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Analysis of Infrastructures for Processing Plastic Waste using Pyrolysis-Based Chemical Upcycling Pathways
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Researchers modeled a national pyrolysis-based plastic upcycling infrastructure in the United States and found it could generate nearly $20 billion in economic value, achieve 34% plastic-to-plastic circularity, and yield significant environmental benefits over landfilling and incineration for post-consumer mixed plastic waste.
Modern mechanical recycling infrastructure for plastic is capable of processing only a small subset of waste plastics, reinforcing the need for parallel disposal methods such as landfilling and incineration. Emerging pyrolysis-based chemical technologies can �upcycle� plastic waste into high-value polymer and chemical products and process a broader range of waste plastics. In this work, we study the economic and environmental benefits of deploying an upcycling infrastructure in the continental United States for producing low-density polyethylene (LDPE) and polypropylene (PP) from post-consumer mixed plastic waste. Our analysis aims to determine the market size that the infrastructure can create, the degree of circularity that it can achieve, the prices for waste and derived products it can propagate, and the environmental benefits of diverting plastic waste from landfill and incineration facilities it can produce. We apply a computational framework that integrates techno-economic analysis, life cycle assessment, and value chain optimization. Our results demonstrate that the infrastructure generates an economy of nearly 20 billion USD and positive prices for plastic waste, opening opportunities for compensation to residents who provide plastic waste. Our analysis also indicates that the infrastructure can achieve a plastic-to-plastic degree of circularity of 34% and remains viable under various external factors (including technology efficiencies, capital investment budgets, and polymer market values). Finally, we present significant environmental benefits of upcycling over alternative landfill and incineration waste disposal methods, and comment on ongoing work expanding our modeling methodology to other chemical upcycling pathway case studies, including hydroformylation of specific plastics to chemicals.
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Right now, only about 9% of plastic waste actually gets recycled, and most of what does get recycled turns into lower-quality material—not a real solution to the mountains of plastic piling up in our environment (and breaking down into the microplastics we're increasingly finding in our bodies). This review rounds up newer "chemical recycling" methods that can break plastic waste down to its molecular building blocks and even transform it into useful products like lubricants, offering a more promising path to actually reusing plastic instead of just downgrading it. These technologies are still working through real challenges like cost and efficiency before they can make a major dent in the plastic p
Chemical Recycling and Upcycling of Plastic Waste: from Linear to Circular Economy
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This review paper rounds up scientific progress on turning plastic waste into new chemicals and materials—instead of just melting it down into lower-quality plastic (what most "recycling" does today, and only for 9% of waste). Better recycling methods matter for your health because plastic that isn't properly processed often ends up in landfills, oceans, or breaking down into microplastics that contaminate our food, water, and even our bodies. These emerging chemical methods could help close the loop on plastic waste, though the researchers note real challenges remain before this happens at scale, including cost and technical hurdles.
Exploring the potential of chemical recycling using a distributed model in the UK – A life cycle assessment perspective
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Researchers conducted a life cycle assessment of small-scale, decentralized pyrolysis plants converting mixed plastic waste into naphtha in the UK, finding that chemical recycling reduces climate change impacts by up to 2,977 kg CO2-equivalent per tonne compared to virgin plastic production. While promising as a complement to mechanical recycling for complex waste streams, the study notes ongoing challenges with by-product environmental impacts and the need for policy support.
Towards Sustainable Production of Chemicals and Fuels from the Fast Pyrolysis of Waste Polyolefin Plastics
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This thesis explores sustainable production of chemicals and fuels from the fast pyrolysis of plastic waste as a circular economy strategy, evaluating the technical and economic viability of converting plastic waste into valuable products. The work addresses the challenge of rising plastic waste generation and low recycling rates by examining thermochemical conversion pathways.
Upcycling of Plastic Waste
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This study reviews emerging upcycling technologies for plastic waste — including pyrolysis, gasification, solvolysis, and chemo-biotechnological conversion — that transform discarded plastics into value-added products such as graphene, biofuels, biodegradable polymers, and battery materials, offering more sustainable alternatives to conventional recycling and landfilling.
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