Search

Volatile organic compounds (VOCs), including odors, are still a key issue in plastic recycling, especially in case of flexible packaging. Therefore, this study presents a detailed qualitative and quantitative VOC analysis by applying gas chromatography on 17 categories of flexible plastic packaging that are manually sorted from bales of post-consumer flexible packaging (e.g., beverage shrink wrap, packaging for frozen food, packaging for dairy products, etc.). A total of 203 VOCs are identified on packaging used for food products, while only 142 VOCs are identified on packaging used for non-food products. Especially, more oxygenated compounds (e.g., fatty acids, esters, aldehydes) are identified on food packaging. With more than 65 VOCs, the highest number of VOCs is identified on packaging used for chilled convenience food and ready meals. The total concentration of 21 selected VOCs was also higher on packaging used for food products (totally 9187 μg/kg plastic) compared to packaging used for non-food packaging (totally 3741 μg/kg plastic). Hence, advanced sorting of household plastic packaging waste, e.g., via tracer-based sorting or watermarking, could open the door towards sorting on other properties than polymer type, such as mono- versus multi-material packaging, food versus non-food packaging or even their VOC profile, which might allow for tailoring washing procedures. Potential scenarios showed that sorting the categories with the lowest VOC load, which corresponds to half of the total mass of flexible packaging, could result in a VOC reduction of 56%. By producing less contaminated plastic film fractions and by tailoring washing processes recycled plastics can ultimately be used in a broader market segment., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2023 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)

Although the use of plastic components is increasing in the automotive industry, yet the recovery rates of these materials in end-of-life vehicle (ELV) is lower compared to metals. One of the main problems of ELV plastic waste is poor separation and sorting. Large car plastic parts consist of fibre-reinforced plastics, whereas other components end up in the automotive shredder residue (ASR), featuring a very heterogeneous mix of light materials that contains mostly non-metallic materials such as textiles, plastics, cartridges and wood. Generally, ASR was disposed in landfill or diverted to thermal treatments, such as pyrolysis or gasification, for energy recovery. Currently, the recovery of raw materials from various waste streams plays a key role in new European strategy for plastics in a circular economy. The approach of physical recycling methods described in this mini-review helps to maintain the value of polymer materials in the value chain allowing the reuse in the original or similar application.

Plastics from cathode ray tube (CRT) casings were sampled in Nigeria and analysed for their polybrominated dibenzo-p-dioxin and dibenzofuran (PBDD/F) content. PBDD/Fs, consisting mainly of PBDFs, were detected in BFR containing plastic with a median (mean) concentration of 18,000 ng/g (41,000 ng/g). The PBDD/Fs levels were highest in samples containing PBDEs, but the levels of PBDFs were two orders of magnitude higher than the levels reported in the technical PBDE mixtures and where frequently exceeding 1000 μg/g of PBDE content. These higher levels are likely to arise from additional transformation of PBDEs during production, use, recycling, or storage, but the processes responsible were not identified in this study. PBDD/Fs in CRT casings containing1,2-bistribromophenoxyethane (TBPE) were dominated by tetrabrominated dibenzo-p-dioxin (TBDDs) with concentrations around 10 μg/g of the TBPE content. The PBDD/Fs in CRT casings containing tetrabromobisphenol A (TBBPA) were found at concentrations around 0.1 μg/g of TBBPA levels. Casings treated with TBPE or TBBPA often contained PBDEs (and PBDF) as impurities-probably originating from recycled e-waste plastics. It was estimated that the 237,000 t of CRT casings stockpiled in Nigeria contain between 2 and 8 t of PBDD/Fs. The total PBDD/F contamination in polymers arising from total historic PBDE production/use is estimated in the order of 1000 t. TEQ values of CRT samples frequently exceeded the Basel Convention's provisional low POPs content of 15 ng TEQ/g. Due to the significant risks to health associated with PBDD/Fs, more detailed studies on the exposure routes from PBDD/Fs in stockpiles are needed.

Waste electrical and electronic equipment is a complex waste stream and treatment options that work for one waste category or product may not be appropriate for others. A comprehensive case study has been performed for plastic-rich fractions that are treated in German dismantling centres. Plastics from TVs, monitors and printers and small household appliances have been characterised extensively. Based on the characterisation results, state-of-the-art treatment technologies have been combined to design an optimised recycling and upgrade process for each input fraction. High-impact polystyrene from TV casings that complies with the European directive on the restriction of hazardous substances (RoHS) was produced by applying continuous density separation with yields of about 60%. Valuable acrylonitrile butadiene styrene/polycarbonate can be extracted from monitor and printer casings by near-infrared-based sorting. Polyolefins and/or a halogen-free fraction of mixed styrenics can be sorted out by density separation from monitors and printers and small household appliances. Emerging separation technologies are discussed to improve recycling results., (© The Author(s) 2015.)

Abstract: Phthalates have long been used as plasticizers to soften plastic products and, thus, are ubiquitous in modern life. As part of the Bavarian Monitoring of Breast Milk (BAMBI), we aimed to characterize the exposure of infants to phthalates in Germany. Overall, 15 phthalates, including di-2-ethylhexyl phthalate (DEHP), di-n-butyl phthalate (DnBP), di-isobutyl phthalate (DiBP), di-isononyl phthalate (DiNP), three primary metabolites of DEHP [mono-(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (MEHP), mono-isobutyl phthalate (MiBP), and mono-n-butyl phthalate (MnBP)], and two secondary metabolites of DEHP were analyzed in 78 breast milk samples. We found median concentrations of 3.9ng/g for DEHP, 0.8ng/g for DnBP, and 1.2ng/g for DiBP, while other parent phthalates were found in only some or none of the samples at levels above the limit of quantitation. In infant formula (n=4) we observed mean values of 19.7ng/g (DEHP), 3.8ng/g (DnBP), and 3.6ng/g (DiBP). For MEHP, MiBP, and MnBP, the median values in breast milk were 2.3μg/l, 11.8μg/l, and 2.1μg/l, respectively. The secondary metabolites were not detected in any samples. Using median and 95th percentile values, we estimated an “average” and “high” daily intake for an exclusively breast-fed infant of 0.6μg/kg body weight (b.w.) and 2.1μg/kg b.w., respectively, for DEHP, 0.1μg/kg b.w. and 0.5μg/kg b.w. for DnBP, and 0.2μg/kg b.w. and 0.7μg/kg b.w. for DiBP. For DiNP, intake values were 3.2μg/kg b.w. and 6.4μg/kg b.w., respectively, if all values in milk were set half of the detection limit or the detection limit. The above-mentioned “average” and “high” intake values corresponded to only about 2% to 7%, respectively, of the recommended tolerable daily intake. Thus, it is not likely that an infant''s exposure to phthalates from breast milk poses any significant health risk. Nevertheless, other sources of phthalates in this vulnerable phase have to be considered. Moreover, it should be noted that for infants nourished with formula, phthalate intake is of the same magnitude or slightly higher (DEHP) than for exclusively breast-fed infants. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]