Recycled petroleum-based plastics

Mechanical Properties of Petroleum-based PET Blow Molding Grade Plastics 

The properties of PET made from sugarcane or com should be the same as conventional PET PET is a very versatile plastic and can be made into many different types of products that are injection molded, extmded into profile or sheet, blown into film or bottles, or compression molded into molded products. The properties of PET are listed in Table 5.5 (MatWeb 2014). 

Life cycle assessment can be used to determine the environmental impacts of producing the biobased PET. The LCA will consider the energy and GHG generation for producing biobased PET from the raw materials to the plastic pellet. The cradle-to-factory gate approach can be useful for plastic packaging, bags, and other products. Currently, 30% of the PET can be made from biobased sources. Future research can increase the development of a 100% biobased terephthalic acid and 100% PET. Very few LCA studies have been conducted on biobased PET but it is an active area of research. 

Petroleum-based plastics can also be sustainable if they are made with plastics that produce less GHG emissions, less waste, and less pollution than conventional plastics. Recycled plastics can be produced with lower energy, lower GHG emissions, and lower pollution than conventional 

Plastics are seemingly ubiquitous in the world today. A key feature of thermoplastics is the ability of the plastic to be heated and formed multiple times. Recycling is one of the advantages of managing thermoplastics at the end-of-life. Thermoplastic types include PET or PETE (Type 1), HDPE (Type 2), PVC (Type 3), LDPE (Type 4), PP (Type 5), PS (Type 6), and other (Type 7). 

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

Q.5.8 Over 90% of the recycled petroleum-based plastics are made from HDPE and PET. T or F ... 

P.5.5 For recycled petroleum-based plastics, what is the most common method of separating the metals, wood, and other debris from the... 

Irrigation pipes are conventionally made from non biodegradable petroleum-based plastics such as poly(ethylene) or poly(propylene) (PP). As a result, conventional irrigation pipes that are discarded are generally not readily recycled into the environment and add to pollution stress of the environment. In addition, because petroleum is a non-renewable raw material, it is expected that raw material costs for producing irrigation pipes from petroleum-based plastics will increase (7). 

The use of natural fiber reinforcements in recycled thermoplastic polymers has generated considerable research interest due to the increasing environmental threat created by the high consumption rate of petroleum-based plastics. Therefore, there is a growing interest in the development of green, environmentally-friendly composites for agro-based structural materials. Apart from this, the renewed interests in recyclability and environmental sustainability have also arisen in the last few years. The best possible way to develop such composites are to incorporate natural fibers into recycled... 

The environmental impact of disposable plastic wastes is growing rapidly worldwide [16] however, current disposal methods are insufficient. Incineration can generate toxic air pollution, and satisfactory landfill sites are limited. The cost of petroleum-based plastics is also steadily increasing and most countries must import these resources therefore, focus should be directed on disposal, renewable resources and the recycling of plastic materials [17, 18]. 

Starch-based plastics can be classified as compostable if the additives are also biodegradable under industrial compost environment conditions. Starch can be an additive for petroleum-based plastics like polyethylene, polypropylene, polyurethane, and polyester. However, these starch-filled petroleum-based plastics are not included in this book since they would not biodegrade under industrial composting conditions and would not be recyclable with commercial mechanical recycling operations. 

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. 

One salient property of PHAs is their biodegradability. Until the introduction of man-made plastics, manufactured goods using materials derived from plants and animals were biodegradable and completely recyclable in the environment. Although plastics have dramatically improved human life, the durability of discarded plastic wares in the environment has created a serious waste-management problem. Use of the biodegradable PHAs as a substitute for the petroleum-based plastics can help preserve the quality of life as well as the natural environment, if PHAs can be produced economically. 

Plastics produced from petroleum-based raw materials in the form of single-use consumer products ate of environmental concern, as most of these materials do not degrade when disposed in the environment after their useful life is over . Currently, systematic collection of plastic waste for recycling and/or disposal is expensive and is limited only to certain communities. Particularly, when plastics are contaminated with soil, foods or other chemicals their recycling become rather difficult. As a result, in the last decade, significant efforts have been made to develop environmentally... 

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. 

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