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Plastic Waste
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This review examines plastic waste recovery and recycling routes including re-extrusion, mechanical, chemical, and energy recovery through cement kilns and fluidized beds, and discusses the growing global threat of micro-nanoplastics to biotic and abiotic environmental components.
Nowadays, polymers are the most versatile material. They contain certain chemicals and additives such as pigments, concentrates, anti-blockers, light transformers, UV-stabilizers and so on. Recovery and recycling of plastic solid waste (PSW) can be categorized by four main routes, that is, re-extrusion, mechanical, chemical and energy recovery. Cement kilns and fluidized beds are the two most common units used to recover energy from PSW or municipal solid waste with a high PSW content. The alarming rise of micro-nanoplastics in their environment is currently the biggest threat to biotic and abiotic components around the globe. The continuous disposal of long lifespan plastics has resulted in the accumulation of plastic waste, leading to significant pollution of both marine and terrestrial habitats. The production of liquid fuels from waste plastics could simultaneously reduce the quantity of waste plastics and provide an alternative fuel source.
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