Assessment of a Decentralized Solution for Waste Plastic Management in Developing Regions
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University of Kentucky UKnowledge Theses and Dissertations--Chemical and Materials Engineering Chemical and Materials Engineering 2021 Assessment of a Decentralized Solution for Waste Plastic Management in Developing Regions Chandniben Ashishkumar Joshi University of Kentucky, [email protected] Author ORCID Identifier: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4595-5391 Digital Object Identifier: https://doi.org/10.13023/etd.2021.314 Right click to open a feedback form in a new tab to let us know how this document benefits ou.y Recommended Citation Joshi, Chandniben Ashishkumar, "Assessment of a Decentralized Solution for Waste Plastic Management in Developing Regions" (2021). Theses and Dissertations--Chemical and Materials Engineering. 133. https://uknowledge.uky.edu/cme_etds/133 This Doctoral Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Chemical and Materials Engineering at UKnowledge. 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Chandniben Ashishkumar Joshi, Student Dr. Jeffrey Seay, Major Professor Dr. Steve Rankin, Director of Graduate Studies ASSESSMENT OF A DECENTRALIZED SOLUTION FOR WASTE PLASTIC MANAGEMENT IN DEVELOPING REGIONS ________________________________________ DISSERTATION ________________________________________ A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the College of Engineering at the University of Kentucky By Chandni Joshi Lexington, Kentucky Director: Dr. Jeffrey Seay, Professor of Chemical Engineering Lexington, Kentucky 2021 Copyright © Chandni Joshi 2021 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4595-5391 ABSTRACT OF DISSERTATION ASSESSMENT OF A DECENTRALIZED SOLUTION FOR WASTE PLASTIC MANAGEMENT IN DEVELOPING REGIONS Rapid population growth, urbanization and availability of pre-packaged consumer goods have led to increased generation and consumption of plastic – so much so that it has become ubiquitous in the environment. An affordable, durable, and lightweight material of construction, plastic is used in innumerable products in every country on earth. However, this explosion of consumption coupled with the material’s significantly low degradability have led to serious plastic accumulation challenges, which are now an imminent threat to terrestrial and marine species globally. These challenges are especially acute in developing countries, where capital and infrastructure constraints, poor governmental regulation and lack of waste management education have led to post-consumer use plastic simply being discarded in unregulated dumps, open plots of land, streets, and waterways. As plastic accumulates in the ecosystem it poses significant negative health consequences due to improper disposal, release of harmful toxins from open incineration, and bioaccumulation of microplastic in the food chain. To address this challenge, this research applies a holistic approach to waste plastic management in developing countries by incorporating the principles of sustainability, appropriate technology, and circular economy to develop a locally managed decentralized circular economy (LMDCE). In a LMDCE, communities in developing regions are empowered to manage waste plastic accumulation at the source of origin by encouraging and implementing locally engineered, simple, and low-cost solutions that reduce, reuse, repurpose, and recycle waste plastic for reentrance into the local economy. In this analysis, the trash to tank (3T) approach is advocated as a favorable LMDCE solution for eliminating waste plastic from the ecosystem altogether by converting it into plastic-derived fuel oil (PDFO) via thermal decomposition. The research further defines countries and communities most suitable for LMDCE; provides a tool for estimating waste plastic generation in regions lacking readily available waste management data; assesses the mass and energy balance of 3T in appropriate technology settings; assesses the composition and stability of PDFO; determines the generation and combustion emissions of PDFO; and identifies supply chain considerations necessary for sustainably implementing LMDCE and 3T. The proposed solution has also been tested in Kampala, Uganda as a case study. KEYWORDS: Locally Managed Decentralized Circular Economy, Trash to Tank, Plastic Derived Fuel Oil, Sustainability, Appropriate Technology, Pyrolysis Chandni Joshi (Name of Student) 08/05/2021 Date ASSESSMENT OF A DECENTRALIZED SOLUTION FOR WASTE PLASTIC MANAGEMENT IN DEVELOPING REGIONS By Chandni Joshi Dr. Jeffrey Seay Director of Dissertation Dr. Steve Rankin Director of Graduate Studies 08/05/2021 Date DEDICATION To my father and my grandfather. I miss you! ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The successful completion of this dissertation can be credited to the direction, insight, support, and encouragement of many people. First, to my Dissertation Chair and mentor, Dr. Jeffrey Seay, I thank you for your guidance, patience, for the numerous academic and professional opportunities, and for challenging me to reach difficult goals. Next, I wish to thank my complete Dissertation Committee: Dr. Fazleena Badurdeen, Dr. Noble Banadda, Dr. Hyun-Tae Hwang, and Dr. Douglass Kalika. Thank you for your guidance, support, and insights that substantially improved the quality of my work. Also, a sincere thanks to my external committee member, Dr. David Atwood. I am equally grateful for the strong support of my family and friends. I thank my mother, who sacrificed much to provide me a chance at higher education. I thank my husband, my strongest supporter and companion. To my brother, grandmother, and stepfather, thank you for helping me clean and cut plastic for lab experiments, and to Lindsey Guess and Lisa Seay, thank you for your encouragement. Additionally, I wish to thank all my research colleagues at University of Kentucky Paducah Campus, Makerere University, and Murray State University, including but not limited to Brian Bukenya, Dr. Todd Cowan, Daniel DeNeve, Emilye Garner, Matthew Gilbert, John Higgins, Shafik Kiraga, Paul Kiwanuka, Ronald Kizza, Dr. Kevin Miller, and Rana Turkmani. I appreciate all your help in data collection for the various aspects of my work. Most importantly, my humblest gratitude to my God – I am because You Are. With sadness, I also acknowledge the sudden passing away of Dr. Noble Banadda and Dr. Todd Cowan prior to the completion of this dissertation. It was a delight working with you both, and I thank you for all your assistance! You will be sorely missed! iii TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ............................................................................................... iii LIST OF TABLES ......................................................................................................... viii LIST OF FIGURES ......................................................................................................... ix CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION .................................................................................... 1 1.1 Research Objectives ................................................................................................ 2 1.2 Research Novelty .................................................................................................... 4 CHAPTER 2. BACKGROUND AND LITERATURE REVIEW ................................ 6 2.1 The Global Waste Plastic Challenge ....................................................................... 6 2.2 Principles Governing Waste Plastic Management Solution in Developing Regions ................................................................................................................................. 9 2.2.1 Sustainability................................................................................................. 10 2.2.2 Appropriate Technology ............................................................................... 11 2.2.3 Circular