Title Page
Contents
Abstract 12
Ⅰ. Introduction 14
1. Research Purpose and Background 14
2. Theoretical Considerations 20
2.1. Plastic waste problem 20
2.2. Use and challenges of recycled plastic raw materials 21
2.3. Foreign policies related to plastics 24
2.4. Domestic policies related to plastics 36
2.5. Plastic-related standards 39
2.6. Latest technology in plastic recycling 43
2.7. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) Methodology 46
Ⅱ. Previous research review 49
1. Research on recycling technology for plastics generated from waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) 49
1.1. Research on recycling of closed-loop thermoset composites through crushing and recombination 49
1.2. Study on the benefits of closed-loop and open-loop recycling of plastics 50
1.3. Research on the advantages of CFRP (carbon fiber reinforced plastic) closed-loop recycling 50
1.4. Research on recycling of WEEE plastics containing additives 51
1.5. Study on evaluation of brominated flame retardants in small and medium-sized WEEE plastic recycling 51
2. Research on the LCA of plastics generated from waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) 51
2.1. Research on life cycle assessment techniques for polymers 52
2.2. Research on the environmental aspects of WEEE plastic recycling 52
2.3. Study on the LCA of closed-loop recycling and heat recovery of post-consumer PET 53
2.4. Research on the environmental impact of the life cycle of plastic products 53
2.5. Study on LCA of polypropylene production in the Gulf region 54
Ⅲ. Materials and Methodology 55
1. Estimation of the Generation of Recycled Plastics 55
2. Physical Properties according to the Material 59
3. Physical and Chemical Properties of Recycled Plastics and Virgin Plastics 59
4. Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Emission Avoidance through Recycled Plastics 60
Ⅳ. Results and Discussion 62
1. Generation of WEEE and Plastic Waste as the Subject of Investigation 62
1.1. Generation of Recycled Plastics from Large-Scale WEEE 62
1.2. Generation of Recycled Plastics from Small- and Medium- Scale WEEE 65
2. Physical and Chemical Properties of Recycled Plastics and Virgin Plastics 71
3. GHG Emission Avoidance through Recycled Plastics 84
Ⅴ. Conclusion 89
Abbreviations 92
References 93
Table 1. Policy on resource circulation of waste electrical and electronic products in major countries. 16
Table 2. Main problems caused by the plastic linear economy. 20
Table 3. Acceleration of the promotion of the use of recycled raw materials. 22
Table 4. China's major plastic-related regulations. 25
Table 5. EU's Major Policy of Plastic. 28
Table 6. Example of Plastic Regulation in the U.S. State Government. 33
Table 7. Plastic-related regulations in Korea. 36
Table 8. International Standards. 39
Table 9. National standard. 40
Table 10. Korean standard. 42
Table 11. Group standard. 43
Table 12. Thermochemical recycling technology for waste plastic (Korea Institute of Machinery and Materials). 44
Table 13. Main contents of each life cycle assessment stage. 48
Table 14. Recycling quantities according to the product category under the EPR Recycling System in 2021. 55
Table 15. Generation of plastic produced by S Company and available plastic supply from manufacturers in 2021. 63
Table 16. Generation of plastic within the entire Large-scale WEEE and quantity of recycled plastics available for supply to manufacturers. 64
Table 17. Number of processing and the weight of small and medium-sized waste electrical and electronic products of M Company in 2021. 66
Table 18. Generation of plastic produced by M Company and available plastic supply from manufacturers in 2021. 67
Table 19. Plastics generated from small- and medium-scale WEEE according to the waste categories. 68
Table 20. Generation of plastic within the entire small- and medium-scale WEEE and quantity of recycled plastics available for supply to manufacturers. 69
Table 21. Estimation results of plastic generation within the entire waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) and quantity of recycled plastics... 70
Table 22. Comparison of PCR materials within WEEE. 79
Table 23. Database of primary and secondary plastic production. 86
Figure 1. Types of closed-loop recycling models. 19
Figure 2. Specific objectives for assessing the closed-loop recycling potential of plastics within the electrical and electronic products industry. 19
Figure 3. Production scale of new and recycled plastics. 21
Figure 4. Objectives of the Circular Economy Action Plan. 27
Figure 5. Plastic Waste Management(1960~2018) in USA. 32
Figure 6. Structure of a life cycle assessment 47
Figure 7. Flowchart of the domestic resource circulation of recycled plastics from WEEE. 58
Figure 8. Production process of recycled plastics designed by C Company. 61
Figure 9. Types and quantities of plastics derived from large-scale WEEE and amount of material available to be reused. 63
Figure 10. Comparison of the properties between recycled materials and virgin materials. 72
Figure 11. Changes in physical properties depending on the number of recycling cycles of ABS. 73
Figure 12. Changes in physical properties depending on the number of recycling cycles of PP. 74
Figure 13. Changes in physical properties depending on the number of recycling cycles of PS. 75
Figure 14. Changes in physical properties according to the number of measurements of virgin ABS materials of the same product. 76
Figure 15. Changes in domestic electrical and electronic equipment shipments and recycling performance. 81
Figure 16. Flow of PCR within WEEE in the regulatory region as of 2021. 85
Figure 17. GHG emission from the production of virgin PCR and recycled PCR materials. 87
Figure 18. GHG reduction through recycled plastic. 88