Plastics produce a significant amount greenhouse gas, contributing to global warming and a range of other environmental issues.
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The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development estimates: “In 2019, plastics generated 1.8 billion tonnes of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions – 3.4% of global emissions – with 90% of these emissions coming from their production and conversion from fossil fuels. By 2060, emissions from the plastics lifecycle are set to more than double, reaching 4.3 billion tonnes of GHG emissions.”
AIMPLAS, the Plastics Technology Centre has recently finished coordinating the CARMOF project which aims the reduce the amount of greenhouse gases released into the atmosphere during the production of plastics.
The scheme involved ideas including the development of carbon absorbent materials. These materials are ‘composite materials’ such as: functionalised metal–organic frameworks (MOFs), Carbon nanotubes (CNT) and Reduced Graphene oxide (rGO). However more notably, the project has focused on industrially scaled-up hybrid CO2 capture systems, in the form of industrial plants. The aim of the plant is to ‘combine membrane and vacuum temperature swing adsorption (VTSA) technology with adsorbent regeneration process, with the aim of reducing greenhouse
One such industrial plant in Athens has been monitored since 2018. After 5 years of work, the project has recently come to an end and the CARMOF hybrid pilot plant, able to capture up to 350 tonnes CO2/year, installed at TITAN cement plant facilities in Athens (Greece), is fully operational. According to AIMPLAST, the plant is achieving CO2 recovery values higher than 80% and a purity higher than 96% from a flue gas (14% CO2).