Polymer & Plastic waste

and Recycling

Dr. Manohar Singh Saini

Director,
Guru Nanak Dev Engg. College, Ludhiana

January 3, 2012
A Global Look at Plastics: Quantities, Uses
and Benefits
Plastic products improve our daily lives
and have made vast improvements in
areas such as:
 Transportation - Automotive, Aerospace, Space Exploration
 Medicines - helping us all live longer, healthier lives
 Electronics - information, communication, and entertainment
 Building and Construction - durability, aesthetics, and high
performance
 Personal protection - children, athletes, police and firefighters
 Innovative packaging - freshness, storage stability, and
protection from bacteria
 Recyclability and reuse (SPI created the international
recycling symbols/numbers to facilitate recycling)
Benefits of Plastics
Case Study: Transportation
 During the oil crisis in the 70’s, automakers found
that plastics made cars more energy efficient by
reducing weight.
 Plastics began finding their way into automobile
components (bumpers, fenders, doors, etc.)
 Plastics were also used for their
Durability
Corrosion Resistance
Toughness
Resiliency
Lightweight
Benefits of Plastics
Transportation cont…
 Plastics reduced the weight of the
average passenger car built in 1988 by
66 Kgs.
 That saves millions of gallons of fuel
each year and will save the energy
equivalent of 21 million barrels (2428
million litres) of oil over the average
lifetime of those cars.
 U.S. Plastic Resins Growth –
2004
 Production grew in 2004 to 52 billion
Kgs.
 An increase of 8.1 percent over 2003.
 Sales and captive use rose 6.9 percent,
the highest growth rate since 1996,
reaching 52 billion Kgs.
(Source: American Plastics Council)
Plastics is a complex industry
 Processors – (four main processing methods)
Injection Molding
Extrusion
Blow Molding
Thermoforming
 Equipment Suppliers
 Raw Material Suppliers
 Range of Products
 Plastics Bags
 Plastic Packaging Film
and Sheet
 Non-packaging Film and
Sheet
 Plastics Profile Shapes
 Plastics Pipe & Pipe
Fittings
 Laminated Plate, Sheet
and Shape
 Polystyrene Foam
Products
 Urethane and Other
Foam Products
 Plastic Bottles
 Plastic Plumbing
Fixtures
 Resilient Floor Covering
 Plastics Products, Not
Classified Elsewhere
Uses of Plastics - Statistics
Today’s Reality
 Plastic products have become an
integral part of all our lives, and play an
irreplaceable role in our day-to-day
activities.
Comparison with Other Industries
United States
Plastics industry is the nation’s 4th largest
manufacturing industry (shipments):
1. Motor Vehicles and Equipment
2. Petroleum Refining
3. Electronic Components and Accessories
4. Plastics
Scope of the Plastics Industry
United States
 The U.S. plastics industry employed
more than 1.4 million people.
 Another 772,000 persons were
employed by upstream industries that
supplied the plastics industry.
 Total of 2.2 million workers – about 2
percent of the U.S. workforce.
Scope of the Plastics Industry
United States
 Nearly 25,000 plastics industry
establishments generated
approximately $310 billion in shipments.
 Another $83 billion was generated by
upstream, supplying industries.
 Total annual shipments from plastics
activity to $393 billion
 Plastics – Global Importance
Import and Export
 Plastic resins and plastic finished products are
imported and exported at a significant level
across the world, via the oceans and by other
means.
 Canada, Mexico, other Latin America and China
account for dominant percentages of U.S.
plastics industry exports and imports.
 Growth of Plastics
(per capita consumption 2001-2010)
2001 2010
 North America 101 Kgs 148 Kgs
 Latin America 20 Kgs 30 Kgs
 Western Europe 94 Kgs 136 Kgs
 Eastern Europe 12 Kgs 24 Kgs
 Africa/Middle East 8 Kgs 10 Kgs
 Japan 88 Kgs 116 Kgs
 Southeast Asia 13 Kgs 24 Kgs
**Less than 2% of a barrel of crude oil is used in
the production of plastics.
(Source: BASF AG)
Energy Resources & Plastics
Basic Questions
(A)Why are rubbish dumps thought to
be a bad thing?
(B)What does recycling mean?
EFFECT OF PLASTICS
ON
ENVIRONMENT!!!
 INTRODUCTION
Plastic is the general common term for a wide range
of synthetic or semi synthetic organic solid materials
suitable for the manufacture of industrial products.
Plastics are typically polymers of high
molecular weight, and may contain other substances to
improve performance and/or reduce costs.
Plastic is one of the few new chemical materials
which pose environmental problem. Polyethylene,
polyvinyl chloride, polystyrene, PET are largely used in
the manufacture of plastics.
 TYPES OF
PLASTIC PRODUCTS
PLASTIC BAGS
PLASTIC COATINGS
PLASTIC FURNITURE
PLASTIC SHEETS
PLASTIC FITTINGS
PLASTIC TANKS
PLASTIC TOYS
PLASTIC BUCKETS
PLASTIC SANITARYWARE
PLASTIC STATIONERY
 PLASTIC’S ADVERSE EFFECTS ON OUR
ENVIRONMENT
Plastics pollute beaches & oceans
Garbage has been discarded into the oceans for as long as humans
have sailed the seven seas or lived on seashores or near
waterways flowing into the sea. Since the 1940s, plastic use has
increased dramatically, resulting in a huge quantity of nearly
indestructible, lightweight material floating in the oceans and
eventually deposited on
beaches worldwide.
 Plastic bags litter the
landscape
Once they are used, most plastic bags go into
landfill, or rubbish tips. Each year more and more
plastic bags are ending up littering the
environment. Once they become litter, plastic
bags find their way into our waterways, parks,
beaches, and streets. And, if they are burnt,
they infuse the air with toxic fumes.
Plastic bags kill animals
About 100,000 animals such as dolphins, turtles
whales, penguins are killed every year due to plastic
bags. Many animals ingest plastic bags, mistaking
them for food, and therefore die. And worse, the
ingested plastic bag remains intact even after the
death and decomposition of the animal. Thus, it lies
around in the landscape where another victim may
ingest it.
 Plastic bags are
non-biodegradable
And one of the worst environmental effects of
plastic bags is that they are non-
biodegradable. The decomposition of plastic
bags takes about 1000 years.
PLASTIC’S EFFECT ON HUMAN
LIFE
 Plastic plays the villain right from the stage of its
production. The major chemicals that go into the
making of plastic are highly toxic and pose serious
threat to living beings of all species on earth.
 Some of the constituents of plastic such as
benzene are known to cause cancer. Plastic resins
themselves are flammable and have contributed
considerably to several accidents worldwide.
Once plastic is produced, the harm is done once
and for all. Plastic defies any kind of attempt at
disposal – be it through recycling, burning, or
landfilling.
When you recycle a hazard, you create a hazard.
Recycling of plastic is associated with skin and
respiratory problems, resulting from exposure to
and inhalation of toxic fumes, especially
hydrocarbons and residues released during the
process.
 MEASURES

1.Single-use plastic bags have become such a

ubiquitous way of life that it seems as if we
simply cannot do without them. However, if we
have the will, we can start reducing their use in
small ways.
2.A tote bag can make a good substitute for
holding the shopping. You can keep the bag with
the cashier, and then put your purchases into it
instead of the usual plastic bag.
 MEASURES

3.Recycling the plastic bags you already have is

another good idea. These can come into use for
various purposes, like holding your garbage,
instead of purchasing new ones.
4. While governments may be working out ways to
lessen the impact of plastic bags on the
environment, however, each of us should
shoulder some of the responsibility for this
problem, which ultimately harms us.
 Percentage that can be
recycled
 About 7% of all household waste is
plastic.
 Annually, 3 million tonnes of plastic
rubbish are produced.
 57% of litter found on beaches is
plastic.
 In 2001 only 7% of all plastic was
recycled.
Why recycle plastic?
Conservation of non-renewable fossil fuels -
Plastic production uses 8% of the world's oil
production.
Reduced consumption of energy.
Reduced amounts of solid waste going to
landfill.
Reduced emissions of carbon-dioxide (CO2),
nitrogen-oxide (NO) and sulphur-dioxide (SO2).
How are polymers recycled?

Mechanical recycling of plastics refers to

processes which involve the melting, shredding
or granulation of waste plastics.
Plastics must be sorted prior to mechanical
recycling.
At the moment most sorting for mechanical
recycling is done by trained staff who manually
sort the plastics into polymer type and/or colour.
 More

Following sorting, the plastic is either

melted down directly and moulded into a
new shape, or melted down after being
shredded into flakes and than processed
into granules called regranulate.
 Source Reduction

 Refers to a reduction in the amount of

material used in any application
 The simplest methods to employ source
reduction are
 To use fewer products that cause waste
 To choose size and types of products where-
by waste is minimized
 To reduce the material requirements of the
product (for manufacturer)
 Source Reduction
 For example:
 The amount of packaging material in 1 litre
drink bottle is 40% less than material in 0.5
litre drink bottle (larger size are more efficient
in using materials)
 Decrease the thickness of materials in
application
 PE Trash bag (when it was first introduced)-
thickness 0.08 mm
 LDPE introduced – thickness of trash bag is 0.05
mm
 LLDPE (stronger and tougher material) – thickness
is 0.025 mm
 HDPE – thickness of 0.017 mm is available now.
 Recycling of Plastics

 Refers to the reprocessing and

refabrication of a material by a consumer
or disposal of solid waste.
 This type of recycle is called postconsumer
recycle (PCR)- different with recycle
(generally called regrind) of the scrap
from manufacturing process.
 Recycling of Plastics

Reprocessing and refabrication of PCR

involves several steps;

 Collection
 Handling/sorting
 Reclamation/sorting
 End-use fabrication
Recycling of Plastics
 Collection

Voluntary recycling by the consumer is the most

single factor in improving recycling of all materials

However, consumers do not sort their solid waste

but rather mix all materials together

For many plastics, the cost of virgin plastics is

about the same as the cost involve in recycling-
create problem in recycling process (different case
with recycling of aluminium cans)
 Handling & Sorting
Involves conveying materials from the pickup point
(from consumer house) to the reclamation facility.

Sorting of materials is necessary (PET bottle, HDPE

waste, aluminium alloy, etc) or in broader material
groupings (all metals, all plastics, etc).

For the highest economy benefit, the HDPE and PET

and other recyclable plastics must be separated from the
plastics that are not to be recycled- thus considerable
labour is required to pick up the recyclables by hand.
 Handling & Sorting

Some sorting can be done by machine, i.e. based

on certain characteristics (light absorption), various
plastic resins can be distinguished from the others.

Under certain condition, the mixture of several

plastic type can be recycled, called as mixed recycled
or comingled recycle.

To assist consumers and sorters, Society for plastic

Industry (SPI) introduced recycling symbols.
Numbering system for plastic
recycling
Recycling No. Abbreviation Polymer Name
PETE or PET Polyethylene Terephthalate

HDPE High-Density Polyethylene

PVC or V Polyvinyl Chloride

LDPE Low-Density Polyethylene

PP Polypropylene

PS Polystyrene
Other plastics, including acrylic,
OTHER polycarbonate, polylactic acid ,
nylon and fiberglass.
 Uses of Different Polymers
Polymer
Name
Uses
Polyethylene Recycled to produce polyester fibres, thermoformed sheet, strapping, soft drink
Terephthalate bottles, reinforcement for concrete.

Recycled to become various bottles, grocery bags, recycling bins, agricultural

High-Density
pipe, base cups, car stops, playground equipment, and plastic lumber, flower
Polyethylene pot, toys

Polyvinyl
Recycled to become pipe, fencing, and non-food bottles.
Chloride
Low-Density Recycled to become plastic bags, various containers, dispensing bottles, wash
Polyethylene bottles, tubing, and various molded laboratory equipment.

Polypropylene Recycled into auto parts and industrial fibers.

Recycled into a wide range of products including office accessories, cafeteria

Polystyrene trays, toys, video cassettes and cases, insulation board and styrofoam.
 Reclamation/Cleaning

After sorting, the plastics must be chopped into small

flakes or shredded for further processing.

Then the flakes are treated with solvents and washed

to remove residual contaminants (original content &
paper label).

The flakes are then sent to the fabricators to extrude

into pellets.
 End Uses- Sorted PCR

The recycled material can be used in the same

applications or other applications.

However, PCR plastic cannot be used in

medical and food-contacting applications due
to danger of contamination and disease.

Thermoplastic- can be reheated and

reprocessed many times (with minor changes in
resin properties).
 Degradation

Means that the plastic can break down into smaller

molecules by natural means, biological agent or by
sunlight.

In reality, some materials degrade very slowly.

Some applications require that the material do not

degrade, i.e. packaging material.

Some applications need degradable properties, i.e.

sutures in medical applications.
Waste Tyres
The number of motorcar waste
tyres generated annually was
estimated to be 8.2 million or
approximately 57,391 tonnes.
Landfill- as the easiest way of
disposing the waste.
Other industry users collect waste
tyres for retreading, rubber
reclaim and shredding.
 Tyre Waste
Examples of use are: Tiles and tile adhesives, mixing
with asphalt, sports surfaces, carpet underlay, noise and
vibration insulation, playgrounds and matting.
 Incineration

 Incineration or controlled burning is another option for

disposing of large percent of solid waste.
 The most common purpose of burning is to
generate electricity.
Energy content of various solid waste materials and conventional
fuels burned to generate electricity.
 Incineration Method

Incineration can destroy some types of chemicals that other methods can't.
It is also quicker than many other methods.
 Obstacles of Recycling

 Usage of various copolymer blends (i.e. PET) from

different manufacturers do not dissolve into one another
when heated. Instead, they tend to phase-separate,
like oil and water.
 Another barrier to recycling is the widespread use of
dyes, fillers, and other additives in plastics. The polymer
is generally too viscous to economically remove fillers,
and would be damaged by many of the processes that
could cheaply remove the added dyes. Additives are less
widely used in beverage containers and plastic bags,
allowing them to be recycled more frequently.
 Rubber and tyres

 Good maintenance reduces waste: 

To reduce waste and save money, good advice is to treat your tyres
properly for maximum tyre life.  Simple maintenance and correct inflation
pressures mean you don't need to replace them prematurely.  A worn
tyre is not only dangerous, but uses more fuel.  When the time comes to
change your tyres, considering the environmental aspects of their
replacements may save money.  Why not consider a retreaded tyre?

 Re-treads : Re-treading doubles the life of a tyre, reducing the

numbers of new tyres needed and minimising waste.  The UK has a
well-established re-tread industry (there can be shortages of those used
tyres suitable for re-treading) and many old tyres are exported. 
 New uses

 As tyres cannot go to landfill, and incineration is

undesirable, what else can be done?  Alternative ideas for
re-using scrap tyres are increasing, but the number of
outlets remains less than that which would meet potential
demand.  Small numbers are used as boat fenders,
playground equipment and by farmers.
 Material recovery from tyres and other rubber products is increasing. 
The main technique is to shred and reduce the rubber to crumb, and
use this as a moulding material or filler.  Applications include brake
linings, carpet underlay, equestrian, sports and safety surfaces,
including playgrounds, as well as surfacing for, paths, and low grade
use as landscape mulch or waste oil absorbent.  Finer grades of crumb
are used in rubbers for vehicles.  Small amounts are also being used for
stationery and office items
 What is the effect of recycling plastics?
Recycling plastic uses less water and energy resources
than in producing new plastics, and produces fewer
greenhouse gases.

One problem with

recycling, however,
is that is reduces
the strength and
versatility of the
plastic over time.

This is because the polymer chains become damaged or

contaminated with food or other types of plastic.
 What are biodegradable plastics?
One of the problems with traditional plastics is that they do
not break down when thrown away.
Biodegradable plastics are
plastics that can be broken
down. They are converted into
carbon dioxide, water and
minerals by micro-organisms.
Biodegradable plastics are
increasingly being used in
carrier bags, bin bags and food
packaging.
Biodegradable plastics, such as polylactide, are plant-
based polymers. They are often made from starch that
has been modified to become more stable.
Strategies to Develop Biodegradable Polymers
• Green Technol. in Extracting Natural Polymers
• Natural Polymers Like Extrudable Starch
• Natural Polymers With Chemical Modifications
eg. Cellulose acetate
• Semi-Synthetic Copolymers
Fillers (first generation, 1960’s), Composites
& Grafts (second generation, 1970’s)
• Improving Currently Used Plastics
Better Additives; Chemically-linked Additives
(third generation, 1980’s, 1990’s)
• New Generation of Synthetic Polymers
eg. Poly(lactic acids), PHA’s, various new
copolymers, new Natural Polymer Based,
(fourth generation, 1990’s, 2000+)
Commodity Plastic: Current Scenario in
India

 Share of commodity plastics (> 80 % of over 5 million tons)

mainly used in the making of low-value household articles,
pipes, extruded sheets, packaging film, etc.
 Polymer consumption is growing faster than any other
material. Growth is 14% p.a. (double of GDP).
 Development of plastic production technologies based
on renewable, sustainable, agricultural wastes
(sugarcane bagasse, wheat/rice straw, etc.
 Government of India sponsored research projects on
environment – friendly plastics from renewable
resources (PLA, cellulose acetate from sugarcane bagasse,
sugarcane juice, etc.) on-going briskly.
Current Scenario of Plastic Waste

 India has a high rate of plastics recycling:

+60%
(World average is 15-20%).
 Recycling is a thriving business in India.
 India has per capita consumption of ~5 kg
(2005)
(greater for urban areas; set to grow rapidly;
world average 18 kg).
 Plastic in solid waste stream is lowest at 0.5-
4% because of recycling (World average is 7-
8%).
 Synthetic Plastics: Environmental Issues

The area of greatest concern is plastics used in packaging :

 In total production of plastics packaging accounts for ~52% in

India (total consumption 4.3 mt in 2002, +5.0 mt in 2005, 8.0 mt
in 2007).
 Growth of plastics consumption is 14% per annum.
 Urban folks spend about 88% more than their country cousins on
food, education, entertainment, fuel and lighting, clothing and
durables, according to latest estimates of the National Sample
Survey Organisation (NSSO) (Economic Times, Nov.24,
2005).
Therefore in larger cities, the consumption of plastics is
larger; expected to continue to grow at 14%; should
reach world average in a few years.
Therefore in larger cities, the consumption of pl larger; nm to gmroat 14%. Should reach world
 Applications of Waste
Plastics
From To
Milk pouches Carry bags
Packaging film, carry bags Waterproof sheets for
housing
Footwear, plastic bottles Footwear
Buckets, crates, luggage Buckets, luggage
PP film, thermoware, tooth Combs, pens, toys,
brush, pens houseware,
Cement bags Thin ropes
Battery boxes, industrial Luggage, industrial products
products, thermoware
Cups, TV cabinets, Cassettes, cassette covers,
cassettes novelty items
CURRENT STATUS IN INDIA: Value
and Employment (upto 2010-11)
 Major Raw Material 15 Nos.
Producers
 Processing Units 25,000 Nos.
 Turnover (Processing Rs.85,000 Crores
Industry)
 Capital Asset (Polymer Rs.55,000 Crores
Industry)
 Raw Material Produced 5.3 MMT
approx
 Raw Material Consumed
5.1 MMT
approx
3.3 Million
 Employed Direct/Indirect
US $ 1.9 Billion
 Export Value approx
Rupees 7300 Crores
 Revenue to Government
Contd…
approx.
By 2011 - 12

 Demand Potential  12.5 MMT

 Additional Employment  4.0 Million

 Investment Potential  Rs.84,000 Crores

 VISION 2015 – Indian Plastics
Industry
 Consumption of Polymers @ 18.9 Million tonnes
15% CARG

 Turnover of plastics Industries Rs.1,33,245 crores

 Additional Employment 7 Million

Generation

 Requirement of Additional
68113 Nos
Plastics Processing Machines

 Additional Capital Investment

In Machines (2004-2015) Rs.45,000 crores
Salient features of ISRO Launch Vehicles
Vehicle SLV-3 ASLV PSLV GSLV
Gross Lift- 17 39 275 400
off Weight
(tonnes)
Max. Ddia 1.0 1.0 2.8 2.8
(m)
Height (m) 22.0 23.5 44.0 51.0
Number of 4 5 4 3
stages
Payload wt. 40 100 to 200 1000 2000 to 2500
(kg)
Orbit Low Earth Orbit Sun- Geo-Transfer
(LEO) Synchr- Orbit (GTO)
onous
Orbit
(SSO)
Mission Space Science Remote Communi-
Sensing cations and
Meteo-rology
 PSLV STAGES AT A GLANCE
STAGE – 1 STAGE – 2 STAGE – 3 STAGE – 4 Total
Nomenclature Core PSI + PS2 PS3 PS4 ---
Strapon PSOM 6
Nos
Propellant Solid Propellant UDMH + N2O4 Solid Propellant Bi-propellant ---
HTPB Based HTPB MMH + N2O4
Based
Propellant Mass 128.0 + 6 X 9.0 37.5 7.2 2.0 228.7
(tonne) = 182
Stage Mass 220 43 8.4 2.89 274.29
(tonne)
Max. Thrust (kN) 4500 720 340 7.4X2 ---
662X6
Burn Time (sec) 97 149 76 415 ---
45
Stage Dia (m) 2.8 2.8 2.0 1.3 ---
1.0
Stage Length (m) 20 12.5 3.6 2.1 ---
10
Control SITVC for Pitch Engine Gimbal Flex Nozzle for Engine Gimbal ---
& Yaw, Reaction for Pitch & Pitch & Yaw, for Pitch, Yaw
Control Thrusters Yaw, Hot Gas PS4 RCS for and roll On-off
for Roll. SITVC Reaction Roll Control RCS for coast
in 2 PSOMs for Control Motor phase control
RollControl for Roll Control
Augmentation
Note: Propellant Mass = 83.4 % of total Mass.