Critical Evaluation of Life Cycle Assessment Analyses of Plastic Waste Pyrolysis

Pyrolysis is a chemical recycling technology that is experiencing fast development, is complementary to mechanical recycling, and is used to avoid incorrect disposal of postconsumer plastics (mainly polyolefins) and decrease environmental impacts related to the production of virgin plastic. However, although it has been widely accepted that pyrolysis can constitute an essential technology for the present and the future, discussions regarding the increase of scale, process sustainability, and other aspects needed for the circular economy must be carried out more thoroughly. For this reason, in this work, life cycle assessments (LCAs) of pyrolytic processes are discussed, showing that available LCA studies still lack holistic consistency and representativeness, based on a short review of previously published studies and proposed approaches and limitations.