, PP, and PS for packaging plastic materials. 

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