Abstract
In recent years, a great deal of attention has been focused on the environmental impact of plastics, including the carbon emissions related to plastics, which has promoted the application of biodegradable plastics. Countries worldwide have shown high interest in replacing traditional plastics with biodegradable plastics. However, no systematic comparison has been conducted on the carbon emissions of biodegradable versus traditional plastic products. This study evaluates the carbon emissions of traditional and biodegradable plastic products (BPPs) over four stages and briefly discusses environmental and economic perspectives. Four scenarios—namely, the traditional method, chemical recycling, industrial composting, and anaerobic digestion—are considered for the disposal of waste biodegradable plastic product (WBBPs). The analysis takes China as a case study. The results show that the carbon emissions of 1000 traditional plastic products (plastic bags, lunch boxes, cups, etc.) were 52.09–150.36 carbon emissions equivalent of per kilogram (kg CO2eq), with the stage of plastic production contributing 50.71%–50.77%. In comparison, 1000 similar BPPs topped out at 21.06–56.86 kg CO2eq, approximately 13.53%–62.19% lower than traditional plastic products. The difference was mainly at the stages of plastic production and waste disposal, and the BPPs showed significant carbon reduction potential at the raw material acquisition stage. Waste disposal plays an important role in environmental impact, and composting and anaerobic digestion are considered to be preferable disposal methods for WBBPs. However, the high cost of biodegradable plastics is a challenge for their widespread use. This study has important reference significance for the sustainable development of the biodegradable plastics industry.
Original language | English |
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Journal | Engineering |
Early online date | 22 Nov 2023 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | E-pub ahead of print - 22 Nov 2023 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:This research was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (52100157, 52176197, and 52100156) and the National Key Research and Develop Program of China (2022YFD1601100).
Publisher Copyright:
© 2023 THE AUTHORS
Keywords
- Biodegradable plastics
- Carbon emissions
- Daily life consumption
- Different disposal scenarios
- Environmental and economic discussion
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- General Computer Science
- Environmental Engineering
- General Chemical Engineering
- Materials Science (miscellaneous)
- Energy Engineering and Power Technology
- General Engineering