Recycling of Plastics

Plastics have a very important role to play in energy-efficient and low-carbon technologies of the present and future, but for them to be classified as sustainable materials, there is a great need for practical and economic recycling methods and infrastructure. This book fills the gap for a modern comprehensive technical guide to recycling of plastics, covering the whole value chain from raw materials to recycled materials. All important recycling technologies (mechanical, chemical/feedstock, dissolution) are discussed and compared to each other and alternative disposal methods such as energy recovery and gasification. Collecting, sorting, and purification methods are also covered, as are economic, legal, and political aspects. A strong emphasis is placed on data comparability, e.g. by standardized methods in measuring data. Although this is a challenge to implement, comparing data across technologies, regions, and stakeholders along the value chain yields important benefits. Key instruments for such a target are lifecycle assessments (LCAs), which are calculated in a standard way across the chapters to calibrate the messages among the numerous expert co-authors. Contents: 1. Introduction 2. Recycling technologies in overview 3. Value chain (EU, Americas, Asia) 4. Analytics and consumer safety 5. Properties of recycled materials 6. Design for recycling 7. Future developments

"Newcomers to plastics recycling and professionals alike will find use in this title that offers an overview of the available technologies and factors that affect them, including product design and legal, economic, and political aspects involved in recycling." The Chemical Engineer, April 2023 "This book fills the gap for a modern comprehensive technical guide to recycling of plastics, covering the whole value chain from raw materials to recycled materials. About fifty international industry leaders and renowned researchers contribute to the book exploring all aspects of recycling of polymers. The result is a comprehensive and state-of-the-art guide on the global recycling value chain with focus on the most important technologies." RecyAktuell, Februar 2023 "All Your Questions Answered - Dr. Norbert Niessner has combined input from authors across industry to publish the book 'Recycling of Plastics'. The resulting title offers an in-depth guide to the very latest global plastics recycling insights. [...] Niessner explicitly addresses his book to engineers, researchers, students, product designers, plastics and product manufacturers, recyclers, sorters and decision-makers in industry and government. But also to 'anyone after a comprehensive overview of plastics recycling and how it relates to sustainability.' That is also what convinced close to 50 international industry leaders and renowned researchers to pool their expertise and help shed light on all aspects of plastics recycling from mechanical and chemical approaches to new concepts such as 'design for recycling'. And even at 869 Pages, the result is a compact go-to reference guide." Kunststoffe international, 27.02.2023 "Das neue Fachbuch 'Recycling of Plastics' aus dem Carl Hanser Verlag vermittelt einen umfassenden Überblick über den aktuellen Stand des Kunststoffrecycling. Dabei gehen die Autoren um Herausgeber Norbert Niessner auf alle relevanten Aspekte der Wiederverwendung polymerer Werkstoffe ein. [...] Die Vergleichbarkeit der Daten ist durch die Verwendung von Ökobilanzen gegeben, die in allen Kapiteln einheitlich berechnet werden, um die Aussagen der zahlreichen fachkundigen Co-Autoren zu 'kalibrieren'. Das Buch schließt die Lücke eines modernen, umfassenden technischen Leitfadens für das Recycling von Kunststoffen, der die gesamte Wertschöpfungskette von den Rohstoffen bis zu den recycelten Materialien abdeckt. Das Buch hat 836 Seiten und ist in englischer Sprache verfasst." Circular Technology, 17.01.2023 "Keine offenen Fragen mehr - Gemeinsam mit Autoren aus der gesamten Branche hat Dr. Norbert Niessner das Buch 'Recycling of Plastics' herausgegeben. [...] Ein umfassender und hochaktueller Leitfaden für das globale Kunststoffrecycling." Kunststoffe, Januar 2023

Auteur
Dr. Norbert Niessner is Director Global R&D/IP at INEOS Styrolution Group GmbH.