ArticlePolymers2026
A Tiered Multi-Technique Decision-Support Framework for Contaminant Screening and Recycling-Route Assignment of Mixed Plastic Waste.
Article in Polymers, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
1 citing paper in PubMed.
- Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
Abstract
Recyclers worldwide face a common bottleneck: incoming mixed plastic bales are chemically opaque, yet the choice between mechanical recycling, chemical recycling, and energy recovery hinges on contaminant levels that cannot be judged by visual inspection alone. This study develops and validates a tiered analytical decision-support framework that translates standard laboratory measurements into explicit, actionable go/no-go routing criteria for any mixed polyolefin waste stream. The framework is organized into three successive analytical tiers of increasing specificity: Tier 1 uses FTIR and DSC for rapid polymer identification and thermal subclass confirmation; Tier 2 applies TGA/DTG for thermal stability assessment and filler quantification; and Tier 3 deploys ICP-OES, WD-XRF, CIC, and TG-MS for targeted heavy metal, halogen, and evolved gas profiling, triggered only when Tier 1/2 flags are raised. This staged logic minimizes unnecessary testing while ensuring that contaminant-relevant information is captured where it matters. The framework is demonstrated on nine blind mixed plastic waste streams (P1-P9) supplied by an industrial recycling facility without prior disclosure of polymer identity, filler content, or additive history-conditions that replicate the uncertainty encountered at any sorting plant globally. Application of the tiered protocol identified dominant polymers (HDPE, LDPE, PP), quantified inorganic fillers (CaCO
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.