End-of-Life Alternatives of Glass Reinforced Polyester Boat Hulls Compared by LCA

Abstract

Glass reinforced polyester (GRP), as a thermoset polymer composites, dominates boat building industry with its several advantages such as high strength/weight ratio, cohesiveness, good resistance to environment. However, proper recovering and recycling of GRP boats is became a current environmental requirement that should be met by the related industry. In this study, to propose in a cost effective and environmentally friendly way, Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) has been carried out for six scenarios include two moulding methods (namely Hand Lay-up Method, HLM and Vacuum Infusion Method, VIM) and three End-of-Life (EoL) alternatives(namely Extruding, Incineration and Landfill) for a recreational boat's GRP hulls. A case study from raw materials purchasing phase to disposal/recycling stages has been established taking 11 m length GRP boat hull as the functional unit.Analysis show that in the production phase, the impacts are mainly due to the use of energy (electricity), transport and raw material manufacture. Largest differences between the methods considered (HLM and VIM) can be observed in the factors of marine aquatic ecotoxicity and eutrophication while the closest ones are abiotic depletion, ozon layer depletion and photochemical oxidation. The environmental impact of VIM is much higher than HLM due to its higher energy consumption while vacuum infusion method has lower risk than hand lay-up method in terms of occupational health by using less raw material (resin) in a closed mold. In the comparison of the three EoL techniques, the mechanical way of recycling (granule extruding) shows better environmental impacts except terrestrial ecotoxicity, photochemical oxidation and acidification. Among the EoL alternatives, landfill has the highest environmental impacts except 'global warming potential' and 'human toxicity' which are the highest in extrusion. The main cause of the impacts of landfill is the transportation needs between the EoL boats and the licenced landfill site. Although it has the higher impact on human toxicity, incineration is the second cleaner alternative of EoL techniques considered in this study. In fact that the similar trend has been observed both in production and EoL phases of the boat. It is obvious that using much more renewable energy mix and greener transportation alternative can reduce the overall impact of the all phases considerably.

Recovery and reuse of carbon fibre and acrylic resin from thermoplastic composites used in marine application

“…Given the estimated high usage of FRP in boatbuilding, and with a boat lifespan of 30-45 years, around 140000 recreational craft are expect to reach their end-of-life every year (Önal and Neşer, 2018), with over 13000 only in France, which represents more than 5% of annual increase (Monier et al, 2016). In the Nordic countries, the number of boats is estimated at about 3 million, of which about 6% are above 40 years old (Eklund, 2013).…”

“…As for CFRP market, the need to recycle GFRP raises from the increasing EoL large structures as wind turbine blades and marine boats. The actual situation of recycling of EoL marine FRP boats was studied by Eklund (Eklund, 2013), Önal et al (Önal and Neşer, 2018), Singh et al (Singh et al, 2010) and Jayaram et al (Jayaram et al, 2018). The main recycling system for EoL boats is mechanical crushing.…”

The 100 m Composite Ship?

“…These processes generate recyclate as filler or particulate reinforcement (for polymer, asphalt or cement composites). The high recycling costs and low recyclate value, combined with a lack of established markets, are a poor incentive for composite users to pursue recycling [91,102]. Significant research and development is still required to develop practical and economic composite recycling.…”

“…Contamination with fuel, lubricants, paint and/or anti-fouling may constrain disposal options. Önal and Neşer [102] conducted a life cycle assessment to compare three EoL options (extruding, incineration or landfill) for GRP recreational boat hulls manufactured by hand lamination or infusion. The environmental impact of infusion was higher due to the energy consumption, but with lower risk in terms of occupational health.…”

Bio-Based Adhesives for Wooden Boatbuilding

“…In addition, FRP materials use a significantly high amount of energy for their production [14]. All these aspects must be taken into account while approaching the life cycle assessment (LCA) of a vessel; raw material production and end-of-life alternatives (reuse, recycling, and disposal) are fundamental to define the complete life cycle of vessels [15].…”