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• The financial and ecological viability of power from pyrolysis oil is assessed. • The process has high oil yield and power generation potential. • The project is economically feasible and profitable in China. • Power generation from the project contributes to global warming. • Consumption of power from the project reduces coal usage and global warming. The increased plastic waste generation worldwide poses ponderous issues for public health and the environment. China is the highest generator of plastic waste around the world. The current treatment process (incineration) of the increased plastic waste causes dangerous environmental consequences. Pyrolysis has recently surfaced as an ecologically friendly technique for energy and material recovery from plastic waste. The present study assesses the financial and ecological viability of power production from oil derived from the pyrolysis of mixed plastic wastes in China from 2009 to 2028. The prominent findings show that the amount of plastic waste collected in 2020 (24.16 Mt) increased by 53.19% in 2028.The pyrolysis of mixed plastic wastes during the project period yielded 359.29 Mt oil, which has a power potential of 1,060.86 GWh. The economic analysis indicated the project is viable and profitable with a positive net present value (US$8.80 million) and profitability index (1.26) greater than 1. The project has 10.6 y payback period, US$0.0752/kWh levelized cost of energy, 22.5% return on investment, and 13.0% internal rate of return. The life cycle assessment results show that conversion of mixed plastic waste to pyrolysis oil for electricity generation during the project period has a total global warming potential (GWP) of 1,311.4 kt CO 2 eq. The GWP is mainly from conversion of pyrolysis oil to electricity (73.42%), pyrolysis oil production (15.01%) and upgrading of pyrolysis oil (11.38%). The consumption of power from the project could avoid the combustion of 2,659.0 t coal, minimizing global warming by 11,278.8 kt CO 2 eq. Sensitivity analysis, which examines the influence of variation in sensitive factors on the success of the project, is presented. This paper provides scientific strategies for optimal investment and decision-making on the environmental sustainability of plastic waste-to-energy pyrolysis projects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Microplastic pollution is becoming a major issue for human health due to the recent discovery of microplastics in most ecosystems. Here, we review the sources, formation, occurrence, toxicity and remediation methods of microplastics. We distinguish ocean-based and land-based sources of microplastics. Microplastics have been found in biological samples such as faeces, sputum, saliva, blood and placenta. Cancer, intestinal, pulmonary, cardiovascular, infectious and inflammatory diseases are induced or mediated by microplastics. Microplastic exposure during pregnancy and maternal period is also discussed. Remediation methods include coagulation, membrane bioreactors, sand filtration, adsorption, photocatalytic degradation, electrocoagulation and magnetic separation. Control strategies comprise reducing plastic usage, behavioural change, and using biodegradable plastics. Global plastic production has risen dramatically over the past 70 years to reach 359 million tonnes. China is the world's top producer, contributing 17.5% to global production, while Turkey generates the most plastic waste in the Mediterranean region, at 144 tonnes per day. Microplastics comprise 75% of marine waste, with land-based sources responsible for 80–90% of pollution, while ocean-based sources account for only 10–20%. Microplastics induce toxic effects on humans and animals, such as cytotoxicity, immune response, oxidative stress, barrier attributes, and genotoxicity, even at minimal dosages of 10 μg/mL. Ingestion of microplastics by marine animals results in alterations in gastrointestinal tract physiology, immune system depression, oxidative stress, cytotoxicity, differential gene expression, and growth inhibition. Furthermore, bioaccumulation of microplastics in the tissues of aquatic organisms can have adverse effects on the aquatic ecosystem, with potential transmission of microplastics to humans and birds. Changing individual behaviours and governmental actions, such as implementing bans, taxes, or pricing on plastic carrier bags, has significantly reduced plastic consumption to 8–85% in various countries worldwide. The microplastic minimisation approach follows an upside-down pyramid, starting with prevention, followed by reducing, reusing, recycling, recovering, and ending with disposal as the least preferable option. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Plastics around the globe have been a matter of grave concern due to the unavoidable habits of human mankind. Taking waste statistics in India for the year 2019–20 into account, the data of 60 major cities show that the generation of plastic waste stands tall at around 26,000 tonnes/day, of which only about 60 % is recycled. A majority of the non‐recycled plastic waste is petrochemical‐based packaging materials that are non‐biodegradable in nature. Vegetative/food waste is another global issue, evidenced by vastly populated countries such as China and India accounting for 91 and 69 tonnes of food wastage, respectively in 2019. The mitigation of plastic packaging issues has led to key scientific developments, one of which is biodegradable materials. However, there is a way that these two waste‐related issues can be fronted as the analogy of "taking two shots with the same arrow". The presence of various bio‐compounds such as proteins, cellulose, starch, lipids, and waxes, etc., in food and vegetative waste, creates an opportunity for the development of biodegradable packaging films. Although these flexible packaging films have limitations in terms of mechanical, permeation, and moisture absorption characteristics, they can be fine‐tuned in order to convert the biobased raw material into a realizable packaging product. These strategies could work in replacing petrochemical‐based non‐biodegradable packaging plastics which are used in enormous quantities for various household and commercial packaging applications to combat the ever‐increasing pollution in highly populated countries. This paper presents a systematic review based on modern scientific tools of the literature available with a major emphasis on the past decade and aims to serve as a standard resource for the development of biodegradable packaging films from food/vegetative waste. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explores green credit to promote the green transformation of the plastic supply chain under carbon neutral and plastic ban policies in China. The relationship and strategy among commercial banks, suppliers, and manufacturers are analyzed using a supply chain structure and evolutionary game theory. Incorporate dynamic consumer willingness to recycle and cost-sharing mechanisms for green innovation. The stability and dynamic probability of participants' strategy selection are calculated using empirical data, including financial situation and carbon emission. A genetic algorithm is used to optimize the game parameters for sensitivity analysis. The results suggest that green credit can facilitate the green transformation of the plastics supply chain, but its effectiveness is affected by consumers' willingness to recycle. The effect of green credit has a marginal effect, with higher interest rates reducing the rate of green innovation and manufacturing choices. Suppliers are not able to share the costs of the transition, and only manufacturers bearing or co-bearing the costs are conducive to a green transition. Lower green input costs favor transition but are constrained by market demand. Environmental penalties are too low to create financial pressure, and environmental uncertainty discourages green transformation. [Display omitted] • Green credit boosts eco-innovation, tied to interest and recycling rates. • Moderate eco-uncertainty spurs, while excess hampers, green shifts. • New framework merges evolutionary games with genetic algorithms for eco-strategy. • The cost of greening is borne by the manufacturer instead of the supplier. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The "Carbon Peak and Carbon Neutrality" goal requires China actively explore new ways to supplement the oil supply for Chinese situation of oil shortage. Enormous oil shale reserves and large amount of waste plastics are viable feedstocks for supplementing the oil supply. However, individually pyrolyzing oil shale and waste plastic has its drawbacks, that is, the pyrolysis oil from oil shale contains more O and N heteroatoms and the pyrolysis oil from waste plastic has extremely long carbon chains, which both keep the pyrolysis oil from substituting crude oil. In this study, co-pyrolysis of oil shale and plastic (polypropylene, low-density polyethylene, waste tires) was used to produce oil. It could be found that the inorganic components in oil shale can promote the rupture of plastic, thereby reducing the heavy components in the oil (30 ≤ C < 40) and enhancing the light components (C < 30). Meanwhile, co-pyrolysis can effectively reduce the O and N components in the oil phase. The results of reactive force field molecular dynamics simulations showed that the reactive radicals formed by waste plastics first accelerate the pyrolysis reaction, promote the breakage of aliphatic chains in the oil shale kerogen. and thus, more intermediates, especially gas containing O (C<5), are going to form. Furthermore, intermediates (5 ≤ C) could interact with each other to form char. More O- and N-containing components will remain in the char, further reducing the O and N heteroatom content in the oil. • Co-pyrolysis of oil shale and waste plastics could be a handy way to improve oil quality. • Minerals in Oil shale could favor the decomposition of plastics, resulting in gas promotion. • Heavy fraction (C>30) in oil from co-pyrolysis could be reduced by 50 wt% at most. • Heteroatom components could also be largely reduced by co-pyrolysis. • Radicals of short chain from co-pyrolysis play significant role in improving oil quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Global production of plastics has increased astronomically in the last five decades. This may not be unconnected with the rate of consumption of plastics owing to their increasing applications and good characteristics such as light weight, strength, durability, affordability, corrosion resistance and low production costs. Production of plastic materials accounts for 3 to 5% greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions globally. Reports from published works show that, as of 2015 alone, close to 6300 metric tonnes of synthetic plastic waste were generated, of which only 9% were recycled with 12% being incinerated, and a large proportion, 79%, discarded in the natural environment. Further studies show that a sizeable proportion, 12,000 metric tonnes, of plastic waste may annually find their way into the environment by 2050. The adoption of biodegradable materials to replace the conventional plastics has been proposed and implemented with varying environmental implications. In this paper, a sustainable approach to plastic wastes was examined, taking into consideration the emerging and developing world's attitudes about plastic waste management. Also discussed in this paper is the projection of the plastic waste market with particular reference to United States and China as global players in the industry. The concluding part of this paper focuses on future trends in plastic innovation with the evolution of nanoscale materials, bio-refining and most importantly cradle-to-cradle packaging materials. It is expected that this paper will assist various bodies involved in plastic waste management for developing better and sustainable methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Freshwater rivers play the key role in providing drinking water sources and building the bridge of oceans and lands. Hence, environmental pollutants can be transferred into drinking water through a water treatment process and transported land-based microplastics into the ocean. Microplastics are considered a new pollutant that is becoming a threat to freshwater ecosystems. The present study investigated the temporal and spatial variation of microplastics abundance and their characteristics of occurrence in surface water, sediment and soil samples of Baotou section of Yellow River in China in March 2021 and September 2021. According to the LDIR analysis, the average abundances of microplastics in wet season (surface water 2510.83 ± 2971.27n/L, sediment 6166.67 ± 2914.56n/kg) were higher than that in dry season（surface water 432.5 ± 240.54n/L, sediment 3766.67 ± 1625.63n/kg), particularly being significant difference in the dry and wet seasons of surface water. The predominant polymer types in surface water (PBS and PET during the dry season, PP during the wet season) demonstrated that the temporal variation of microplastics abundance in surface water could be attributed to the combined effect of the regional precipitation, fishing activities and improper disposal of plastic waste. And the results of spatial abundances of microplastics showed that the microplastics abundance of soil and sediment was higher than that in river water and microplastics abundance in the river of the south side was the higher than other water sampling sites, revealing the differences of microplastics burden at the different sampling sites. Moreover, it is worth noting that a large amount of PAM was detected in sediments and soil, but not in water, and the biodegradable plastics PBS and PLA were also detected in the Yellow River. It was a very useful information for evaluating environmental impacts and ecological effects of degradable plastics compared to the traditional plastics after the implementation of a new environmental policy in the future. Thus, this study provided insights into the temporal-spatial characteristics of microplastics in an urban river and raised environmental management awareness of the long-term threat to drinking water safety by microplastics. [Display omitted] • The temporal and spatial changes of microplastics in Baotou section of Yellow River were reported for the first time. • The abundance of microplastics in water samples in the wet season was higher than that in the dry season. • The abundance of microplastics was higher in soil and sediment than in surface water. • The size of microplastics was mainly distributed in 20–50 μm in all samples. • The composition of microplastics showed spatiotemporal variation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Plastic debris has become one of the most serious issues in the marine environment, but little information is available on the occurrence of plastic debris in marine birds from China. In this study, one seabird species and two shorebird species were collected from Yongxing Island of South China Sea to investigate the accumulation of plastic debris. A total of 56 items of plastic debris were observed in 4 of 9 birds, with size ranging from 0.67 to 8.64 mm. Microplastics (<5 mm, 52 items) accounted for 92.9% of the total items. The main color of plastic debris in marine birds was blue (91.1%), followed by dark (5.4%) and white (3.6%). The primary shape of plastic debris was thread (89.2%), followed by sheet (8.9%) and foam (1.8%). Plastic fragments were predominated by polypropylene-polyethylene copolymer (83.9%). This study highlighted that marine birds can mistake plastic debris as food items. • Plastic debris was first reported in marine birds from China. • Microplastics accounted for 92.9% of the total items in bird species. • The main color of plastic debris in birds was blue. • Polypropylene-polyethylene copolymer was the most common plastic fragments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]