Issue 7, 2023

Nonviable carbon neutrality with plastic waste-to-energy

Abstract

Incineration, pyrolysis, and gasification during plastic waste treatment are inevitable to reduce the volume of landfilled plastic waste and recover energy; however, they cause severe carbon emissions. We show that the current practices of plastic waste-to-energy will significantly impact carbon neutrality. Various energy recovery systems, such as combined power cycles and fuel cells, were modeled to evaluate the power generated and CO2 emitted from treating the current and projected plastic waste by 2050. The CO2 emissions from plastic waste-to-energy systems are higher than those from current fossil fuel-based power systems per unit of power generated, even after considering the contribution of carbon capture and storage. Power generation using plastic waste will significantly increase by 2050, and therefore, we suggest technologies required for achieving carbon neutrality.

Graphical abstract: Nonviable carbon neutrality with plastic waste-to-energy

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
27 Mär 2023
Accepted
07 Jun 2023
First published
08 Jun 2023

Energy Environ. Sci., 2023,16, 3074-3087

Nonviable carbon neutrality with plastic waste-to-energy

S. Kwon, J. Kang, B. Lee, S. Hong, Y. Jeon, M. Bak and S. Im, Energy Environ. Sci., 2023, 16, 3074 DOI: 10.1039/D3EE00969F

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