Life Cycle Assessment of Valorizing Waste Polyethylene and Coconut Shells Into Activated Carbon Polymer Flakes
Polyethylene (PE) accounts for approximately 40% of total global plastic production, yet PE waste remains an underutilized feedstock. Meanwhile, activated carbon (AC) derived primarily from coconut shells (CS), the most popular source, is usually produced as powder, posing challenges in handling and...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Wiley
2025-01-01
|
| Series: | International Journal of Chemical Engineering |
| Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/ijce/5691618 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1849770306124644352 |
|---|---|
| author | Junaid Saleem Moghal Zubair Khalid Baig Furqan Tahir Gordon McKay |
| author_facet | Junaid Saleem Moghal Zubair Khalid Baig Furqan Tahir Gordon McKay |
| author_sort | Junaid Saleem |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Polyethylene (PE) accounts for approximately 40% of total global plastic production, yet PE waste remains an underutilized feedstock. Meanwhile, activated carbon (AC) derived primarily from coconut shells (CS), the most popular source, is usually produced as powder, posing challenges in handling and recovery. This study explores the synergistic valorization of these two waste streams to produce value-added AC polymer flakes (ACPF) through (a) chemical activation and pyrolysis of the CS, (b) dissolution of PE and dispersion of activated CS in a common solvent, and (c) heat treatment to form flakes. Life cycle assessment (LCA) results indicate an energy net (EN) consumption of 55 MJ for the NaOH route and 56 MJ for the KOH route, with corresponding climate change (CC) impacts of 2.11 kg CO2 eq. and 2.17 kg CO2 eq., respectively. Performance testing of ACPF using rhodamine B and methylene blue dyes demonstrated maximum adsorption capacities of 892 and 389 g/kg, respectively. Besides, replacing the commercial AC with ACPF led to approximately a 56% reduction in both CC impact and EN consumption. The integration of CS and PE waste leads to more sustainable AC production and promotes the utilization of waste for environmental purposes. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-cd565132dca845e5a88290f37f9a3f61 |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 1687-8078 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | Wiley |
| record_format | Article |
| series | International Journal of Chemical Engineering |
| spelling | doaj-art-cd565132dca845e5a88290f37f9a3f612025-08-20T03:03:03ZengWileyInternational Journal of Chemical Engineering1687-80782025-01-01202510.1155/ijce/5691618Life Cycle Assessment of Valorizing Waste Polyethylene and Coconut Shells Into Activated Carbon Polymer FlakesJunaid Saleem0Moghal Zubair Khalid Baig1Furqan Tahir2Gordon McKay3Division of Sustainable DevelopmentCenter for Advanced MaterialsDivision of Sustainable DevelopmentDivision of Sustainable DevelopmentPolyethylene (PE) accounts for approximately 40% of total global plastic production, yet PE waste remains an underutilized feedstock. Meanwhile, activated carbon (AC) derived primarily from coconut shells (CS), the most popular source, is usually produced as powder, posing challenges in handling and recovery. This study explores the synergistic valorization of these two waste streams to produce value-added AC polymer flakes (ACPF) through (a) chemical activation and pyrolysis of the CS, (b) dissolution of PE and dispersion of activated CS in a common solvent, and (c) heat treatment to form flakes. Life cycle assessment (LCA) results indicate an energy net (EN) consumption of 55 MJ for the NaOH route and 56 MJ for the KOH route, with corresponding climate change (CC) impacts of 2.11 kg CO2 eq. and 2.17 kg CO2 eq., respectively. Performance testing of ACPF using rhodamine B and methylene blue dyes demonstrated maximum adsorption capacities of 892 and 389 g/kg, respectively. Besides, replacing the commercial AC with ACPF led to approximately a 56% reduction in both CC impact and EN consumption. The integration of CS and PE waste leads to more sustainable AC production and promotes the utilization of waste for environmental purposes.http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/ijce/5691618 |
| spellingShingle | Junaid Saleem Moghal Zubair Khalid Baig Furqan Tahir Gordon McKay Life Cycle Assessment of Valorizing Waste Polyethylene and Coconut Shells Into Activated Carbon Polymer Flakes International Journal of Chemical Engineering |
| title | Life Cycle Assessment of Valorizing Waste Polyethylene and Coconut Shells Into Activated Carbon Polymer Flakes |
| title_full | Life Cycle Assessment of Valorizing Waste Polyethylene and Coconut Shells Into Activated Carbon Polymer Flakes |
| title_fullStr | Life Cycle Assessment of Valorizing Waste Polyethylene and Coconut Shells Into Activated Carbon Polymer Flakes |
| title_full_unstemmed | Life Cycle Assessment of Valorizing Waste Polyethylene and Coconut Shells Into Activated Carbon Polymer Flakes |
| title_short | Life Cycle Assessment of Valorizing Waste Polyethylene and Coconut Shells Into Activated Carbon Polymer Flakes |
| title_sort | life cycle assessment of valorizing waste polyethylene and coconut shells into activated carbon polymer flakes |
| url | http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/ijce/5691618 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT junaidsaleem lifecycleassessmentofvalorizingwastepolyethyleneandcoconutshellsintoactivatedcarbonpolymerflakes AT moghalzubairkhalidbaig lifecycleassessmentofvalorizingwastepolyethyleneandcoconutshellsintoactivatedcarbonpolymerflakes AT furqantahir lifecycleassessmentofvalorizingwastepolyethyleneandcoconutshellsintoactivatedcarbonpolymerflakes AT gordonmckay lifecycleassessmentofvalorizingwastepolyethyleneandcoconutshellsintoactivatedcarbonpolymerflakes |