There is a proliferation research and literature around the impacts of plastic waste as well as the new technologies being developed to manage that plastic material. The challenges of improving the circularity of plastics requires analysis to consider the full complexity of the ecosystem for plastics from cradle to grave or cradle. This includes processes and infrastructure for collecting, sorting, separating, and recycling the plastic materials. The DOE funded BOTTLE (Bio-Optimized Technologies to keep Thermoplastics out of Landfills and the Environment) Consortium is focused on developing new chemical upcycling strategies for today's plastics and redesigning tomorrow's plastics to be recyclable-by-design and has adopted an analysis driven research agenda. This analysis starts with a techno-economic analysis (TEA), followed by use of the Materials Flows through Industry (MFI) tool to evaluate the energy and carbon impacts of the supply chain and then use of results from the TEA and MFI analysis to inform an analysis using NREL’s Bio-based circular carbon economy Environmentally-extended Input-Output Model (BEIOM) to understand the economy wide economic and environmental impacts. This analysis informs researchers on whether the technologies are meeting the economic and environmental targets set by the BOTTLE Consortium and where there are hotspots in the technology supply chain and process design and what are the tradeoffs.<br/><br/>Given the complexity of the plastics ecosystem, different analysis methodologies are needed to be able to answer the different research questions and to understand what resources and research is needed to improve the circularity of plastics. NREL has applied different methodological approaches in trying to understand what the critical factors are for determining the availability and quality of recycling plastic resin, how to improve the recovery of plastics at end of life and what technology pathway and end use application is least impactful, that provides the best circularity outcomes and benefits for the economy.

Data, analysis and decision tools for evaluating the circular economy of plastics

Fall 2022 abstracts, posters, and presentations will launch in mid-September.

ACS Fall 2022

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.