The vast majority of plastics – one of the most ubiquitous human-made materials – use fossil fuels not only as feedstock but also to power their manufacture. The production of plastics currently accounts for 6 per cent of oil consumption. This is expected to rise to nearly 20 per cent by 2050. In order to meet climate targets in line with the Paris Agreement, the plastics industry must strive towards reducing its CO2 output to net zero.
Proposed strategies to cut carbon and other greenhouse gases in plastics manufacturing include decarbonisation of the plastics supply chain (such as using EVs for transport) and implementing circular technologies to reuse fossil carbon feedstock (such as chemical recycling, mechanical recycling, biomass, and carbon capture and utilisation).
While much research has focused on finding more sustainable building blocks for next-generation polymers, mitigating the greenhouse gas emissions over the lifetime of currently used...