Saleem Junaid, Moghal Zubair Khalid Baig, Tahir Furqan, McKay Gordon
Division of Sustainable Development, College of Science and Engineering, Hamad Bin Khalifa University, Qatar Foundation, Doha P.O. Box 5825, Qatar.
Center for Advanced Materials, Qatar University, Doha P.O. Box 2713, Qatar.
Polymers (Basel). 2025 Aug 29;17(17):2356. doi: 10.3390/polym17172356.
Polyolefin waste is an abundant yet underutilized resource for developing value-added materials, while palm fronds (PF), a lignocellulosic biomass, offer a promising feedstock for activated carbon (AC) production. However, conventional AC from biomass is typically obtained in powdered form, making it difficult to handle and recover in aqueous systems without external support. Incorporating polyolefins during synthesis enables the formation of chemically activated polymer-carbon composite (PCC), which offers improved usability and recovery. This study aims to evaluate the environmental sustainability of producing PCC from PF and polyolefins, using Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) to quantify energy consumption and climate change impact. The LCA results show a net energy demand of 88.59 MJ and a climate change impact of 3.57 kg CO eq. per kg of PCC. Substituting conventional petroleum-based AC with PCC led to a 28% reduction in climate change impact and a 30% decrease in energy demand. By integrating biomass and plastic waste, this research supports sustainable material development and promotes circular economy practices in water treatment applications.
聚烯烃废料是一种丰富但未得到充分利用的资源，可用于开发增值材料，而棕榈叶（PF）作为一种木质纤维素生物质，是生产活性炭（AC）的一种有前景的原料。然而，传统的生物质活性炭通常以粉末形式获得，这使得在没有外部支撑的情况下，其在水体系中难以处理和回收。在合成过程中加入聚烯烃能够形成化学活化的聚合物 - 碳复合材料（PCC），其具有更好的可用性和可回收性。本研究旨在评估利用棕榈叶和聚烯烃生产PCC的环境可持续性，采用生命周期评估（LCA）来量化能源消耗和气候变化影响。LCA结果表明，每千克PCC的净能源需求为88.59兆焦耳，气候变化影响为3.57千克二氧化碳当量。用PCC替代传统的石油基活性炭可使气候变化影响降低28%，能源需求减少30%。通过整合生物质和塑料废料，本研究支持可持续材料开发，并促进水处理应用中的循环经济实践。
