Research
I am studying the life cycle of plastic. Right now I’m focusing on polyethylene terephthalate, or PET, which has the #1 recycling symbol and is in its most familiar form as a disposable soda or water bottle.
Below is a link to a plan showing the many processes involved in manufacturing PET, starting from crude oil and natural gas. The oil and gas are used to make xylene (using a platinum catalyst) and ethylene (from a process called steam cracking). Ethylene is turned into ethylene glycol, and xylene is turned into terephthalic acid. The two are then combined to make PET.
But in order for that to work, the various refining plants require electricity, thermal energy, transportation, and waste disposal. The plan shows how everything links together. It’s supposed to be confusing.
I’ll add a thumbnail as soon as I figure out how.
REPLY))
Dear Brandon
Have you published any of your results or details on your PET work? I saw your slides for Life Cycle IX – great stuff. I’d love to see more detail, if possible.
kind regards
Eric Johnson
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Thanks for your note.
I just had a paper accepted to Resources, Conservation, and Recycling on the material flow of PET.. the LCA work is in progress.. though Franklin Associates kind of scooped us, I guess.. ours will be better
I’ll be at LCA X in portland in November too.