Exploring the environmental performance of emerging (chemical) recycling technologies for post-consumer plastic waste
Julian Rickert, Felipe Cerdas, Christoph Herrmann
Abstract
The increasing amount of post-consumer plastic waste (PCPW) is a global concern. Well-established recycling technologies operate close to their limits. Innovative technologies like chemical recycling with uncertain environmental performance are developed. To anticipate unforeseen and unwanted consequences it is important to explore the potential of new technologies early during development. This paper uses Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) to determine an environmental budget and to support the engineering of new recycling technologies. The approach is demonstrated for the case study of recycling waste polyethylene terephthalate (PET) trays. The results’ robustness is ensured by sensitivity analysis and uncertainty propagation via Monte Carlo simulation.