Circular economy for vinyl plastics

加拿大在减少塑料废物方面处于全球领先地位，目标是到2040年实现废旧塑料的完全回收。这需要循环经济，废旧塑料完全重新整合到生产周期中。循环经济还将缓解加拿大制造商因新冠肺炎大流行而面临的供应链挑战，用回收的原材料取代原始原材料。本研究将构建聚氯乙烯循环经济的综合框架。将开发两种不同的回收途径。在路线1中，回收的聚氯乙烯将被机械加工成新的塑料。在第二种途径中，它将被生化分解成小分子，这些小分子可以用来合成新的聚合物或转化为更有价值的化合物。将对两条线路进行生命周期评估和技术经济评估，以分析其环境影响和可行性。该项目将汇集来自多个机构的加拿大研究人员，他们将与加拿大PVC行业联手，建立加拿大在可持续塑料制造方面的全球竞争力。

Canada takes global leadership in reducing plastic waste by targeting the total recovery of used plastics by 2040. This requires a circular economy where used plastics are fully reintegrated into the production cycle. A circular economy will also relieve the supply-chain challenge faced by Canadian manufacturers as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic by replacing virgin raw materials with recycled ones. The proposed research will build a comprehensive framework of circular economy for poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC). Two different routes of recycling will be developed. In Route I, recycled PVC will be mechanically reprocessed into new plastics. In Route II, it will be biochemically broken down to small molecules, which may be used to synthesize new polymers or converted to more valuable compounds. Life cycle assessment and techno-economic assessment will be performed on both routes to analyze their environmental impact and feasibility. The project will bring together Canadian researchers from multiple institutions, who will join forces with the Canadian PVC industry to establish Canada's global competitiveness in sustainable plastics manufacturing.