Article
Engineering, Environmental
Sabyasachi Das, Chao Liang, Jennifer B. Dunn
Summary: Pyrolysis is a promising technology for converting non-recyclable plastic waste into fuels or chemicals. The optimal use of pyrolysis products may vary depending on regional characteristics and environmental impacts.
Article
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
A. Alcazar-Ruiz, M. L. Ortiz, F. Dorado, L. Sanchez-Silva
Summary: This study compares the sustainability of gasification and fast pyrolysis processes for producing bio-oil using agricultural wastes through a life cycle assessment. The findings indicate that gasification has a greater environmental impact than fast pyrolysis for all studied agricultural biomasses. The study also reveals that fast pyrolysis is the most environmentally friendly option for producing 1 MJ bio-oil.
JOURNAL OF CLEANER PRODUCTION
(2022)
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Amos Wei Lun Lee, Edward Ren Kai Neo, Zi-Yu Khoo, Zhiquan Yeo, Yee Shee Tan, Shuyun Chng, Wenjin Yan, Boon Keng Lok, Jonathan Sze Choong Low
Summary: The COVID-19 pandemic has led to a surge in global face mask consumption, with reusable EFL masks showing lower environmental impact compared to single-use surgical masks, emitting less CO2 and generating less waste.
RESOURCES CONSERVATION AND RECYCLING
(2021)
Article
Thermodynamics
Kexin Yin, Ranran Wei, Jiuxu Ruan, Peizhe Cui, Zhaoyou Zhu, Yinglong Wang, Xinling Zhao
Summary: This study proposes a multi-objective assessment method to evaluate the entire life cycle of medical supplies, focusing on surgical masks, from an environmental and economic perspective. The results show that the energy consumption and environmental impacts are mainly concentrated in the collection, pretreatment, gasification, and waste heat recovery stages. Operating costs have a significant impact and using automatic equipment and improving energy consumption are crucial for reducing system costs.
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Dan Cudjoe, Taouahria Brahim, Bangzhu Zhu
Summary: The increasing generation of plastic waste globally is causing major concerns for public health and the environment, with China being the largest contributor. The current method of incineration for treating the increased plastic waste has negative environmental consequences. Pyrolysis has emerged as an environmentally friendly technique for energy and material recovery from plastic waste. This study evaluates the financial and ecological feasibility of power production from oil derived from pyrolysis of mixed plastic wastes in China from 2009 to 2028. The findings show a significant increase in plastic waste collected by 2028, with the potential to generate a substantial amount of oil for power production. The project is economically viable and profitable, with positive indicators such as net present value, profitability index, and return on investment. The life cycle assessment results reveal the project's positive impact on reducing global warming through the avoidance of coal combustion.
Article
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Hrvoje Stancin, Vladimir Strezov, Hrvoje Mikulcic
Summary: In the study, co-pyrolysis is identified as a potential solution for waste management and alternative fuel production. Life cycle assessment (LCA) is performed to evaluate the environmental impacts of co-pyrolysis of waste biomass and plastics. The results demonstrate that co-pyrolysis can effectively reduce environmental impacts, especially when integrated with renewable energy sources.
JOURNAL OF CLEANER PRODUCTION
(2023)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Muhammad Usman Azam, Akshay Vete, Waheed Afzal
Summary: This research focused on the simulation and life cycle assessment of pyrolysis and hydrocracking of high-density polyethylene. The study found that hydrocracking produced high-value fuels, while pyrolysis generated a significant amount of pyrolysis oil. Furthermore, through sensitivity analysis and life cycle assessment, it was determined that hydrocracking is superior to pyrolysis in terms of environmental impact.
Review
Engineering, Environmental
K. K. Moses, A. Aliyu, A. Hamza, I. A. Mohammed-Dabo
Summary: Waste lubricating oil (WLO) is a mixture of lubricating oils used in automobiles and machines, which contains harmful substances to human health. The improper disposal of WLO poses significant threats to the environment and human health, consequently highlighting the importance of researching its re-use, regeneration, and conversion into valuable and cleaner products. This study comprehensively reviews WLO recycling technologies, focusing on catalytic cracking, techno-economics, and life cycle assessments. Sustainable and low-cost catalysts for WLO cracking, such as clay, spent catalysts, and magnetite doped with barium and strontium, are identified.
JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL CHEMICAL ENGINEERING
(2023)
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Fabiana Frota de Albuquerque Landi, Claudia Fabiani, Beatrice Castellani, Franco Cotana, Anna Laura Pisello
Summary: Global waste is expected to significantly increase by 2050, making it crucial to develop effective waste management strategies. Food and green waste account for a significant portion of total waste production, highlighting the importance of processing and reusing materials such as waste cooking oil. This study compares various valorization pathways for waste cooking oil, including biodiesel and direct burning fuel, to their common alternatives, and assesses their environmental impact and energy consumption. The results show that waste cooking oil has lower environmental impact in most cases, particularly as direct burning fuel. However, obstacles such as limited stock and collection difficulties need to be addressed for its widespread usage.
Article
Agricultural Engineering
Junqi Wang, Solomon Inalegwu Okopi, Haoxiang Ma, Miao Wang, Rui Chen, Wangyang Tian, Fuqing Xu
Summary: By comparing the environmental impacts of anaerobic digestion-pyrolysis and pyrolysis-anaerobic digestion integrations with single anaerobic digestion and pyrolysis technologies for organic solid waste, it was found that anaerobic digestion-pyrolysis has the least environmental impact, while pyrolysis-anaerobic digestion exhibits the heaviest environmental burden. Hence, the anaerobic digestion-pyrolysis integration is considered the top priority for treating organic solid waste from an environmental perspective.
BIORESOURCE TECHNOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Hasret Akgun, Ece Yapici, Zerrin Gunkaya, Aysun Ozkan, Mufide Banar
Summary: This study conducted pyrolysis of LDPE and C/LDPE wastes to obtain liquid products that could be used as commercial waxes, showing their similarity to commercial heavy wax.
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND POLLUTION RESEARCH
(2021)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Guillermo Garcia-Garcia, Maria Angeles Martin-Lara, Monica Calero, Francisco Ortega, Gabriel Blazquez
Summary: Since the COVID-19 pandemic began, a large number of face masks have been used and disposed of, resulting in significant environmental impact. However, pyrolysis of face masks has emerged as a sustainable solution, as it can produce liquid oil for diesel substitution and solid char for activated carbon substitution. This study used Life-Cycle Assessment methodology to examine the environmental impacts of various pyrolysis treatment scenarios for surgical masks and FFP2 masks, comparing them to landfilling. The results showed that using the produced oil as a diesel substitute greatly reduces the environmental impact, with thermal pyrolysis performing better than catalytic pyrolysis. Freshwater and marine ecotoxicity were found to be the highest environmental impact categories in all scenarios.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2023)
Article
Thermodynamics
Guangcan Su, Nurin Wahidah Mohd Zulkifli, Hwai Chyuan Ong, Shaliza Ibrahim, Mei Yee Cheah, Ruonan Zhu, Quan Bu
Summary: The global pandemic of COVID-19 has had devastating effects on the environment, society, and economy worldwide. In this study, a sustainable and environmentally friendly method is proposed to convert hazardous medical waste into valuable fuel products through pyrolysis. The use of medical protective clothing (MPC) in pyrolysis, along with the addition of catalysts, improves the quality of bio-oil produced from oil palm wastes (OPWs) pyrolysis.
Article
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Marina Corral-Bobadilla, Ruben Lostado-Lorza, Fatima Somovilla-Gomez, Saul Iniguez-Macedo
Summary: This study optimizes the production of biodiesel from waste cooking oil by using multi-response surface methodology and life cycle assessment. By adjusting the input process parameters, it aims to achieve a high yield and high heating value of biodiesel, while minimizing the environmental impact.
JOURNAL OF CLEANER PRODUCTION
(2022)
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Hanqiao Liu, Tong Liu, Guoxia Wei, Hailong Zhao, Tong Li, Fangkai Weng, Xin Guo, Yanzhang Wang, Yanfei Lin
Summary: This study compares economically-affordable and environmentally-friendly rural domestic waste treatment models with different gasification scales through life cycle assessment and life cycle cost analysis. The findings show that the county model has the smallest overall environmental impact, while the town model has the lowest economic cost.
Article
Energy & Fuels
J. Eimontas, N. Striugas, K. Zakarauskas, I. Kiminaite
Summary: The eutrophication processes and water pollution caused by marine plastic waste are significant ecological problems. This study analyzed the used fishing nets and found that thermal treatment at 700 degrees Celsius with Y-Type catalyst could result in a high yield (96%) of caprolactam. This research provides insights for the recovery and utilization of marine plastic waste in a circular economy.
Article
Thermodynamics
Samy Yousef, Justas Eimontas, Nerijus Striugas, Marius Praspaliauskas, Mohammed Ali Abdelnaby
Summary: This research aims to study the catalytic pyrolysis of glass fibre-reinforced epoxy resin composites mixed with different fillers over zeolite catalyst. The experimental results show that the hybrid catalyst can significantly enhance the formation of aliphatic compounds and phenol compounds, reduce the energy required for decomposition, and demonstrate good consistency with increasing heating rates and addition of hybrid catalysts.
JOURNAL OF THERMAL ANALYSIS AND CALORIMETRY
(2023)
Article
Energy & Fuels
Justas Eimontas, Adolfas Jancauskas, Kestutis Zakarauskas, Nerijus Striugas, Lina Vorotinskiene
Summary: The uncollected seaweed and macroalgae have caused eutrophication, which is a significant and ongoing ecological issue. This paper investigates the potential use of seaweed as a feedstock in the slow-pyrolysis process through microthermal analysis combined with Fourier transform infrared spectrometry and laboratory-scale experiments with different temperatures and catalysts. The results show that seaweed decomposes in two stages at 250 and 700 degrees C, and the catalyst lowers the activation energy and decomposition temperatures. The experiments reveal that the gaseous phase contains CnHm, H-2, CO, and CO2, while the liquid fraction derivatives include substituted phenolic compounds, pyridine, benzoic acid, naphthalene, d-glucopyranose, and d-allose. The catalyst also converts higher molecular mass compounds into toluene (71%), making this technology attractive for the recovery of higher-added-value products.
Article
Energy & Fuels
Samy Yousef, Vidas Lekavicius, Nerijus Striugas
Summary: During the COVID-19 pandemic, there was a significant increase in surgical mask waste (WM) in the EU region, and managing and recycling them became a challenge. This study analyzed the techno-economic viability of pyrolysis and gasification processes for converting WMs into pyrolysis oil and hydrogen-rich syngas. The results showed that gasification had higher economic performance compared to other methods, such as incineration and pyrolysis.
Article
Energy & Fuels
Samy Yousef, Justas Eimontas, Kestutis Zakarauskas, Adolfas Jancauskas, Nerijus Striugas
Summary: The COVID-19 pandemic has generated a significant amount of surgical mask waste, posing a future environmental challenge. This study aims to convert surgical mask waste into useful products through a gasification process, including H-2-CH4-rich syngas, carbon nanoparticles, and benzene-rich tar. Experimental results demonstrate that the optimal conditions for the highest production of syngas and carbon nanoparticles were at a temperature of 900 degrees C and an air-fuel equivalence ratio of 0.29. Additionally, the highest content of hydrogen and methane in the syngas was achieved at a temperature of 900 degrees C and an air-fuel equivalence ratio of 0.19.
ENERGY SOURCES PART A-RECOVERY UTILIZATION AND ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS
(2023)
Article
Energy & Fuels
Ieva Kiminaite, Judith Gonzalez-Arias, Nerijus Striugas, Justas Eimontas, Martin Seemann
Summary: The COVID-19 pandemic has led to increased plastic pollution due to the extensive use of PPE worldwide. To address this issue, proper management of PPE disposal is necessary. The steam gasification/pyrolysis technique offers a reliable solution for chemically recycling these wastes into valuable products. Experimental results show that the process temperature significantly affects the composition of gases produced, with higher temperatures promoting the synthesis of syngas. This study demonstrates that the thermo-chemical conversion process is a feasible route for converting used face masks into valuable products such as syngas.
Article
Chemistry, Analytical
Samy Yousef, Justas Eimontas, K. estutis Zakarauskas, Nerijus Striu
Summary: This research aims to recover styrene and glass fibre (GF) from end-of-life wind turbine blades (WTBs). Conversion experiments were carried out at different pyrolysis temperatures, and the optimal temperature for decomposition of UPR fragments while maintaining the morphology of the recovered GF was determined. The results showed that styrene was the major compound in the oil product and CO2 was the main gas in the gaseous product.
JOURNAL OF ANALYTICAL AND APPLIED PYROLYSIS
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Analytical
Samy Yousef, Justas Eimontas, Kestutis Zakarauskas, Nerijus Striugas
Summary: This research aims to recover triacetin from cigarette butts using pyrolysis treatment and demonstrates the high potential of the pyrolysis process in disposing of cigarette butts and recovering triacetin.
JOURNAL OF ANALYTICAL AND APPLIED PYROLYSIS
(2023)
Article
Energy & Fuels
Justas Eimontas, Nerijus Striugas, K. estutis Zakarauskas, Ieva Kiminaite, Inna Pitak
Summary: Marine biomass and plastic wastes are significant ecological issues that can be converted into energy through pyrolysis with the help of catalysts. This study focuses on seaweed and fishing nets pyrolysis, and investigates the use of iron and copper impregnated catalysts to improve the quality of the products. The results show that copper impregnation greatly increases the content of caprolactam and hexanenitrile.
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Samy Yousef, Justas Eimontas, Nerijus Striugas, Alaa Mohamed, Mohammed Ali Abdelnaby
Summary: This research focuses on utilizing a pyrolysis process to maximize the extraction of benzoic acid from PET nonwoven fabric waste. The results demonstrate that PET fabric is highly volatile and can be completely degraded at 490 degrees Celsius. By applying pyrolysis treatment, the abundance of benzoic acid extracted from PET fabric waste can be increased by 134%.