Estimation method to minimize mixing of virgin plastic and maximize recycling of plastic waste

A study conducted by Yoshinori Inoue et al. was published in the Resources, Conservation & Recycling.

Recycling of plastic waste has become a social issue to reduce environmental impacts and realize a circular economy. At present, mechanical recycling is the most popular method to utilize plastic waste, but the quality degradation of the collected plastic waste may limit the applications. Therefore, approaches to improve the mechanical properties by mixing virgin plastic are attracting attention. However, because there has been no method to determine the amount of virgin plastic to be mixed, experimental trial and error and excessive addition of virgin plastic have been forced.
In this study, we have developed a method for estimating the amount of virgin plastic through numerical iterative calculations by applying the proposed analytic model for predicting the mechanical properties of polymer blends. This method allows the estimation of the minimum amount of virgin plastic to be mixed, thereby maximizing the use of plastic waste. In addition, our method can be applied to deal with virgin plastic mixing in the life cycle assessment (LCA) of plastics recycling, and is expected to contribute to the development of LCA studies.

Title: Estimation Method to Achieve Desired Mechanical Properties with Minimum Virgin Polymer in Plastics Recycling
Authors: Inoue, Y., Okamoto, H.
Journal Name: Resources, Conservation and Recycling
Published: August 24, 2024
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resconrec.2024.107856