Year: 2021
Type: dissertation
Abstract: As the title suggests, this thesis deals with the challenges and opportunities in sorting and recycling of solid plastic wastes. The author has taken the approach of literature review in conducting this study. More than 50 literary works on sorting and recycling of plastic wastes were selected in the beginning. Out of those 50 literature sources, 21 were sorted and used for the purpose of this study. All the sources are available online. \n \nThe literature contains current status of plastic waste globally, regionally and in Finland. It also contains the different classification of plastic. However, plastic recycling and plastic sorting techniques form the core of this research. Different sorting techniques and their respective limitations have been thoroughly discussed as the findings of this research. Furthermore, the new state-of-the-art sorting techniques have also been discussed in the latter stages of this study. \n \nThe main challenges pertaining to the sorting and separation of solid plastic wastes in the currently applied techniques seem to be the varying degree of density of polymers, fluctuating pressure during production, inability to identify dark and black polymers, lack of pre-treatment techniques in some cases, lack of large-scale integration, safety issues while using X-ray, and inability to separate polymer types. The opportunities are mainly associated to averting the present challenges with the implementation of newly developed theories and techniques. The opportunities also discuss the use and integration of new techniques that have been theorized but are yet to be implemented practically on an industrial scale.
Source: Theseus (Ammattikorkeakoulujen)
Author: Adhikari, Prakash
Language: English
Subfield: Waste Management and Disposal
Field: Environmental Science
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7062075247