IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v15y2023i10p8209-d1149873.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Which Is More Environmentally Friendly? A Comparative Analysis of the Environmental Benefits of Two Waste-to-Energy Technologies for Plastics Based on an LCA Model

Author

Listed:
  • Yumeng Zhao

    (Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, Fudan University, Shanghai 200433, China)

  • Kai Ren

    (Shanghai Riske Environmental Protection Technology Co., Ltd., Shanghai 200433, China)

  • Wenfang Huang

    (Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, Fudan University, Shanghai 200433, China)

Abstract

Waste plastics are low-value waste; thus, achieving high-value recycling is the most desirable goal. Scientific methods are required to evaluate the environmental benefits and support the technology optimization and market selection of waste-to-energy technology for plastics. This study selected catalytic cracking and incineration power generation of two typical examples of waste plastics energy technologies as the research objects, established a full life cycle assessment model, and used the mid-point method to analyze and compare the environmental benefits of the two technologies. The results showed that catalytic cracking technology is more environmentally friendly. The sensitivity analysis showed that the treatment units had a high impact on the results; process optimization predicted the efficiency of technology optimization and advocated future technological developments to explore the direction of using clean energy, upgrading equipment, and updating catalysts. The results of this study can provide ideas for the optimization of two kinds of waste plastics energy technology. In addition, the comparative data analysis intuitively demonstrated the advantages and disadvantages of waste-to-energy technologies and provided a practical path for the future development of high-value treatments for waste plastics.

Suggested Citation

  • Yumeng Zhao & Kai Ren & Wenfang Huang, 2023. "Which Is More Environmentally Friendly? A Comparative Analysis of the Environmental Benefits of Two Waste-to-Energy Technologies for Plastics Based on an LCA Model," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(10), pages 1-15, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:15:y:2023:i:10:p:8209-:d:1149873
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/10/8209/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/10/8209/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Chi-Hung Tsai & Yun-Hwei Shen & Wen-Tien Tsai, 2020. "Analysis of Current Status and Regulatory Promotion for Incineration Bottom Ash Recycling in Taiwan," Resources, MDPI, vol. 9(10), pages 1-10, September.
    2. Xing, Zhou & Ping, Zhou & Xiqiang, Zhao & Zhanlong, Song & Wenlong, Wang & Jing, Sun & Yanpeng, Mao, 2021. "Applicability of municipal solid waste incineration (MSWI) system integrated with pre-drying or torrefaction for flue gas waste heat recovery," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 224(C).
    3. Ke Zhang & Jiin-Song Tsai, 2021. "Identification of Critical Factors Influencing Prefabricated Construction Quality and Their Mutual Relationship," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(19), pages 1-21, October.
    4. Cho, Hannah Hyunah & Strezov, Vladimir, 2021. "Comparative analysis of the environmental impacts of Australian thermal power stations using direct emission data and GIS integrated methods," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 231(C).
    5. Xuerong Li & Faliang Gui & Qingpeng Li, 2019. "Can Hydropower Still Be Considered a Clean Energy Source? Compelling Evidence from a Middle-Sized Hydropower Station in China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(16), pages 1-13, August.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Vlasopoulos, Antonis & Malinauskaite, Jurgita & Żabnieńska-Góra, Alina & Jouhara, Hussam, 2023. "Life cycle assessment of plastic waste and energy recovery," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 277(C).
    2. Ion V. Ion & Antoaneta Ene, 2021. "Evaluation of Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Reservoirs: A Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(21), pages 1-14, October.
    3. Zygmunt Kowalski & Joanna Kulczycka & Agnieszka Makara & Roland Verhé & Guy De Clercq, 2022. "Assessment of Energy Recovery from Municipal Waste Management Systems Using Circular Economy Quality Indicators," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(22), pages 1-22, November.
    4. Chong, Cheng Tung & Fan, Yee Van & Lee, Chew Tin & Klemeš, Jiří Jaromír, 2022. "Post COVID-19 ENERGY sustainability and carbon emissions neutrality," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 241(C).
    5. Liu, Zhengguang & Guo, Zhiling & Song, Chenchen & Du, Ying & Chen, Qi & Chen, Yuntian & Zhang, Haoran, 2023. "Business model comparison of slum-based PV to realize low-cost and flexible power generation in city-level," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 344(C).
    6. Ayaz Ahmad Khan & Rongrong Yu & Tingting Liu & Ning Gu & James Walsh, 2023. "Volumetric Modular Construction Risks: A Comprehensive Review and Digital-Technology-Coupled Circular Mitigation Strategies," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(8), pages 1-34, April.
    7. Wang, Shiyan & Li, Chengjiang & Zhang, Wei & Sui, Jingyu & Negnevitsky, Michael, 2024. "Assessing the impact of prefabricated buildings on urban green total factor energy efficiency," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 297(C).
    8. Ailing Xu & Li Mo & Qi Wang, 2022. "Research on Operation Mode of the Yalong River Cascade Reservoirs Based on Improved Stochastic Fractal Search Algorithm," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(20), pages 1-19, October.
    9. Gemechu, Eskinder & Kumar, Amit, 2022. "A review of how life cycle assessment has been used to assess the environmental impacts of hydropower energy," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 167(C).
    10. Jun Yin Lee & Renuga Verayiah & Kam Hoe Ong & Agileswari K. Ramasamy & Marayati Binti Marsadek, 2020. "Distributed Generation: A Review on Current Energy Status, Grid-Interconnected PQ Issues, and Implementation Constraints of DG in Malaysia," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(24), pages 1-40, December.
    11. Yechennan Peng & Hossein Azadi & Liang (Emlyn) Yang & Jürgen Scheffran & Ping Jiang, 2022. "Assessing the Siting Potential of Low-Carbon Energy Power Plants in the Yangtze River Delta: A GIS-Based Approach," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(6), pages 1-20, March.
    12. Gałko, Grzegorz & Mazur, Izabela & Rejdak, Michał & Jagustyn, Barbara & Hrabak, Joanna & Ouadi, Miloud & Jahangiri, Hessam & Sajdak, Marcin, 2023. "Evaluation of alternative refuse-derived fuel use as a valuable resource in various valorised applications," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 263(PD).
    13. Maja Ivanovski & Darko Goričanec & Danijela Urbancl, 2023. "The Evaluation of Torrefaction Efficiency for Lignocellulosic Materials Combined with Mixed Solid Wastes," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(9), pages 1-15, April.
    14. Liu, Zhengguang & Guo, Zhiling & Chen, Qi & Song, Chenchen & Shang, Wenlong & Yuan, Meng & Zhang, Haoran, 2023. "A review of data-driven smart building-integrated photovoltaic systems: Challenges and objectives," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 263(PE).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:15:y:2023:i:10:p:8209-:d:1149873. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.