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Life Cycle Assessment of Poly(Lactic Acid) (PLA): Comparison Between Chemical Recycling, Mechanical Recycling and Composting

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Abstract

This paper presents a life cycle assessment (LCA) comparing three forms of poly(lactic acid) (PLA) disposal: mechanical recycling, chemical recycling and composting. The LCA data was taken from lab scale experiments for composting and hydrolysis steps. Polymerization data in chemical recycling was obtained from computer simulation. Mechanical recycling data from lab scale were combined with the data from a plastics commercial mechanical recycling plant. The analysis considered two different product systems based on the input of the recycled PLA in the product system. Considering the categories: climate change, human toxicity and fossil depletion, the LCA showed that mechanical recycling presented the lowest environmental impact, followed by chemical recycling and composting. Among the forms of recycling, the most important input was the electricity consumption.

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Acknowledgments

The authors are grateful to FAPESP (Process Number 2014/09883-5) and CAPES by the financial support and to the company Wisewood Soluções Ecológicas S.A. (Brazil) for the recycling process data.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Materials Engineering and Bioprocess, School of Chemical Engineering, University of Campinas (UNICAMP), Albert Einstein Avenue, 500, Cidade Universitária, Campinas, SP, CEP 13083-852, Brazil

    Marina F. Cosate de Andrade, Patrícia M. S. Souza & Ana R. Morales

  2. Laboratório Nacional de Ciência e Tecnologia do Bioetanol (CTBE), Caixa Postal 6170, Campinas, SP, CEP 13083-970, Brazil

    Otávio Cavalett

Authors
  1. Marina F. Cosate de Andrade
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  2. Patrícia M. S. Souza
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  3. Otávio Cavalett
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  4. Ana R. Morales
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Correspondence to Marina F. Cosate de Andrade.

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Cosate de Andrade, M.F., Souza, P.M.S., Cavalett, O. et al. Life Cycle Assessment of Poly(Lactic Acid) (PLA): Comparison Between Chemical Recycling, Mechanical Recycling and Composting. J Polym Environ 24, 372–384 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10924-016-0787-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10924-016-0787-2

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