Carbon Footprints of Rubber Products Supply Chains (Fresh Latex to Rubber Glove)

Abstract

Abstract. Carbon footprint emissions related to the natural latex supply chain including farm cultivation, concentrated latex production and rubber glove processing were investigated. Data were collected from 656 rubber plantations covering six provinces in the northeast, east, and south of Thailand and three concentrated latex production plants including one rubber glove processing factory. Different allocation methods were considered to compare the carbon footprint results including mass allocation, economic allocation and allocation by dry rubber content (DRC). Calculation methods were based on life cycle assessment (LCA) and ISO14067. Results indicated that farm size had no impact on the carbon footprint of fresh latex, with the carbon footprint of fertilizer application at planting estimated at more than 90% of the total contribution. For concentrated latex production, almost 70% of the carbon footprint originates from rubber cultivation. Total carbon footprint emission of 200 pieces of rubber glove was about 42 kg CO2-eq, allocated by mass during cultivation and by DRC in concentrated latex processing, with less than 1% from rubber plantations and concentrated latex processing. Allocation methods for the carbon footprint of rubber gloves do not affect the final result but have a great impact on the upstream process.

Current plastics pollution threats due to COVID-19 and its possible mitigation techniques: a waste-to-energy conversion via Pyrolysis

“…For instance, synthetic rubber gloves manufactured in Malaysia utilized 10.0413 MJ of energy per production per kg with impacts extremely reliant on energy production (Hub 2020 ). Meanwhile, in Thailand, the overall carbon footprint release is estimated to around 42 kg CO 2 -eq per 200 pieces of rubber glove (Usubharatana and Phungrassami 2018 ). Considering the expected suggested regular monthly use of 65 billion gloves globally (Prata et al 2020 ), and the earlier projected carbon footprint release by (Usubharatana and Phungrassami 2018 ), results in the release of 1.44 × 10E + 010 Kg CO 2 -Eq.…”

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“…For synthetic rubber gloves produced in Malaysia, the production of each kilogram of product consumes up to 10.0413 MJ of energy, with impacts highly dependent on energy production [70]. In Thailand, the total carbon footprint emission of 200 pieces of rubber glove was about 42 kg CO 2 -eq [72].…”

“…For synthetic rubber gloves produced in Malaysia, the production of each kilogram of product consumes up to 10.0413 MJ of energy, with impacts highly dependent on energy production [66] . In Thailand, the total carbon footprint emission of 200 pieces of rubber glove was about 42 kg CO 2 -eq [68] . Considering the estimated recommended monthly consumption of 65 billion gloves globally [33] , and the previously estimated carbon footprint emission (by [68] ), it would result in the emission of 1.44 × 10E + 010 Kg CO2 eq kg (14 Mt CO 2 eq).…”

“…In Thailand, the total carbon footprint emission of 200 pieces of rubber glove was about 42 kg CO 2 -eq [68] . Considering the estimated recommended monthly consumption of 65 billion gloves globally [33] , and the previously estimated carbon footprint emission (by [68] ), it would result in the emission of 1.44 × 10E + 010 Kg CO2 eq kg (14 Mt CO 2 eq). The use and preference of SUP, particularly plastic bags, over paper and cotton bags has also been questioned during COVID-19.…”

Environmental impacts of examination gloves made of natural rubber and nitrile rubber, identified by life‐cycle assessment

“…LCA is an environmental management tool that evaluates inputs, outputs, and potential environmental impacts associated with a product during its entire life cycle. [8,9] Although separate LCA of NR gloves and nitrile gloves have been used to assess their environmental impacts, [10,11] the specific types (e.g., medical examination, food processing, or industrial grade) of gloves used in these evaluations were not specified. [10,11] LCA is affected by the glove type because, depending on intended application, their production requires different amounts of raw materials (e.g., rubber and other chemicals) and energy.…”