The novel polyvinyl chloride (PVC) dechlorination technology addresses two challenges in the industrial metabolism of PVC: the loss of chlorine (Cl) into the environment as calcium chloride (CaCl2) or as a component of landfilled fly ash, and the loss of carbon (C). The technology recovers Cl as sodium chloride (NaCl), a conventional source of Cl, and also enables the recovery of carbon-containing chemicals that could potentially serve as a new source of C. The reductions in environmental impacts associated with the Cl supply chain will depend on the deployment of the process and the handling of PVC-containing products at the end of their life as a new form of composite resource. Using a multi-objective and multi-regional technology choice model developed in this study applied to 8 regions including Japan, Korea, Taiwan, India, Australia, Mexico, China, and Thailand, we found that the implementation of the dechlorination process could potentially reduce GHG emissions by up to 3.73% and reduce the area of salt farming by 44.9%, compared to a scenario with no Cl recovery process. The priority locations for the dechlorination process are regions with low GHG emission intensity in power generation and proximity to major PVC waste-generating regions.
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