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| Volume 3, Issue 01 - 2007 |
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| 3 |
ENVIRONMENTAL LIFE CYCLE STUDIES OF POLY(HYDROXYBUTYRATE)- AND POLYPROPYLENE-BASED COMPOSITES |
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| Pages 22-32 |
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| LEX ROES1, MATTEO PIETRINI2, EMO CHIELLINI2, MARTIN PATEL1 |
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1 Utrecht University, Copernicus Institute, Department of Science, Technology and Society, Heidelberglaan 2, 3584 CS Utrecht, the Netherlands
2 Laboratory of Bioactive Polymeric Materials for Biomedical & Environmental Applications, Department of Chemistry and Industrial Chemistry, University of Pisa, Via Vecchia Livornese 1291, 56010 San Piero a Grado (Pisa), Italy
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| Received 5 February 2007 ; accepted 31 May 2007 |
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| A comparative life cycle assessment (LCA) has been performed in order to evaluate the possible environmental benefits of replacing conventional petrochemical plastics with poly(hydroxybutyrate) (PHB) based composites (filled with sugar cane bagasse (SCB) or organophilic montmorillonite, OMMT), or polypropylene (PP) based composites (filled with OMMT). The end products studied are packaging film (conventionally produced from PP), agricultural film (conventionally produced from low-density polyethylene, LDPE), a cathode ray tube (CRT) monitor housing (conventionally produced from high impact polystyrene, HIPS) and internal car panels (conventionally produced from glass fibre filled polypropylene, PP-GF). The environmental impact is evaluated on the basis of non-renewable energy use (NREU) and the global warming potential over a 100 years time horizon (GWP100). The results for the case studies show that the use of a SCB or OMMT filler alone does not necessarily decrease the environmental impacts. However, if the material properties of the filled polymer (higher Young modulus or tensile strength, lower density) are clearly better compared to the conventional material, this is likely to be the case. Environmental benefits can also be enabled by more environmentally friendly polymers used as matrix of the composite, as was the case for PHB. In the waste stage, free nanoparticles might be released (e.g. as a consequence of biodegradation), which could lead to adverse health effects. In conclusion, the few cases studied in this paper indicate that polymer nanocomposites can offer new opportunities for saving non-renewable energy and mitigating greenhouse gas emissions but further research is required to identify the most promising fields and to avoid negative side effects. |
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