Closing plastic loop with CCUS: Life cycle assessment of a novel strategy for plastic sustainable transition and negative emissions.

The global plastic sector urgently needs a circular economy and decarbonization since excessive plastic use is aggravating plastic pollution and climate change. In this regard, a novel strategy was proposed to close both the plastic loop and carbon loop using carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS), which involves recycling waste plastic into adsorbents for CO 2 capture and converting the captured CO 2 back into new plastic. This plastic-CO 2 -plastic route applied in polyurethane was assessed through life cycle assessment and a new indicator, carbon closure efficiency (CCE), was proposed to quantify the extent to which a carbon loop is closed. Results indicate a negative emission of -9.57 kg CO 2 eq/kg polyurethane. However, CCUS amplifies other impacts, including primary energy demand, water use, etc. Chemical feedstocks and adsorbent preparation are crucial factors for most environmental impacts. CCUS-based strategy far surpasses chemical recycling in CCE score, highlighting its effectiveness in closing the carbon loop. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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