Polylactic acid trays for fresh-food packaging: A Carbon Footprint assessment

Ingrao, Carlo; Tricase, Caterina; Cholewa-Wójcik, Agnieszka; Kawecka, Agnieszka; Rana, Roberto Leonardo; Siracusa, Valentina

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2015.08.023

Cited by 101 publications

(68 citation statements)

References 42 publications

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“…The sustainability of managing carbon has been an issue for the past few decades due to global warming and climate change. There have been several studies about greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the packaging sector [15,16]. Various studies have assessed and compared PLA (or multilayer films with PLA) and petroleum-based polymers using the LCA method [17,18].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Carbon Footprint of Packaging Films Made from LDPE, PLA, and PLA/PBAT Blends in South Korea

2018

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Bio-plastics such as polylactic acid (PLA) have been investigated as a sustainable alternative to petroleum-based plastics. In this study, the carbon footprint of packaging films made from LDPE, PLA, and PLA/PBAT blends was measured with three different waste scenarios based on the database of South Korea using life cycle assessment (LCA). The LCA followed ISO standards, and was a cradle-to-grave analysis. The functional unit was defined as 400,000 pieces of a film of 300 × 250 mm with thickness of 0.06 mm for packaging bag manufacturing. The waste treatments considered were incineration, landfill, and recycling applied with the present conditions of South Korea. Under the present analysis conditions, the PLA film with landfill was the most effective for reducing carbon emission. The PLA/PBAT with incineration was the worst case among the packaging films tested. Incineration was the worst choice of waste treatment in terms of carbon dioxide emissions. Generally, landfill may not be the best option in terms of sustainability but landfill was a better option for waste treatment than incineration. In addition, before bio-plastics are blended with other material, the blending material should first be evaluated for its environmental impact. The blended bio-plastics with PLA, such as PLA/PBAT, can be more inimical to the environment in terms of carbon dioxide emissions than existing materials, such as LDPE.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Carbon Footprint of Packaging Films Made from LDPE, PLA, and PLA/PBAT Blends in South Korea

2018

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“…[8][9][10][11] It possesses good mechanical properties, together with balanced barrier properties; in addition, it can be disintegrated in soil compost. [8][9][10][11] It possesses good mechanical properties, together with balanced barrier properties; in addition, it can be disintegrated in soil compost.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Poly(lactic acid) formulations with improved toughness by physical blending with thermoplastic starch

Ferri

Garcia‐Garcia

Carbonell‐Verdu

et al. 2017

J of Applied Polymer Sci

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This work focuses on poly(lactic acid) (PLA) formulations with improved toughness by physical blending with thermoplastic maize starch (TPS) plasticized with aliphatic-aromatic copolyester up to 30 wt %. A noticeable increase in toughness is observed, due to the finely dispersed spherical TPS domains in the PLA matrix. It is worth to note the remarkable increase in the elongation at break that changes from 7% (neat PLA) up to 21.5% for PLA with 30 wt % TPS. The impact-absorbed energy is markedly improved from the relatively low values of neat PLA (1.6 J m 22 ) up to more than three times. Although TPS is less thermally stable than PLA due to its plasticizer content, in general, PLA/TPS blends offer good balanced thermal stability. The morphology reveals high immiscibility in PLA/TPS blends, with TPS-rich domains with an average size of 1 lm, finely dispersed which, in turn, is responsible for the improved toughness.

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“…PLA, a universal polymer, is synthesized from cornstarch and is a biodegradable polymer material. Similar to polystyrene, PLA exhibits good mechanical properties, biodegradability, and biocompatibility [11][12][13]. It is mainly applied to biomedical packaging materials, braces, wound dressings, and sutures [14,15], because it is an environmentally friendly material with positive ecologic and economic effects.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Modulation, functionality, and cytocompatibility of three-dimensional printing materials made from chitosan-based polysaccharide composites

2016

Materials Science and Engineering: C

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Polylactic acid trays for fresh-food packaging: A Carbon Footprint assessment

Cited by 101 publications

References 42 publications

Carbon Footprint of Packaging Films Made from LDPE, PLA, and PLA/PBAT Blends in South Korea

Carbon Footprint of Packaging Films Made from LDPE, PLA, and PLA/PBAT Blends in South Korea

Poly(lactic acid) formulations with improved toughness by physical blending with thermoplastic starch

Modulation, functionality, and cytocompatibility of three-dimensional printing materials made from chitosan-based polysaccharide composites

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