Page 39 - Plastics News October 2023

FEATURE

The lifecycleValueCalculator guides terwards the tool quantifies the spe- CO2 emissions (decarbonization)
its users through the calculation in six cific improvement potential by using while reducing costs for e.g. energy.
steps, taking individual production pa- KraussMaffei solutions which meet “This is the heart of our D2-strategy”,
rameters into account. the customers’ challenges. In this way, Volker Ganz, Vice President Custom-
the individual economic and ecologi- er Excellence & Global Service Oper-
The calculation starts with a concrete
challenge of the user, e.g. fluctuations cal value of a KraussMaffei solution ations explains. “We strongly believe
in material quality or changing envi- can be determined. that economic business goals can only
ronmental conditions leading to in- Digitalization paves the way to sus- be achieved by reaching ecological
creased scrap rates. As a first result tainability by collecting, monitoring, goals at the same time. In this way,
the calculation aims to create trans- analysing and validating data to take digital service products directly help
parency about the individual eco- concrete actions for improvement. our customers in meeting ecological
nomic and ecological as-is-situation, Digital service products aims to enable targets. The lifecycleValueCalculator
e.g. regarding CO2-emissions, energy prediction to proactively react even is an example of how digitalization
consumption, scrap related costs or before problems occur. In this way it supports decarbonization by creating
lost revenue due to downtime. Af- is possible to determine and optimize transparency about CO2 emissions.”

Pyrolysis-based Recycling Has Significant Environmental Benefits, Study
Shows

ew plastic made with just 5% sity (LD) and high-density (HD) poly- raw materials, reducing the need for
Npyrolysis oil produces up to ethylene (PE). When new plastic was fossil resources and potentially mini-
23% fewer greenhouse-gas emissions made with just 5% pyrolysis oil, GHG mizing the environmental impact of
than crude-oil derived polymer, ac- emissions were reduced by as much waste management.”
cording to US Department of Energy as 23% compared with crude-oil de- Despite the eye-popping results, the
research. rived LDPE and HDPE, according to research probably won’t change many
the study. When current end-of-life
Pyrolysis-based advanced recycling minds on the anti-plastics front, how-
can reduce greenhouse-gas (GHG) practices for plastics in the United ever. Activists have waged campaigns
emissions and increase US recycling States, such as incineration, are fac- against advanced recycling, citing pol-
rates, according to a peer-reviewed tored in, there is a further 40% to lutants that it releases into the air and,
life-cycle study published in the No- 50% reduction in GHG emissions, in some cases, arguing that it is a “dan-
vember 2023 issue of Journal of the study found. In the European Un- gerous distraction from the need to
Cleaner Production. ion, where more post-use plastics are reduce plastic production” en masse.
incinerated, the reduction may be as Just earlier this month, the Youngs-
The research conducted by the US much as 131%. Other beneficial en-
Department of Energy’s Argonne vironmental outcomes include a 65% town Ohio City Council rejected a
National Laboratory reportedly is to 70% reduction in fossil energy use; proposal to build a pyrolysis plant that
the first to look at the full cycle of up to 55% less water use; and a 116% would convert shredded tires into gas
post-use plastic from recycling to its to 118% reduction in solid waste. used for heating.
integration in new plastic products at The study applied Argonne’s Green-
multiple facilities. The study collected “As advanced recycling becomes in- house Gasses Regulated Emissions and
operating data from 2017 to 2021 at creasingly efficient, it is poised to play Energy use in Technologies (GREET)
eight companies that use pyrolysis oil a major role in achieving global sus- model, which has more than 55,000
production processes. The oil replac- tainability goals by reducing waste and users worldwide. GREET is widely
es a portion of fossil fuel ingredients GHG emissions,” said Argonne Princi- used by the DOE as well as multiple
in the manufacture of ethylene and pal Energy Systems Analyst and study agencies, including the US Environ-
propylene. author Pahola Thathiana Benavides. mental Protection Agency.
“It can transform hard-to-recycle
In this study, the new plastics made plastics into a multitude of high-value
with the pyrolysis oil were low-den-

PLASTICS NEWS 3939
October 2023 PLASTICS NEWS