Energy Payback Time of a Solar Photovoltaic Powered Waste Plastic Recyclebot System/Literature review

Literature Review

Life cycle analysis of distributed recycling of post-consumer high density polyethylene for 3-D printing filament ^[1]

• Comparisons on embodied energy and greenhouse gas emission between distributed recycling and centralized recycling( high density population & low density population )
• Distribute recycling saves a substantial amount of energy and emits less greenhouse gas than centralized recycling in low density population area, but the advantage compared with centralized recycling in high density population area is very small.
• It will be better if elongating the period for centralized recycling in low density population area.

Terms

• Life cycle analysis (LCA) is the systematic approach of looking at a product's complete life cycle, from raw materials to final disposal of the product. It offers a “cradle to grave” look at a product or process, considering environmental aspects and potential impacts.
• Embodied energy is the energy consumed by all of the processes associated with the production of a building, from the mining and processing of natural resources to manufacturing, transport and product delivery.
• SimaPro is the professional tool to collect, analyse and monitor the sustainability performance data of company’s products and services. The software can be used for life cycle assessment and a variety of other applications, such as sustainability reporting, carbon and water footprinting, product design, generating environmental product declarations and determining key performance indicators.
• EcoInvent is the LCA database which contains international industrial life cycle inventory data on energy supply, resource extraction, material supply, chemicals, metals, agriculture, waste management services and transport services that can be imported easily in openLCA.

Reference