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Environmental impact assessment of paints production in Egypt

Conference Paper · November 2018

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Dalia Abdelfattah Yacout Mohamed Ahmed Elzahhar

Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences institute of gradute studies and research , Alexandria university
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 Proceeding of The 4th International Conference of Biotechnology, Environment and
Engineering Sciences (ICBE 2018)
21- 22 November, Alexandria – Egypt

Environmental impact assessment of paints production in Egypt

Dalia M. M. Yacout* and Mohamed El-Zahhar

Institute of Graduate Studies and Research, Alexandria University, Egypt

*Corresponding author: dalia.yacout@gmail.com,

Abstract

Painting materials are being used worldwide for decoration, equipment and machinery
refinishing among many other applications. The total value of the global paint market
amounted to approximately 160.54 USD billion in 2017 and is expected to reach 209.36 USD
billion by 2022. The local paint market in Egypt reached 764 USD million sales in 2016. The
local expansion in both the industrial and real estate construction sectors is associated with
increasing demand of painting materials. This raises the concerns of paint production impacts
on the environment.

The aim of this study was to assess the environmental impacts of one of the most
locally‎used‎painting‎materials‎“White‎alkyd‎enamel‎paint”.‎This‎was‎done‎in‎order‎to‎identify‎
the hot spots of local paint production process, and need for future studies. Life cycle
assessment (LCA) was employed as a tool for assessing the environmental impacts.

LCA results indicated that white alkyd enamel production impacts on resources,
ecosystem quality and Human health by 45.8%, 31.8% and 22.5%, respectively. Top impacted
category is fossil fuels depletion which accounts for 44.8% of the total environmental impacts.
The production of Alkyd resin is the main contributor to the different environmental impact
categories. Overall environmental impacts of this industry can be reduced by implementing
proper energy management practices that reduce energy consumption during Alkyd resin
manufacturing.

Furthermore, no previous LCA studies were conducted concerning the environmental impact
assessment of paint production process at local level. It is recommend to conduct further
studies in this area taking into consideration other types of painting materials. Also comparing
between the impacts of different painting colors can be studied.

Keywords: Environmental impacts, Life cycle assessment, Alkyd Enamel paints, Egypt

1. Introduction
The total value of the global paint market amounted to approximately 160.54 USD billion in
2017 and is expected to reach 209.36 USD billion by 2022 [1]. Paints are being used
worldwide for a number of applications like decoration, car refinish, steel structure, .etcthere
are different types of paints based on their application and function either protective or
decorative[2]. The fact that there are few objects which do not require coating is an indication
of the enormous importance of coating technology. According to the Euro monitor
International analyst production levels in the Egyptian domestic paint with coating sales
reached USD 764 Million in 2016 the decorative paints segment holds the largest market
share (74%), followed by wood coatings (10%) and industrial protective paints (9%)[3].

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 Proceeding of The 4th International Conference of Biotechnology, Environment and
Engineering Sciences (ICBE 2018)
21- 22 November, Alexandria – Egypt

The most important task for coatings, in economic terms, is surface protection. Thus coatings
help to retain value and enhance properties usage of almost all products, therefore they are of
huge economic significance. However, coating paints should be manufactured in accordance
to the environmental standards throughoutall their process steps from cradle to grave, starting
from raw material production passing by processing to application till disposal whenever
possible. Without coatings, a drastically decrease in product live might happened [3].

The current study aimed to assess the environmental impacts of paint production process
in Egypt. This was done in order to recognize the hot spots of this industry, recommend
improvement options and need of future studies in this area.

2. Life cycle assessment

In order to assess the environmental impacts of paint production process Life cycle
assessment (LCA) technique was employed following the framework of the International
Standard for Life cycle assessment (ISO14044 : 2006) [4] which includes (a) Identifying the
goal and scope of study, (b) Data collection and inventory analysis, (c) Conducting the impact
assessment and (d) Data and results interpretation.

2.1. Goal, scope and system boundaries

Presented in Fig. 1. Layout and system boundary of paint production process.

Fig. 1. Layout and system boundary of paint production process

2.2. LCA inventory, data collection and uncertainty

Input/output data was collected from a local case study plant for paint production located
at Alexandria governorate, Egypt during 2018 and is presented in Table (1). Background data
was compiled using the available data in the Eco-vent data base.

3. Results and Discussion

The study aimed to assess the environmental impacts of locally produced white
Enamel paint in Egypt in order to identify hot spots of the process and recommend
improvement options. A cradle to gate approach was selected for the study, starting from raw
materials extraction till the end of the paint production stage.

Regarding the life cycle inventory the following was considered: a) different inputs from raw
materials including: Alkyd resin, Titanium dioxide, Dolomite , Cobalt, Calcium, Zirconium,
White spirit, Bentonite (Clay), Polycarboxylate as a dispersing agent, b) energy used for
mixing, milling and packing, c) no water input was added as the process does not require any

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 Proceeding of The 4th International Conference of Biotechnology, Environment and
Engineering Sciences (ICBE 2018)
21- 22 November, Alexandria – Egypt

water addition. As for the outputs: the end product (White alkyd enamelpaint) and generated
air emissions in form of particulate matter and Hydrocarbons. The generated solid wastes are
in form of empty bags and drums which are being reused so they were excluded from the
study (Table 1). A cut off criteria of 1.5% was used in this study.

Table 1. Input / Output data for Life cycle assessment of 1000 kg Alkyd Enamel paint production

Item Unit Amount

Input
Raw materials
Alkyd resin kg 520
Titanium dioxide kg 200
Dolomite kg 140
Cobalt kg 3.6
Calcium kg 4.8
Zirconium kg 17
White spirit kg 100
Bentonite (Clay) kg 5
Dispersing agent :
- Polycarboxylate kg 5
Energy
Electricity for mixing, milling and
packing Whr 25
Output
End Product (Paint) kg 1000
Emissions to air
Suspended dust/Particulate matter ppm 213.5
HC ppm 166
LCA was evaluated based on the impact assessment methodology Eco-Indicator 99.
The following impact categories were considered: global warming potential (GWP),
acidification potential (AP), eutrophication potential (EP), carcinogens potential (CP),
ecotoxicity potential (ETP), respiratory inorganic formation potential (RIFP), respiratory
organic formation potential (ROFP), radiation potential (RP), ozone layer depletion (OLD),
mineral depletion (MD), land use (LU) and fossil fuel depletion (FFD).

4. Life cycle analysis results

Analysis results show that top impacted category from white enamel production is
resources (45.8%), followed by ecosystem quality and Human health, 31.8% and 22.5%,
respectively. The production of Alkyd resinis the main contributor to the environmental
impacts of enamel paint production as presented in the ecological impact network of white
enamel production (Fig 2). Table (2) and Fig. (2 – 3) show the impact assessment of 1 ton
production of white enamel paint on the environment. Fossil fuels depletion is the highest
impacted category followed by land use and respiratory inorganic formation potential.
Climate change impacts represent 3.5% of the total impacts. It was found that the production
of alkyd resin and Titanium dioxide, the main raw materials used in the production process,
are the main contributors to the different impacted categories.

62
 Proceeding of The 4th International Conference of Biotechnology, Environment and
Engineering Sciences (ICBE 2018)
21- 22 November, Alexandria – Egypt

Table 2. Environmental Impacts per

category of white enamel Alkyd paint
production
Impact category Total (%)
Fossil fuels 44.8
Land use 29.1
Respiratory inorganics 14.6
Carcinogens 4.4
Climate change 3.5
Acidification/ Eutrophication 1.4
Ecotoxicity 1.3
Minerals 0.9
Respiratory organics 0.1
Radiation -
Ozone layer -
Fig.2. Ecological impact network of Alkyd Enamel paint process

Fig.3. Impact assessment of white enamel Alkyd paint production on the environment (Weighting)

The top impacted category is fossil fuels depletion which accounts for 44.8% of the total
environmental impacts due to generated emissions from Alkyd resin manufacturing process
(Table 2 and 3). This manufacturing process is an energy consuming process[5]. Alkyd resins
are synthetic polyester resins produced by esterifying polyhydric alcohols with polybasic
carboxylic acids where at least one of the alcohols must be trihydric or higher. They are
always modified with natural fatty acids or oils and/or synthetic fatty acids. Furthermore,
Alkyd resin is manufactured through a Poly condensation reaction carried out in a reactor
where raw materials are being heated in boiler ranged from 190 oC to 270 oC with the
existence of almost 5% of hydrocarbon solvent. Water of the reaction is then transferred to
condenser where water separated from the azeotropic mixture, and solvent returned back to

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 Proceeding of The 4th International Conference of Biotechnology, Environment and
Engineering Sciences (ICBE 2018)
21- 22 November, Alexandria – Egypt

the reactor. Reactants are separated from residuals through filtration system. Heating source
may be electric or an oil, gas or coal furnace [3] .

The second top impacted category was land use which accounts for 29.1% of the total
environmental impacts (Table 3). This high impact can be attributed to the influence of oil
used in the Long Alkyd resin manufacturing and illiminte ore used in the production of
titanium dioxide (TiO2). The used oil in the manufacturing process of alkyd resin as one of its
inputs is being extracted from large amounts of vegetations crops such as cotton seeds or
soybean [6]. As for titanium dioxide manufacturing, the main raw material used is illiminte
ore which is extracted from mines. For each 1 ton production of titanium dioxide about two
ton of raw material (ilmenite or ilmenite + slag) are being consumed meaning that 1 Ton of
Alkyd enamel paint consumes 400 Kilogram of illiminte ore mines. Third major impacted
category is respiratory inorganic formation potential accounting for 14.6% of the total impact.
These impacts can be attributed to the generated air emissions from fossil fuel burning
resulting in aerosols of sulphate and nitrates (Table 3). Also the use of fossil fuels in alkyd
resin manufacturing generates air emissions. In the sulphate process for titanium dioxide
manufacturing, Sulphuric Acid is being used to dissolve the feedstock resulting in ferrous
sulphate monohydrated (MON), red gypsum and ferrous sulphateheptahydrated by products[7]

Table 3. Life cycle inventory of white Enamel Alkyd paint production process
Element Unit Amount Impact indicator
Emissions to air
Major elements
CO2 kg 2900.5 GWP
CH4 kg 8.22 GWP
N 2O kg 1.46 GWP
NOx kg 7.82 RIFP, AP,EP
SO2 kg 10.64 RIFP, AP,EP
Particulates, > 2.5 um, and < 10um kg 1.2 RIFP

Minor elements
Particulates, < 2.5 um kg 0.54 RIFP
Ammonia kg 0.96 RIFP, AP,EP
Sulphate kg 0.94 RIFP, AP,EP
Cadmium Kg 0.00014 ETP
Copper kg 0.002 ETP
Nickel kg 0.003 ETP
Zink kg 0.003 ETP
Liquide discharge
Arsenic Kg 0.0017 CP
Emissions to Soil
Zink Kg 0.006 ETP
Cadmium Kg 0.0009 CP
Resources Consumption
Land use m2 1268 Land use
Energy MJ 7943.9 FFD
Global warming potential (GWP), Acidification potential (AP), Eutrophication potential (EP), Carcinogens
potential (CP), Ecotoxicity potential (ETP), Respiratory inorganic formation potential (RIFP), Respiratory
organic formation potential (ROFP), Radiation potential (RP), Ozone layer depletion (OLD), Mineral depletion
(MD), Land use (LU) and Fossil fuel depletion (FFD).

64
 Proceeding of The 4th International Conference of Biotechnology, Environment and
Engineering Sciences (ICBE 2018)
21- 22 November, Alexandria – Egypt

Regarding the carcinogenic potential, results in Table (2 - 3) and Fig (3) shows that this
category is impacted by 4.4% of the total impact due to the Arsenic and cadmium emissions
generated from the production of Alkyd resin. Climate change was impacted by 3.4% of the
total impact due to the emission to air generated from the combustion process of energy
generation (Table 2 and 3). Regarding Eutrophication, Ecotoxicity, Respiratory organics
formation potentials and Minerals depletion, their combined impacts represented less than 4%
of the total impact. These impacts were mainly attributed to the generated emissions during
Alkyd resin manufacturing process. No impacts were detected on radiation or ozone layer
potentials.

5. Improvement options and further needs for study

Furthermore, it was found that no previous LCA studies related to paint industry were
conducted at local level. It is recommend to conduct further studies in this area taking into
consideration other types of painting materials. Also comparing between the impacts of
different painting colors can be studied. The drying time and application on the substrate for
solvent based system as can be considered as well by incorporating the service life time of the
substrate. This will have an effect on the different environmental impacts.

6. Conclusion
Paint production is expanding to meet the global demand. In order to determine the total
environmental impact of Alkyd paint though its entire life cycle, a cradle to grave approach
was conducted. The top environmental categories impacted by this production process are
fossil fuels depletion, Land use, and Respiratory inorganics formation potential. Carcinogens
potential, and Climate change were next in the impacted categories. Minor impacts were
detected on acidification potential, Eutrophication, Ecotoxicity, Respiratory organics and
Minerals depletion, their combined impacts represented less than 4% of the total impact.
Alkyd resin manufacturing was the top source of impact on the different impacted categories
due to the energy consumed in the different production processes and generated emissions
from fuel combustion. Overall impacts can be reduced by applying proper energy
management measurements in the pain industry.

No previous LCA studies addressing paint production were conducted at local level and very
few one were done at global one. It is recommended to reduce the environmental impacts of
paint production process worldwide by further studies in this area.

7. References
[1] M and M (2018) Markets and Markets analysis report, Industry update 2018.
https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/paint-coating-market-156661838.html?gclid=EAIaIQobC
[2] Goldschmidt A, Streitberger H-J. 2007. Basics of coating technology. 791 p.
[3] Mannari and Patel (2015). Understanding Coatings Raw Materials. ca. 288 S. EPubVincentz Network ISBN 978-3-
86630-603-5
[4] ISO14040 (2006) International Organization for Standardizations: Environmental Management - Life Cycle
Assessment-Principles and Frameworks. Geneva, Switzerland.
[5] DIN 53183 (1973) Paints, varnishes and similar products - Alkyd resins, test methods. German Institute for
Standardization, German
[6] Callahan,William B. and Coe,B. Frank (1975) Alkyd resin manufacturing process by using water or steam to reverse
or retard gelation.
[7] Gázquez M. , Bolívar J. , Tenorio R. , Vaca F. 2014, A Review of the production cycle of Titanium dioxide pigment.
[8] Kim, James H., Herman J. Gibb, Paul D. Howe 2006. Cobalt and inorganic cobalt compounds. World Health
Organization

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