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Papers
20 resultsShowing papers similar to Defossilising fuels and chemicals – a systemic analysis from feedstock and technology, to hurdles and enablers
ClearCarbon for Chemicals:How can biomass contribute to the defossilisation of the chemicals sector?
This study examines how biomass feedstocks can contribute to defossilising the chemicals sector, analyzing pathways for replacing fossil-derived carbon with bio-based carbon in chemical manufacturing processes.
Recent innovations in the developments of biopolymer-based materials for the removal of micro- and nanoplastics: A review of performance, critical factors, practicability and knowledge gaps
A review of recent innovations in biopolymer-based materials for various applications assessed how bio-derived polymers are being developed to reduce reliance on fossil-fuel plastics. The transition to biopolymers is relevant to reducing the long-term sources of microplastic pollution.
Is There Hope to Switch Traditional Plastics into Sustainable?
This review paper examines whether traditional petroleum-based plastics can realistically be replaced by more sustainable alternatives, surveying developments in bioplastics, biodegradable polymers, recycling technologies, and regulatory shifts. It concludes that while promising innovations exist — from renewable-source plastics to circular economy strategies — significant technical and economic hurdles remain before sustainable plastics can fully displace conventional ones. The paper is relevant to microplastic pollution as a systemic solution-oriented overview of how to reduce plastic waste at its source.
Bioplastics and biodegradable plastics: A review of recent advances, feasibility and cleaner production
Researchers systematically reviewed over 280 articles on bioplastics and biodegradable plastics, finding that while polylactic acid and polyhydroxyalkanoates reduce fossil fuel dependence, their higher production costs, lower durability, and tendency to form microplastics when improperly composted remain significant barriers to replacing conventional plastics.
Resources for Defossilized Chemical Production in the United States
Researchers analyzed the feasibility of defossilizing U.S. chemical production by replacing fossil fuel feedstocks and energy carriers with non-fossil alternatives, finding sufficient domestic non-fossil feedstock availability with regional advantages. The study maps potential feedstock sources and processing locations and identifies enabling technologies for building fossil-free chemical supply chains.
Towards a Circular Economy of Plastics: An Evaluation of the Systematic Transition to a New Generation of Bioplastics
This review evaluates the transition from petroleum-based plastics to bioplastics within a circular economy framework, assessing the sustainability, production challenges, and environmental trade-offs of current bioplastic alternatives.
Bio-based plastics in a circular economy: A review of recovery pathways and implications for product design
Researchers reviewed how bio-based plastics — made from renewable plant sources — can be recovered and recycled at end-of-life, finding that the feasibility of eight different recovery methods depends heavily not just on plastic chemistry but on how products are designed, and offering guidance for designers to improve recyclability.
Materials challenges and opportunities to address growing micro/nanoplastics pollution: a review of thermochemical upcycling
This review examined thermochemical upcycling technologies including pyrolysis, gasification, and liquefaction as approaches to valorize micro- and nanoplastic waste, assessing the material challenges and opportunities for converting environmental plastic pollution into useful fuels or chemical feedstocks.
Emerging Challenges from Plastics-Driven Climate Change
This review examines how the plastic life cycle — from fossil fuel extraction through manufacturing to disposal — generates substantial greenhouse gas emissions, while environmental microplastics disrupt ecosystems and reduce ocean carbon sequestration, creating a bidirectional link between plastic pollution and climate change.
Microplastic degradation as a sustainable concurrent approach for producing biofuel and obliterating hazardous environmental effects: A state-of-the-art review
This review explores approaches to degrading microplastics through thermal and biological methods, which could simultaneously reduce environmental pollution and produce usable biofuels. Researchers highlight how certain microorganisms and heat-based processes can break down microplastics into simpler compounds that can serve as energy sources. The study suggests these dual-purpose strategies could help address both the plastic pollution crisis and energy security challenges.
Sustainable Management of Organic Waste and Recycling for Bioplastics: A LCA Approach for the Italian Case Study
Researchers used life cycle assessment to evaluate the environmental trade-offs of collecting organic waste for biodegradable plastic production in Italy, finding that the system could reduce fossil resource use but that impacts depended heavily on collection efficiency and the end-of-life pathway chosen.
A critical review on plastic waste life cycle assessment and management: Challenges, research gaps, and future perspectives
This review examines the full environmental impact of plastics from production through disposal, noting that life cycle assessments often produce unexpected results when comparing bio-based and petroleum-based plastics. A major gap exists because microplastic pollution is not yet factored into these environmental assessments, despite growing evidence of its ecological harm.
Defossilizing Chemical Industry as an Integrated Solution for Indonesia's Climate and Pandemic Crisis
This book chapter examines defossilizing the chemical industry as an integrated solution to Indonesia's climate crisis and pandemic recovery, framing it within a broader environmental and technology strategy that also addresses microplastics and persistent organic pollutants. The study argues that transitioning away from fossil-based chemical production can contribute simultaneously to sustainability and post-pandemic resilience.
An exploration of future of bioplastics and their physical, chemical and biological characteristic through bibliometric Analysis
This review explored the future of bioplastics as alternatives to petroleum-based plastics, examining their physical, chemical, and biological characteristics and comparing degradation behavior in different environments. The paper assessed current limitations in bioplastic performance and biodegradability that must be addressed before they can effectively replace conventional plastics at scale.
Addressing the Sustainability Conundrums and Challenges within the Polymer Value Chain
This review critically examines sustainability challenges across the polymer value chain, including misconceptions about biobased and biodegradable plastics. Researchers analyze the emergence of bioplastics, compare plastic products against their alternatives, and assess greenwashing in the fashion industry. The study highlights the growing importance of addressing microplastics contamination and urges the research community to scrutinize superficial sustainability claims.
Recent Advances in Sustainable Plastic Upcycling and Biopolymers
This review argues that sustainable biopolymers, produced from renewable resources via biological or hybrid chemical-biological processes, represent the most promising long-term solution to the plastic pollution crisis and climate-related concerns about fossil-fuel-derived plastics. Key challenges include achieving the mechanical properties, production costs, and large-scale manufacturing needed to replace conventional plastics.
From Pollution to Solution: Scalable Approaches to Microplastic Degradation and Sustainability: A Review
This review examined scalable approaches to microplastic degradation and pollution control, covering photocatalytic, biological, and chemical degradation strategies as well as source reduction policies. The authors assessed both technical feasibility and implementation barriers for transitioning from pollution to solution at industrial scales.
Microplastics from petroleum-based plastics and their effects: A systematic literature review and science mapping of global bioplastics production
This systematic review maps the global research landscape on microplastics from petroleum-based plastics and the emerging bioplastics industry as an alternative. Researchers found that microplastic contamination is pervasive across aquatic, terrestrial, and atmospheric environments, driven largely by the degradation of conventional plastics. The study suggests that scaling up bioplastic production could help reduce future microplastic generation, though challenges around biodegradability and end-of-life management remain.
Paving the way for biobased materials : a roadmap for the market introduction of PHAs
This roadmap paper examines barriers to large-scale commercial production of PHA biopolymers, which are biodegradable alternatives to petroleum-based plastics. Scaling up PHA production is essential for offering plastic manufacturers sustainable alternatives that would not persist as microplastics in the environment.
Rethinking plastics through microbial biodegradation and circular economy innovation – A review
Researchers reviewed emerging biotechnological strategies — including bacterial, fungal, and enzymatic breakdown of plastics — as key tools for transitioning from a throwaway plastic economy to a circular one where plastics are biodegraded or recycled rather than discarded. They identify scalability and regulatory gaps as the main barriers to deploying these solutions at the global level needed to address plastic pollution.