Influence of end-of-life allocation, credits and other methodological issues in LCA of compounds: An in-company circular economy case study on packaging

Civancik-Uslu, Didem; Puig, Rita; Ferrer, Laura; Fullana–i–Palmer, Pere

doi:10.1016/j.jclepro.2018.12.076

Cited by 53 publications

(22 citation statements)

References 18 publications

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“…Although most of the population is concerned about the negative impacts of plastics in the environment, the responsibility cannot be focused only on the customers, and producers must transform their processes in order to provide more environmentally friendly goods and products. Therefore, the use of bio-based and biodegradable materials and compounds must be encouraged and evaluated thoroughly [ 21 ], preferentially through life cycle assessment methodology [ 22 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Polylactic Acid/Polycaprolactone Blends: On the Path to Circular Economy, Substituting Single-Use Commodity Plastic Products

et al. 2020

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Circular economy comes to break the linear resource to waste economy, by introducing different strategies, two of them being: using material from renewable sources and producing biodegradable products. The present work aims at developing polylactic acid (PLA), typically made from fermented plant starch, and polycaprolactone (PCL) blends, a biodegradable polyester, to study their potential to be used as substitutes of oil-based commodity plastics. For this, PLA/PCL blends were compounded in a batch and lab scale internal mixer and processed by means of injection molding. Tensile and impact characteristics were determined and compared to different thermoplastic materials, such as polypropylene, high density polyethylene, polystyrene, and others. It has been found that the incorporation of PCL into a PLA matrix can lead to materials in the range of 18.25 to 63.13 megapascals of tensile strength, 0.56 to 3.82 gigapascals of Young’s modulus, 12.65 to 3.27 percent of strain at maximum strength, and 35 to 2 kJ/m2 of notched impact strength. The evolution of the tensile strength fitted the Voigt and Reuss model, while Young’s modulus was successfully described by the rule of mixtures. Toughness of PLA was significantly improved with the incorporation of PCL, significantly increasing the energy required to fracture the specimens. Blends containing more than 20 wt% of PCL did not break when unnotched specimens were tested. Overall, it was found that the obtained PLA/PCL blends can constitute a strong and environmentally friendly alternative to oil-based commodity materials.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Polylactic Acid/Polycaprolactone Blends: On the Path to Circular Economy, Substituting Single-Use Commodity Plastic Products

et al. 2020

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“…Therefore, the literature shows how different types of fillers have been incorporated into HDPE to produce low cost HDPE composites, obtaining materials with improved mechanical properties and less environmental impact [ 22 , 23 , 24 ]. Most of these composites use mineral fillers [ 25 ] or fillers from agricultural waste [ 26 , 27 ]. Unlike agroforestry waste fillers, fillers from leather industry waste are rarely reported.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Leather Waste to Enhance Mechanical Performance of High-Density Polyethylene

et al. 2020

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Leather buffing dust (BF) is a waste from tannery which is usually disposed on landfills. The interest in using wastes as fillers or reinforcements for composites has raised recently due to environmental concerns. This study investigates the potential use of BF waste as filler for a high density polyethylene matrix (HDPE). A series of HDPE-BF composites, containing filler concentrations ranging from 20 to 50wt%, were formulated, injection molded and tested. The effect of filler contents on the mechanical properties of the composites were evaluated and discussed. Composites with BF contents up to 30wt% improved the tensile strength and Young’s modulus of the matrix, achieving similar mechanical properties to polypropylene (PP). In the case of flexural strength, it was found to be proportionally enhanced by increasing reinforcement content, maintaining high impact strength. These composites present great opportunities for PP application areas that require higher impact resistance. The materials were submitted to a series of closed-loop recycling cycles in order to assess their recyclability, being able to maintain better tensile strength than virgin HDPE after 5 cycles. The study develops new low-cost and sustainable composites by using a waste as composite filler.

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“…The current linear model (extraction of resources, production, use and landfilling) is not sustainable, as the resources are limited and there is an ever growing demand [8]. Efforts on deeper implementation of circular economy are being made in several industrial activities, such as agriculture and food [9][10][11], paper [12], textile [13,14] or packaging [15,16]. Leather industry is also addressing these issues, as will be seen in the present paper.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 95%

Life cycle assessment and leather production

Navarro

Lin

et al. 2020

J Leather Sci Eng

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Leather industry is facing new trends on production and consumption patterns due to society concerns. Circular economy is proposing a transition from the current economic model to a more sustainable one, in which waste is designed out and resources will be reused and recycled as long as possible. In this transition, Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is an important tool to help decision-making. In the present review, 39 English-written peer-reviewed papers related to LCA and leather have been found, 30 of which were published in the last 6 years, meaning LCA is nowadays an important subject. Papers are presented within 4 types, focused on: 1) the whole leather production process, 2) a single step in the production process (e.g, new technologies for unhairing), 3) waste treatment and recycling, and 4) life cycle thinking with ideas on long-term strategies for leather industries. As discussed in the literature review, leather industry has important challenges to address: increasing sustainability and transparency on the supply chain, and strengthening the beauty of leather. Taking up these challenges from a life cycle perspective will help leather industry flourish in the coming future. Graphical abstract

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Influence of end-of-life allocation, credits and other methodological issues in LCA of compounds: An in-company circular economy case study on packaging

Abstract: Està subjecte a una llicència de Reconeixement-NoComercial-SenseObraDerivada 4.

Cited by 53 publications

References 18 publications

Polylactic Acid/Polycaprolactone Blends: On the Path to Circular Economy, Substituting Single-Use Commodity Plastic Products

Polylactic Acid/Polycaprolactone Blends: On the Path to Circular Economy, Substituting Single-Use Commodity Plastic Products

Leather Waste to Enhance Mechanical Performance of High-Density Polyethylene

Life cycle assessment and leather production

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