Adding Value: Upcycling problematic plastic waste through digital craft

Plastic waste worldwide is becoming a serious pollution problem for the planet. Various physical and chemical methods have been tested in attempts to remove plastic dumps. However, these have usually resulted in secondary pollution issues. Recently, the biodegradation of plastic by fungal and bacterial strains has been spotlighted as a promising solution to remove plastic wastes without generating secondary pollution. We have previously reported that a Pseudomonas aeruginosa strain isolated from the gut of a superworm is capable of biodegrading polystyrene (PS) and polyphenylene sulfide (PPS). Herein, we demonstrate the extraordinary biodegradative power of P. aeruginosa in efficiently depolymerizing four different types of plastics: PS, PPS, polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP). We further compared biodegradation rates for these four plastic types and found that PE was biodegraded fastest, whereas the biodegradation of PP was the slowest. Moreover, the growth rates of P. aeruginosa were not always proportional to biodegradation rates, suggesting that the rate of bacterial growth could be influenced by the composition and properties of intermediate molecules produced during plastic biodegradation, and these may supply useful cellular precursors and energy. In conclusion, an initial screening system to select the most suitable bacterial strain to biodegrade certain types of plastic is particularly important and may be necessary to solve plastic waste problems both presently and in the future.

Abstract: This study aimed to determine which type of plastic – PET, HDPE, LDPE, PP, PS, and Others, produces most oil yield in terms of time of complete degradation, temperature and amount of plastics using a non-catalytic slow pyrolysis method; it also determined the physical characteristics of the oil yield in terms of its color and appearance; and it also aimed to determine which petroleum produced by different types of plastics are more efficient in terms of (a) production of oil and (b) combustion time. Production of oil and oil yield is presented in milliliters and percentage, respectively. Combustion time is expressed in seconds from the time of ignition to total disappearance of flame having 1ml of oil tested from each produced pyrolytic oil. Experimental-descriptive comparative method was used in determining the type of plastic that yields to most of pyrolytic oil. Based from gathered results, at constant temperature and amount of plastics, PS produced most petroleum at 29.5% oil yield followed by PP with 29%. While PET produced the least petroleum with 0.01% oil yield. Color varies at different types of plastics, given that PET and PP produces light brown color, LDPE produces light yellow while HDPE, PS and Others produces black color. PET, HDPE, PP, PS and Others produced liquefied petroleum while LDPE produces flammable wax product. PS produced most petroleum with 295ml (29.5%), and PET produced least oil with 1ml (0.01%). Combustion time varies at different types of plastics: PS at 145 seconds, PP at 141 seconds, HDPE at 115 seconds, Others at 78 seconds, LDPE at 77 seconds while PET produced non – flammable oil yield. Thus, PS is most efficient as an alternative fuel in terms of production and combustion time. For the betterment of similar study, future researchers are encouraged to test the pyrolytic oil yielded from different types of plastics in engine performance and machineries and the comparative performance to the available commercial fuels.

We are facing a rapidly growing plastic pollution crisis, which is adversely affecting communities and ecosystems across the globe. Polymer scientists have an urgent obligation to develop and implement strategies for reutilizing plastic waste streams instead of continually relying on virgin feedstocks in plastic manufacturing. Postconsumer and postindustrial plastic items should be treated as valuable resources instead of discarding them. In order to do this, technological outlets must be developed to produce renewed materials using plastic waste as an input. Polyesters represent one of the largest plastic waste streams because they are commonly used in single-use beverage and food containers as well as textiles. Polyesters are also ideal candidates to exploit through chemical diversification, owing to the wide variety of functional derivatives that can be synthetically accessed via ester reactivity. This work highlights some recent developments related to diversifying polyester waste, with a focus on poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) as waste stream. The strategies encompass the production of both valuable small molecules prepared via degradation of PET and high-performance polymeric scaffolds derived from reactions with PET. Taking the recent ingenuity into consideration, based on these technological developments, an outlook is provided for the future of polyester waste streams. What are the next steps that are needed? Where are these trends headed? What gaps still exist, particularly with respect to assessment of sustainability and life cycle analysis? Collectively considering the examples highlighted here, there is great promise in the field of reutilizing waste streams as feedstocks for value-added materials.

A critical review on pyrolysis method as sustainable conversion of waste plastics into fuels

12 - Emissions and Environmental Burdens Associated With Plastic Solid Waste Management

Plastic pollution has become a significant issue due to the surge in disposable plastic products, which overwhelms global waste management systems. Despite effective recycling methods, a substantial amount of plastic waste still ends up in natural environments, where it can persist for centuries. To address this problem, we have proposed and outlined the initial development of a social media platform designed to promote environmental sustainability by facilitating plastic waste recycling. This platform employs Convolutional Neural Networks (CNN) to identify different types of plastics from images. Moreover, it features an innovative friend suggestion algorithm that analyses user posts and images, using Support Vector Machine (SVM) for text analysis and CNN for image analysis. The platform also incorporates a hybrid recommendation model for its online marketplace, which allows users to trade plastic items by combining collaborative filtering and content-based filtering techniques. This comprehensive approach not only enhances user interaction but also encourages sustainable practices. By integrating advanced image and text analysis with user-centric features, our platform aims to make plastic recycling more accessible and engaging. Additionally, the platform is available as a mobile application, making it convenient for users to participate in recycling activities on the go.

Тhe article is devoted to the global environmental problem of plastic waste pollution. Now, about 9 billion tons of primary plastic have been produced. Of this amount, 6.3 billion tons is plastic waste, of which 9 % was recycled, 12 % incinerated, and 79 % accumulated in landfills or in the environment. The main feature of plastic materials is their stability. Once in the environment as waste, plastic can be in its original state for more than 450 years. The purpose of the article is to study the current state of production and use of plastics, as well as the field of plastic waste management; identification of perspective methods for solving the problem of plastic pollution. Plastics are organic macromolecular compounds that have high quality characteristics. Due to this, they became widespread. There are different types of plastics: thermoplastics, thermosets, foams and bioplastics. Currently, 40% of plastic is used once, after which it is discarded. Under the influence of various factors in the environment plastic slowly breaks down into small fragments, known as microplastics. Microplastic particles get into the soil, water, and through food chains can enter the human body. Potentially microplastics can negatively affect the human body. To solve the problem of accumulation of plastic waste in the environment, many countries around the world, including Ukraine, are implementing a waste management system based on the European waste management hierarchy. The hierarchy reflects five approaches to waste management: Removal (waste disposal and incineration without energy production), Recovery (waste incineration with energy production), Recycling (waste conversion into secondary raw materials for reuse), Reuse (waste reuse without recycling) and Prevention (waste amount minimization). Disposal is the least efficient way of waste management, and recycling and prevention are the most effective ways. Keywords: plastic, waste, pollution, environment, landfill, recycling.

Hirudo verbana as a freshwater invertebrate model to assess the effects of polypropylene micro and nanoplastics dispersion in freshwater

<p>This study reports on the amount of plastic wastes in five river mouths discharging to Manila Bay, a natural harbor which drains approximately 17,000 km<sup>3</sup> of watershed area. Of the 17 rivers discharging to the Bay, five rivers which run through the densely populated and highly urbanized Metropolitan Manila are included in the study namely, Pasig, Cañas, Tullahan, Meycauyan and Parañaque. A Waste Analysis and Characterization Study (WACS) was conducted to investigate the composition of the wastes that were on the river banks. Samples were taken from the wastes that were found lying on the banks. The wastes collected in each study site varied from each other, although plastic wastes and yard wastes were gathered from all areas. Based on their % wet weight, plastics alone comprised 28% of wastes in Cañas, 46% of wastes in Meycauayan, 42% of wastes in Parañaque, 37% of wastes in Pasig and 27% of wastes in Tullahan. The disposed plastics collected were also characterized and categorized into different types: hard plastic (PP, HDPE), film plastic (PP, PE), foam (PS, PUR) and other type (PVC, PET). In Cañas River, film plastics (79%) were the most ubiquitous type of plastic waste which primarily consist of different sachets of household products and single-use plastic bags. Few hard plastics and other types of plastic such as PVC and PET were collected. Meycauayan River and Parañaque River had almost the same plastic type distribution wherein the most dominant plastic type were hard plastics. These hard plastics collected were mostly composed of bottles of detergents and toiletries. Meycauayan River has relatively fewer establishments near its river mouth, indicating that the sources of the accumulated plastic wastes came from the mid and upstream of the river where the urbanized and industrialized areas were located. Furthermore, even though hard plastics represented 38% of wastes in Paranaque, numerous plastic straw ropes were collected as fishermen use these straws to tie up their boats to the docking area. Significant amount of foams  and PET bottles were also amassed in these rivers. Plastic wastes from the Pasig River were mostly comprised of both film plastics (39%) and hard plastics (30%). The plastic wastes taken were all household products directly dumped by the those residing by the Pasig River mouth. Notable quantity of foams and other types of plastic were fetched from the sampling area. Tullahan River has abundant amount of film plastics (35%) and foams (33%) in its river mouth. Some of these plastic wastes are stuck to the rafts tied up along the bank of the river. Sachets of household products were dominantly present. Few hard plastics and other type of plastic were extracted from the site. Substantial amount of plastic wastes in each of the river mouths signifies poor waste management infrastructure, lack of materials recovery facilities, and lack of discipline of people as these plastics are found to be directly dumped into the water bodies.  </p>

The problem of plastic bottle waste is still a big challenge for Riau Province, including the Sedinginan, which is one of the villages traversed by the Rokan river. Plastic bottle waste from households along the Rokan river is disposed of in the river, so that the volume of waste in the river is increasing. Reprocessing plastic bottle waste is an effort to avoid environmental pollution by plastic waste. Through creativity, plastic bottle waste can be recycled into a minimalist sofa that has economic value. This Community Service was carried out by means of training on processing plastic bottle waste into minimalist sofas for PKK Sedinginan. The purpose the activity is to provide them with knowledge and skills on how to process plastic bottle waste into minimalist sofas. The implementation method is by conducting counseling and training to PKK mothers. The result of the activity was an increase in the knowledge and skills of PKK women on how to process plastic bottle waste into goods of economic value. Based on the activities that have been carried out, it can be concluded that there must be ongoing training in plastic waste management, not only in the form of plastic bottles but also other plastics produced from household waste so that people have skills in managing waste.

Disposal of Waste plastics is one of the causes of major environmental problem in the world since they are not biodegradable. It is common to observe thrown plastic waste along with other trash material in the field especially in developing countries. It is indispensable to reduce the environmental concern by converting the plastic waste into hydrocarbon fuels by thermal degradation. In this study we report the conversion of mixed waste plastics (polymers) into hydrocarbon fuels such a slighter gas and liquid fuels using solid decomposer chamber as reactor. Different types of plastics including Low Density Polyethylene (LDPE), polypropylene (PP) and Polystyrene (PS), which have different melting point temperature ranges, were collected and used as raw materials. Reactor was designed and manufactured to thermally degrade these mixed plastic waste materials through Electric heating. The collected waste plastics were placed in the reactor and heated with different temperature ranges from 40 to 300°C, thereby producing hydrocarbon fuels such as lighter gas (C₁-C₄), naphtha (C₇-C₁₀) and kerosene (C₁₂-C₁₅) and were collected based on their temperature ranges. Chemical and physical properties of the products were analyzed qualitatively and the liquid products (naphtha (C₇-C₁₀) & kerosene (C₁₂-C₁₅)) formed were analyzed using FT-IR spectrometer spectrum to identify the existing functional groups. Most of the aliphatic compounds including Alkane, alkene, alkyl group and hydroxyls are present in the products.

Monitoring plastic ingestion by marine wildlife is important for both characterizing the extent of plastic pollution in the environment and understanding its effect on species and ecosystems. Current methods to detect plastic in the digestive system of animals are slow and invasive, such that the number of animals that can be screened is limited. In this article, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is investigated as a possible technology to perform rapid, non-invasive detection of plastic ingestion. Standard MRI methods were able to directly measure one type of plastic in a fulmar stomach and another type was able to be indirectly detected. In addition to MRI, other standard nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) measurements were made. Different types of plastic were tested, and distinctive NMR signal characteristics were found in common for each type, allowing them to be distinguished from one another. The NMR results indicate specialized MRI sequences could be used to directly image several types of plastic. Although current commercial MRI technology is not suitable for field use, existing single-sided MRI research systems could be adapted for use outside the laboratory and become an important tool for future monitoring of wild animals.

Актуальним напрямом підвищення ефективності технологій сортування твердих побутових відходів є розробка автоматизованих систем оперативного розпізнавання типів матеріалів із подальшим їх відокремленням та утилізацією. У статті запропоновано метод сортування твердих побутових відходів на базі візуальної спектрометрії. Розроблено компоновку та функціональну схему системи контролю модуля сортування пластикових відходів. Використання запропонованих розробок дозволяє оптимізувати технологічний процес ідентифікації та відокремлення різних типів пластикових відходів.

The research aims to observe the effect of konjac glucomannan and different types of plasticizers on the microstructure of whey film. The microstructure of whey film was investigated using an experimental method. The research was conducted in descriptive methods with two treatments.The treatment used konjac glucomannan concentration (P4= 2.5 %; P7= 3 %) and different types of plasticizers (C1= glycerol 30 %; polyethylene glycol 30 %). The results showed that the combination of whey and konjac glucomannan had an effect on the microstructure of the film. The addition of konjac glucomannan concentration, 30 % glycerol, and 30 % PEG plasticizers gave microstructural characteristics with good whey film surface. The microstructure of this film was determined during the heating, drying process and the contribution of the gel from konjac glucomannan to the whey film structure. A more homogeneous edible film microstructure was obtained using a 2.5 % concentration of KGM with the use of 30 % glycerol plasticizer where the distribution of konjac glucomannan was mixed into the whey protein matrix evenly (homogeneous).

Biodegradable polymeric films have great potential as alternatives to synthetic polymeric films to reduce environmental pollution. Plasticizing agents and nanofillers can improve the mechanical properties of polymer-based composites, resulting in materials with better flexibility and extensibility. Starch, a natural polymer, can be produced at low cost and on a large scale from abundant and inexpensive agricultural resources like potatoes. The aim of the present work was to fabricate mechanically strong and thermally stable potato starch films reinforced with different types of plasticizers and nanoclays at different concentrations. Different types of plasticizers such as water, glycerin, ethylene glycol, sorbitol, and formamide and three types of clays such as montmorillonite, hectorite, and kaolinite at various concentrations were used to prepare potato starch-based nanocomposite films. The films were prepared using a very simple solution casting process. The mechanical properties and thermal stabilities of nanocomposite films significantly improved using montmorillonite, hectorite, and kaolinite clays. The water uptake percentage of the fabricated films decreased with addition of plasticizers and further decreased with addition of different types of clays. The structural and morphological changes of the fabricated films in the presence of plasticizers and nanoclays were correlated in detail with their mechanical properties, crystallinity, biodegradability, thermal stability, and water absorption capacities.