ArticleThe Science of the total environment2025
Controlling and optimizing the volatile organic compound and organic contaminant removal by improved water management in plastic recycling plants.
Article in The Science of the total environment, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
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5 authors.
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Abstract
Water-based washing is a critical step in the mechanical recycling of flexible post-consumer polyolefin packaging, essential for achieving high-quality recyclates. Despite its importance, the process remains poorly understood and entails a substantial water consumption. This study aims to optimize the trade-off between water usage and recyclate quality, focusing on organic contaminants (i.e. chemical oxygen demand (COD), total nitrogen (TN), total phosphorus (TP)) and volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Lab-scale experiments were conducted to: (1) characterize various plastic input streams and identify correlations among key parameters, (2) assess the influence of input stream variability and solid-to-liquid (SL) ratios on washing efficiency, (3) investigate water reuse effects on both recyclate quality and contaminant removal kinetics, and (4) test alternative wastewater treatment methods. A kinetic model was adopted, calibrated, and implemented in Aspen Plus® using experimental data. Findings revealed no correlation between COD and VOC loads on plastic films. Washing experiments demonstrated a dynamic equilibrium between the contaminant load on plastics and the final concentration in the washing water. Given the inherent heterogeneity of plastic waste, real-time monitoring of water quality and treatment performance is essential to consistently ensure recyclate quality. Additionally, VOC-removal was found to be more sensitive to water reuse and quality than the removal of organic contaminants. Based on these insights, a modified washing line incorporating a third polishing wash with a separate water cycle is proposed. This configuration improved removal efficiencies for VOCs (25%), COD (12%), TN (19%), and TP (9%) compared to conventional washing systems.
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