Energy and Polymer Recycling

Polymer Product Process Resin (kg) Electricity (MJ) Thermal Fuels (MJ) Water (kg) 

Increasingly, there is a demand, as with other materials, that plastics should be recycled. For most thermoplastics this is a possible route for postconsumer material, and this is dealt with in more detail in other chapters. However, there is some confusion over the energy savings that can be achieved by plastics recychng, and this can lead to conflicting decisions. 

This distinction between production energy and feedstock energy is very important in recycling for two main reasons  

National Academy of Sciences National Research Council, Resources and Man—A Study and Recommendations, W H Freeman, San Francisco, 1969. 

The Competitiveness ofLDPE, PP and PVC after the 1963 Oil Crisis, Imperial Chemical Industries, London, 1974, 1975. 

---