Details
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 476-491 |
| Number of pages | 16 |
| Journal | Journal of cleaner production |
| Volume | 185 |
| Early online date | 3 Mar 2018 |
| Publication status | Published - 1 Jun 2018 |
| Externally published | Yes |
Abstract
Bio-based plastics show an evolving market and application range and therefore have become increasingly popular in research and economy. The limitation of fossil resources as well as linked environmental issues have led to the development of an innovative bioeconomy and also triggered the shift from fossil-based plastics to bio-based plastics. The original motivation for this study was to propose a comprehensive approach to calculate the sustainability performance of bio-based plastics on a global scale. To provide a calculative basis, a review on available data from life cycle assessment (LCA), social life cycle assessment (S-LCA) and life cycle costing (LCC) studies on bio-based plastics was carried out and showed limited availability of quantifiable results with regard to the social and economic performance of bio-based plastics. In environmental LCA, with the ISO-family and related documents, a group of harmonized standards and approaches does exist. However, missing practical and consented guidelines hamper the comparability of studies and the exploitability of data - not only within the bio-based plastic sector but also in comparison to the fossil-based counterparts. Therefore, a calculation for the global sustainability performance of bio-based plastics was merely conducted for the environmental impact category global warming potential. Taking the technical substitution potential of fossil-based with bio-based plastics as well as limitations in data availability into account the estimation was performed for a substitution of approximately two-thirds of the global plastic demand. The results show, that bio-based plastics could potentially save 241 to 316 Mio. t of CO2-eq. annually. Thereby this study gives a first outlook how bio-based plastics could contribute to a sustainable development, making benefits and drawbacks more tangible.
Keywords
- Bio-based plastic, Bioeconomy, Life cycle assessment, Life cycle costing, Social life cycle assessment, Sustainability
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Energy(all)
- Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment
- Environmental Science(all)
- Business, Management and Accounting(all)
- Strategy and Management
- Engineering(all)
- Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering
Sustainable Development Goals
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In: Journal of cleaner production, Vol. 185, 01.06.2018, p. 476-491.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer review
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Bio-based plastics - A review of environmental, social and economic impact assessments
AU - Spierling, Sebastian
AU - Knüpffer, Eva
AU - Behnsen, Hannah
AU - Mudersbach, Marina
AU - Krieg, Hannes
AU - Springer, Sally
AU - Albrecht, Stefan
AU - Herrmann, Christoph
AU - Endres, Hans Josef
N1 - Funding Information: The authors thank hereby the Federal Ministry of Education and Research as well as the project executing organisation within the German Aerospace Center (DLR) for the funding and support of the research project "New pathways, strategies, business and communication models for bioplastics as a building block of a sustainable economy" (BiNa) within its framework this research has been conducted. The authors would also like to thank the precious input of all reviewers, which has helped to substantially improve this publication.
PY - 2018/6/1
Y1 - 2018/6/1
N2 - Bio-based plastics show an evolving market and application range and therefore have become increasingly popular in research and economy. The limitation of fossil resources as well as linked environmental issues have led to the development of an innovative bioeconomy and also triggered the shift from fossil-based plastics to bio-based plastics. The original motivation for this study was to propose a comprehensive approach to calculate the sustainability performance of bio-based plastics on a global scale. To provide a calculative basis, a review on available data from life cycle assessment (LCA), social life cycle assessment (S-LCA) and life cycle costing (LCC) studies on bio-based plastics was carried out and showed limited availability of quantifiable results with regard to the social and economic performance of bio-based plastics. In environmental LCA, with the ISO-family and related documents, a group of harmonized standards and approaches does exist. However, missing practical and consented guidelines hamper the comparability of studies and the exploitability of data - not only within the bio-based plastic sector but also in comparison to the fossil-based counterparts. Therefore, a calculation for the global sustainability performance of bio-based plastics was merely conducted for the environmental impact category global warming potential. Taking the technical substitution potential of fossil-based with bio-based plastics as well as limitations in data availability into account the estimation was performed for a substitution of approximately two-thirds of the global plastic demand. The results show, that bio-based plastics could potentially save 241 to 316 Mio. t of CO2-eq. annually. Thereby this study gives a first outlook how bio-based plastics could contribute to a sustainable development, making benefits and drawbacks more tangible.
AB - Bio-based plastics show an evolving market and application range and therefore have become increasingly popular in research and economy. The limitation of fossil resources as well as linked environmental issues have led to the development of an innovative bioeconomy and also triggered the shift from fossil-based plastics to bio-based plastics. The original motivation for this study was to propose a comprehensive approach to calculate the sustainability performance of bio-based plastics on a global scale. To provide a calculative basis, a review on available data from life cycle assessment (LCA), social life cycle assessment (S-LCA) and life cycle costing (LCC) studies on bio-based plastics was carried out and showed limited availability of quantifiable results with regard to the social and economic performance of bio-based plastics. In environmental LCA, with the ISO-family and related documents, a group of harmonized standards and approaches does exist. However, missing practical and consented guidelines hamper the comparability of studies and the exploitability of data - not only within the bio-based plastic sector but also in comparison to the fossil-based counterparts. Therefore, a calculation for the global sustainability performance of bio-based plastics was merely conducted for the environmental impact category global warming potential. Taking the technical substitution potential of fossil-based with bio-based plastics as well as limitations in data availability into account the estimation was performed for a substitution of approximately two-thirds of the global plastic demand. The results show, that bio-based plastics could potentially save 241 to 316 Mio. t of CO2-eq. annually. Thereby this study gives a first outlook how bio-based plastics could contribute to a sustainable development, making benefits and drawbacks more tangible.
KW - Bio-based plastic
KW - Bioeconomy
KW - Life cycle assessment
KW - Life cycle costing
KW - Social life cycle assessment
KW - Sustainability
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85044627001&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.jclepro.2018.03.014
DO - 10.1016/j.jclepro.2018.03.014
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85044627001
VL - 185
SP - 476
EP - 491
JO - Journal of cleaner production
JF - Journal of cleaner production
SN - 0959-6526
ER -