Environmental assessment of bio-based polymers

and natural fibres

Dr. Martin Patel*), Dr. Catia Bastioli**), Dr. Luigi Marini**), Dipl.-Geoökol. Eduard Würd-
inger***)

*) Utrecht University, Department of Science, Technology and Society (STS), Copernicus Institute,
Padualaan 14, NL-3584 CH Utrecht, Netherlands; Phone: +31 30 253 7634; Fax: +31 30 253
7601; E-mail: m.patel@chem.uu.nl
**) Novamont, Via Fauser 8, I-28100 Novara, Italy; Phone: +39 0321 699 611; Fax: +39 0321 699
600; E-mail: bastioli@materbi.com, marini@materbi.com
***) BIFA (Bavarian Institute of Applied Environmental Research and Technology), Am Mittleren
Moos 46, D-86167 Augsburg, Germany; Phone: +49 821 7000-181; Fax: +49 821 7000-100; E-
mail: ewuerdinger@bifa.de

Table of Contents

1. INTRODUCTION

2. HISTORICAL OUTLINE

3. METHODOLOGY OF LCA

4. PRESENTATION OF COMPARATIVE DATA

4.1 STARCH POLYMERS
4.1.1 Starch polymer pellets
4.1.2 Starch polymer loose fills
4.1.3 Starch polymer films and bags
4.1.4 Starch nanoparticles as fillers in tyres
4.2 POLYHYDROXYALKANOATES (PHA)
4.3 POLYLACTIDES (PLA)
4.4 OTHER POLYMERS BASED ON RENEWABLE RESOURCES
4.5 NATURAL FIBRES
5. SUMMARISING COMPARISON

6. DISCUSSION

7. CONCLUSIONS
7.1 SUMMARY AND FURTHER ELABORATION OF FINDINGS
7.2 OUTLOOK AND PERSPECTIVES
8. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

1
9. REFERENCES

ANNEX 1: OVERVIEW OF ENVIRONMENTAL LIFE CYCLE COMPARISONS FOR BIODEGRADABLE

POLYMERS INCLUDED IN THIS REVIEW

ANNEX 2: CHECKLIST FOR THE PREPARATION OF AN LCA FOR BIODEGRADABLE PLASTICS

a year
ABS acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene
CH4 methane
cm centimetre
CO2 carbon dioxide
CR pallet pallet made of chinareed as reinforcement
d day
ECCP European Climate Change Programme
EPS expanded polystyrene
eq. equivalents
g grammes
GF pallet pallet made of fibreglass as reinforcement
GHG greenhouse gas emissions
GJ Gigajoule (109 joule)
ha hectare
HDPE high density polyethylene
kg kilogramme
l liter
LCA life cycle assessment
LDPE low density polyethylene
LLDPE linear low density polyethylene
MJ Megajoules (106 joule)
m3 cubic metre
MSWI municipal solid waste incineration plant
N2O nitrous oxide
PCL polycaprolactone
PE polyethylene
PET polyethylene terephthalate
PHA polyhydroxyalkanoates
PHB polyhydroxybutyrates
PLA polylactides
PVOH polyvinyl alcohol
PWB printed wiring board
PO4 phosphate
PP polypropylene
PS polystyrene
PVOH polyvinly alcohol
PE polyethylene
R&D Research and Development
SO2 sulphur dioxide
TPS thermoplastic starch

2
Abstract
Since the 1980ies and especially in the 1990ies, bio-based polymers and natural fibres have been play-
ing a increasingly important role in various applications. Bio-based raw materials are being used to
produce both biodegradable materials and materials that do not biodegrade. Superiority in environ-
mental terms has been an important driver for the increased use of bio-based polymers and natural fi-
bres and this can be expected to hold also for the future. As a consequence, thorough comparisons of
bio-based products and their petrochemical counterparts are required. To this end, life cycle assessment
(LCA) can be applied, which is a standardised method to quantify environmental impacts.
In this paper twenty life cycle assessments are reviewed. Seven of the studies reviewed deal with
starch polymers, five with polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA), two with polylactides (PLA), three with other
bio-based polymers (lignin-epoxy resins, epoxidised linseed oil) and another three with composites
based on flax, hemp and china reed (miscanthus). All of the materials studied are manufactured exclu-
sively or – in most cases - partially from renewable resources. The first three materials are biodegrad-
able while this is not the case for the remaining materials studied. The types of end products covered are
primary plastic materials (mainly pellets), loose-fill packaging material (packaging chips), films, bags,
mulch films, printed wiring boards (for electronics), thickener for lacquer, two different panels for pas-
senger cars and transport pallets. These products are compared with equivalent products made from
petrochemical polymers – in many cases polyethylene, polypropylene or polystyrene. Some of the studies
reviewed are rather limited in scope by assessing only energy use and CO2 emissions. They are never-
theless included because they contribute to a better understanding of the environmental aspects by ad-
dressing additional types of materials and by providing an indication of the uncertainty of the results.
The results show that bio-based polymers can contribute substantially to reduce the environ-
mental impacts related to material use. In the case of starch polymer pellets energy requirements are
mostly 25%-75% below those for polyethylene and greenhouse gas emissions are 20%-80% lower.
These ranges originate from the comparison of different starch/copolymer blends, different waste treat-
ment and different polyolefin materials used as reference. The cradle-to-factory gate energy require-
ments for PLA are 20%-30% below those for polyethylene, while GHG emissions are about 15%-25%
lower. The results for PHA vary greatly (only energy data are available): Cradle-to-factory gate energy
requirements in the best case (66 GJ/t) are 10%-20% lower than those for polyethylene. For more en-
ergy intensive production processes PHA does not compare well with petrochemical polymers. Very
attractive to attractive potentials were found for epoxidised linseed oil as thickener for lacquers.
(around 90% for energy and GHG emissions) and for the substitution of flax fibre mats for fibreglass
mats (above 80% for energy). Considerable savings are also amenable by using other natural fibres
(between 14% for an under-floor panel for cars and 45%-50% energy for interior side panels and
transport pallets).
The review also revealed a number of questionable assumptions and data uncertainties which
need to be addressed by future research and LCA studies. One important finding is that various waste
management treatment options should be included in LCAs for biopolymers and natural fibres due to
their strong impact on the final results.

3
 In spite of the uncertainties and diverse assumptions it is safe to conclude that biopolymers and
natural fibres offer important environmental benefits today and for the future. This is particularly obvi-
ous for starch polymers. Compared to conventional plastics and fibres, the products studied generally
contribute clearly to the goals of saving energy resources and mitigating GHG emissions. At the same
time, none of the biopolymers studied performs better than its fossil fuel-based counterparts in all cate-
gories.
To summarize, the available LCA studies and environmental assessments support the further
development of biopolymers and composites based on natural fibres. Regular monitoring of as many
environmental impacts as possible forms a crucial basis for the continuous improvement of the environ-
mental performance of biopolymers. For some materials the environmental benefits achieved are sub-
stantial already today. In many other cases the potentials are very promising and need to be exploited.

Keywords: Environmental life cycle assessment, LCA, energy, greenhouse gas emissions, GHG, uncer-
tainties, renewable raw materials, bio-based polymers, natural fibre composites, starch, polyhydroxyal-
kanoates, polylactides, end products

4
1. Introduction

Environmental considerations have been and will continue to be an important motivation to develop and
introduce bio-based polymers and natural fibre composites. This calls for a comparison of their envi-
ronmental performance with their petrochemical counterparts. To this end, life cycle assessment (LCA)
can be applied, which is a standardised method to quantify environmental impacts (ISO, 1997-1999).
LCA studies, however, do not address environmental risks (e.g. related to outcrossing of genetically
modified species) and they neither cover ethical, social and economic aspects.
This book chapter presents and discusses results from LCA studies for the commercially most
important bio-based polymeric materials: Starch polymers, polyhydroxyalkanoates, polylactides, lignin-
epoxy resins, epoxidised linseed oil and composites reinforced with natural fibres sich as flax, hemp and
china reed (miscanthus). The first three materials are biodegradable while this is not the case for the re-
maining materials studied.
The types of end products covered are primary plastic materials,1 loose-fill packaging material
(packaging chips), films, bags, mulch films, printed wiring boards (for electronics), thickener for lac-
quer, two different panels for passenger cars and transport pallets. These products are compared with
equivalent products made from petrochemical polymers – in many cases polyethylene, polypropylene or
polystyrene.

2. Historical outline

While the first man-made polymers were derived from biomass resources, they were more and more
displaced by petrochemical polymers parallel to the growth of the petrochemical industry since the
1930ies. Since the 1980ies and especially in the 1990ies, a comeback of bio-based polymers is observ-
able in certain application areas. One of the main drivers for this development in the last two decades
was the goal to provide the market with polymers that are biodegradable. In principle, biodegradable
polymers can also be manufactured from petrochemical raw materials. But bio-based polymers, defined
here as polymers that are fully or partially produced from renewable raw materials, have so far played
the most important role in the domain of biodegradable polymers. These developments have also been a
stimulus for R&D on bio-based polymers which are not biodegradable.
In Europe, biodegradable polymers were originally developed and introduced to the markets for
two main reasons. Firstly, the limited volume of landfill capacity became more and more a threat and
secondly, the bad general image of plastics in public called for more environmentally friendly products.
While the first issue has largely disappeared from the top of the agendas due to the introduction of plas-
tics recycling schemes and due to newly built incineration plants, the environmental performance is cur-
rently the main argument for bio-based polymers, including their biodegradable representatives. Apart

1 Mainly pellets, i.e. granules; not to be confused with transportation pallets.

5
from consumer demand for environmentally friendly polymers ("market-pull"), technological progress is
offering more and more possibilities ("technology push").
For many decades, cellulose polymers played a key role in a wide range of applications, for ex-
ample apparel, food (e.g. for sausages) and non-plastics (e.g. varnishes). In the meantime, these bio-
based polymers have lost important markets mainly to polyolefins. On the other hand, attempts are made
to develop new cellulose polymer markets in the area of films, fibres and non-plastics and for natural
fibre composites (N.N., 2002).
Since the 1980s, more and more types of starch polymer have been introduced. To date, starch
polymers represent by far the largest group of commercially available biodegradable materials. At the
outset, simple products such as pure thermoplastic starch and starch/polyolefin blends were introduced.
Due to their incomplete degradability, the latter had a negative impact on the public attitude towards
biodegradable polymers. It took many years to compensate this damage, which suceeded largely by in-
troduction of more advanced copolymers consisting of thermoplastic starch and petrochemical copoly-
mers. Research and development has continued in the meantime and embraces nowadays also nanotech-
nology (e.g. nanoparticle starch fillers as a substitute for carbon black in tyres). Given the historical de-
velopment it is also interesting to note that polyethylene in non-stabilised and modified forms has re-
turned to the market of biodegradable materials for certain applications (e.g. mulch films).
Widespread R&D activities were conducted to develop cheaper and simpler ways of producing
polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA), reaching from production by fermentation to direct synthesis in crops.
While considerable progress was undoubtedly made (Kopf, 1999), Monsanto terminated their activities
in this area in 1999 since the envisioned PHA yields for the production in crops (e.g. maize) were not
reached. Being one of the most important players in the field at that time, Monsanto's drawback revived
principal doubts about the feasibility and the sensibleness of commercialising large-volume bio-based
polymers (e.g. Gerngross and Slater, 2000). Nevertheless R&D has continued in multiple public and
private organisations.
Major progress has been made concerning the production of other types of bio-based polymers at
industrial scale. In 2001, Cargill Dow, a joint venture of Cargill and Dow, started up a plant in Nebraska
for the manufacture of polylactic acid (PLA) with a total capacity of 140 kt per year; by the end of 2002
a lactic acid production facility with a capacity of 180 kt will start up. Apart from being the monomer
for PLA, lactic acid has also the potential to become a new (bio-based) bulk chemical from which a va-
riety of other chemicals and polymers can be produced (acrylic acid, propylene glycol, propylene oxide
and others). In 2003, DuPont intends to commercialise its biotechnology process for the production of
polytrimethylene terephthalate (PTT). While the mentioned processes for PLA and PTT run on starch or
sugar plants, advance in R&D on vegetable oils (lower costs, taylored characteristics) offers further op-
portunities, e.g. for the production of nylon (nylon 9,9; Krämer, 1992). Moreover, R&D for the produc-
tion of bio-based polyols for polyurethane synthesis is quite advanced (Schmidt and Langer, 2001). For
polyethylene made of bioethanol and for several other products (e.g. succinic acid and levulinic acid),
first assessments on the techno-economic feasibility indicate that these might be interesing candidates
for the medium to longer term (Bozell and Landucci, 1993; Nossin et al., 2002).
Biotechnology, including genetic engineering, may play a key role in the further development.
Moreover, emerging nanotechnology entails interesting potentials for bio-based polymers. Biotechnol-
ogy and nanotechnology offer new opportunities both for biodegradable materials and for non-

6
degradable polymers. It may well be that current developments will lead to an increasing importance of
bio-based, non-degradable polymers while degradable polymers might be limited to relatively small
markets.

3. Methodology of LCA

A life cycle assessment (LCA) consists of four independent elements (ISO, 1997-1999; CML, 2001), i.e.
(i) the definition of goal and scope,
(ii) the life cycle inventory analysis,
(iii) the life cycle impact assessment and
(iv) the life cycle interpretation.

The definition of the goal and scope (i) includes a decision about the functional unit which
forms the basis of comparison, the product system to be studied, system boundaries, allocation proce-
dures, assumptions made and limitations. The functional unit can either be a certain service or a product,
with the latter being the usual choice for the type of studies reviewed here (e.g., comparison of 1 m3
loose-fill packaging material made of starch polymer versus polystyrene). Critical LCA issues regarding
bio-based polymers are, among others, the share of renewable versus fossil raw materials, the way of
growing the agricultural raw materials (intensive versus extensive cultivation), the type of conventional
polymer that is chosen as a reference and the mix of waste management processes assumed for both the
bio-based and the petrochemical polymer (landfilling, incineration, recycling, composting and diges-
tion). It is generally assumed that the carbon dioxide originating from biomass is equivalent to the
amount which was previously withdrawn from the atmosphere during growth and that it therefore does
not contribute to global warming (fossil fuels required for transport, processing the crops and producing
auxiliaries, e.g. fertilizers, are accounted for separately).
The life cycle inventory analysis (ii) involves data collection and calculation procedures to
quantify the total system's inputs and outputs that are relevant from an environmental point of view, i.e.
mainly resource use, atmospheric emissions, aqueous emissions, solid waste and land use.
The life cycle impact assessment (iii) aims at evaluating the significance of potential environ-
mental impacts using the results of the life cycle inventory analysis. One important goal of the life cycle
impact assessment is to aggregate outputs with comparable effects (e.g. all greenhouse gases or all acidi-
fying components) by use of so-called characterisation factors2. This leads to a limited number of pa-
rameters, called impact categories. As an optional step, the results by impact categories can be divided
by a reference value (e.g., total greenhouse gas emissions of a country) in order to better understand the
relative importance of the various impacts; this step is referred to as normalisation. Finally it is, in prin-
ciple, possible to aggregate the results determined for the various impact categories. However, this
valuation step is based not only on scientific facts but also on subjective choices and societal values. So
far, there is no generally accepted methodology to translate life cycle inventory data to highly aggre-
2 Characterisation factors hence serve for aggregation within the impact categories - e.g., to determine the total greenhouse gas effect of a
gas mixture containing CO2, CH4 and N2O. Characterisation factors are sometimes also referred to as equivalence factors.

7
gated - let alone, single-score - indicators3. In some of the LCAs reviewed in this chapter, two single-
score aggregation methods have been applied (Eco-indicator '95, Umweltbelastungspunkte; see e.g.
Dinkel et al., 1996). Given the missing general acceptance of these approaches, the results will, how-
ever, not be discussed.
The life cycle interpretation (iv) is the final step of the LCA where conclusions are drawn from
both the life cycle inventory analysis and the life cycle impact assessment or, in the case of life cycle
inventory studies, from the inventory analysis only. As an outcome of the interpretation stage, recom-
mendations can be formulated which, for example, may be directed to producers or policy makers.
The main objective of this chapter is to review full-sized LCAs. However, a few more studies
were taken into account that are much more limited in scope (e.g., by studying only non-renewable en-
ergy use and CO2 emissions). It was felt that these studies nevertheless contribute to a better understand-
ing of the environmental aspects because they either address materials that have not been studied from
this angle so far or because they provide an indication about how certain or uncertain the results are.

4. Presentation of comparative data

In total, twenty publications were reviewed seven of which deal with starch polymers, five with polyhy-
droxyalkanoates (PHA), two with polylactides (PLA), three with other bio-based polymers and another
three with composites based on natural fibres. The dominance and the size of studies analysing starch
polymers reflect the current economic importance of this type of material among the bio-based poly-
mers.4 Annex 1 provides an overview of the key features for most of the reviewed publications.
Regarding the choice of the functional unit some of the studies only analyse the production and
waste management of materials in the form of pellets without referring to a specific application of use
while other studies refer to a certain type of end use. Analyses for pellets have the advantage that they
provide a first impression about the environmental advantages or disadvantages. For example, if the en-
vironmental performance is not attractive at the material level (pellets), there is a good chance that this
will also be true at the product level. On the other hand, studies that exclusively analyse the materials
level suffer from the drawback of not taking decisive parameters at the end use level into account,
mainly concerning
- materials processing, where the amount of material required to manufacture a certain end product
might be higher or lower than for petrochemical polymers
- transportation, which can be substantial for end products with a low density such as loose fill pack-
aging material
- the use phase, where consumer behaviour can play a role (e.g., in the case of compost bins without
an inliner where the way of cleaning the bin has a large influence on the overall environmental impact)

3 According to the draft ISO standard for the life cycle impact assessment "weighting, as described in [paragraph] 6.4, shall not be used for
comparative assertions, disclosed to public" (EN ISO 14 042, draft 1998, paragraph 9).

4 A tabular overview of the object, regional and temporal scope, system boundaries (production, use phase and waste management) and
parameters (e.g. the type of impact categories) of the most detailed studies covered in this chapter can be found in Patel (2003).

8
- the waste stage where logistics and recycling processes can be tailored to a specific product or prod-
uct group.

These aspects will be explained in more detail in the following sections. The aspects listed show that
both approaches – the analysis at the material level and the end product level – provide valuable insight.
They are therefore both included in this review.
The regional scope (compare Annex 1) is relevant due primarily to national differences in CO2
emissions from electricity generation (power is used for plastics production) and the type of waste man-
agement infrastructure in place (e.g., treatment of municipal solid waste by incineration, landfilling, re-
cycling and/or composting).
Studies for biodegradable polymers usually include composting as a waste management option
(Annex 1). The output of the composting process, i.e. compost, can be used for soil amelioration. Patho-
genic microorganisms are eliminated. Organic nitrogen and phosphorous compounds are converted into
inorganic compounds which can be made use of by plants (Estermann, 1998). The option of waste man-
agement by digestion is taken into consideration only by one of the studies reviewed (Würdinger et al.
(2001).
The number of impact categories varies greatly (see Annex 1), giving an indication of the differ-
ences in depth of analysis among the various studies. The studies differ considerably also in the amount
of published background data and the degree of detail regarding explanations about the methodology
and results. In some cases the results are given in natural units while in others, they are expressed as an
index relative to the reference case, which makes it more difficult for the user of this information to
draw comparisons with other sources.

4.1 Starch polymers

All studies discussed in this section deal with thermoplastic starch (TPS) which is manufactured through
destructurization of starch in presence of specific amounts of plasticizers and under certain extrusion
conditions. Depending on the type of application either pure starch polymers or various types of blends
with different shares of petrochemical copolymers are used.

4.1.1 Starch polymer pellets

Dinkel et al. (1996)

The Swiss Federal Agency for the Environment, Forests and Landscape (BUWAL) commissioned
Dinkel et al. (1996) to prepare the first detailed and publicly available LCA for bio-based polymers. This
study analyses starch polymers and compares them to polyolefins. The LCA refers to Switzerland. The
thermoplastic starch polymers are based on two starch sources, i.e. potatoes (85% of input) and maize
(15%). The system studied covers the entire production process (cradle-to factory gate) and the waste
management stage (compare Annex 1). Two types of waste management have been distinguished, i.e.
firstly a combination of combustion in municipal solid waste incineration (MSWI) plants and landfilling
and secondly, composting. For most impact categories, this difference has only little impact on the data
(Table 1). The largest difference is found for the indicator "deposited waste" which is clearly lower in

9
the case of composting. The use of compost contributes to soil amelioration and it may replace synthetic
fertilizers to some extent. If incinerated in waste-to-energy facilities, starch polymers yield certain
amounts of electricity and/or steam. In contrast to other LCAs (see below) the study prepared by Dinkel
et al. (1996) does not ascribe any credits to these benefits.
Dinkel et al. compare thermoplastic starch to virgin Low Density Polyethylene (LDPE; see Ta-
ble 1). These data originate from an ealier study commissioned by BUWAL (Habersatter, 1991). The
waste management assumed for LDPE consists of 80% incineration and 20% landfilling. Based on these
assumptions the Dinkel et al. come to the conclusion that thermoplastic starch performs better than
LDPE in all impact categories except for eutrophication (see row 4). The use of TPS is particularly ad-
vantageous with regard to energy resources, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, human toxicity and
salinization. GHG emissions are reported to be dominated by CO2 while N2O emissions (from agricul-
ture) and methane emissions (from energy supply) are of minor importance (5% and 1-2% respectively
of the total GHG emission potential; Dinkel et al., 1996, p.58). The impacts on biodiversity and soil
quality were assessed in qualitative terms. Here, no additional negative impacts were determined if
starch crops are grown on areas which are currently used for agricultural purposes. In contrast, the ef-
fects are clearly negative if natural areas are displaced (Dinkel et al., 1996, p.12).
Dinkel et al. (1996) conclude that the preferences among the environmental targets determine
whether starch polymers are found to be environmentally attractive. If the reduction of eutrophication
was the prime objective then starch polymers would not represent an attractive option. Regarding biodi-
versity, the type of land used plays an important role. For all the other parameters the results are in fa-
vour of starch polymers.

Table 1: LCA results for thermoplastic starch (TPS) and Low Density Polyethylene (LDPE) (Func-
tional unit = 100 kg of plastic material; Dinkel et al., 1996, p.13 and pp.51-53)
Ozone
Energy GHG Human Eutro- Deposited
All data refer to precursors Acidification Ecotoxicity Salinization
resources emissions [kg toxicity phication waste
100 kg plastics [kg ethylene [kg SO2 eq.] [d l] +
[H /mol]
[MJ] CO2 eq.] [a m3] [kg PO4 eq.] [10-3 EPS]*)
eq.]
TPS (80% MSWI,
(1) 2550 +/- 5% 120 +/- 15% 0.47 +/- 20% 20 +/- 40% 1.09 +/- 5% 0.47 +/- 40% 2.8 +/- 55% 180 +/- 15% 5.1 +/- 10%
20% landfilling)
TPS
(2) 2540 +/- 5% 114 +/- 15% 0.50 +/- 20% 20 +/- 35% 1.06 +/- 5% 0.47 +/- 40% 2.8 +/- 55% 180 +/- 15% 0.72 +/- 10%
(100% composting)
LDPE (80% MSWI,
(3) 9170 +/- 5% 520 +/- 20% 1.3 +/- 15% 70 +/- 60% 1.74 +/- 5% 0.11 +/- 55% 4.6 +/- 25% 860 +/- 10% 5.5 +/- 5%
20% landfilling)

(4) Ratio (1)/(3) 28% 23% 36% 29% 63% 427% 61% 21% 93%

*) EPS: Environmental Point System

Patel et al. (1999)

As the LCA just discussed, the analysis by Patel et al. (1999) is restricted to starch polymer pellets and
compares them with pellets made of polyethylene. The main difference to the other studies discussed in
this chapter is that Patel et al. (1999) compare various blends with different shares of petrochemical co-
polymers. Information about the composition of the blends were provided by starch polymer manufac-
turers (Novamont, Biotec). It was assumed that both the starch polymers and polyethylene are inciner-
ated in MSWI plants after their useful life. No credits have been assigned to steam and/or electricity
generated in waste-to-energy facilities. The results of this analysis that is restricted to energy and CO2

10
are shown in Table 2. According to this comparison starch polymers offer saving potentials relative to
polyethylene in the range of 28-55 GJ/t plastic and 1.4-3.9 t CO2/t plastic depending on the share of pet-
rochemical co-polymers5.

Table 2: Energy requirements and CO2 emissions for different types of starch polymers and for
LDPE (Patel et al., 1999)
Fossil CO2 emissions
Share of
Cradle-to-factory throughout life-cycle
Type of plastic petrochemical
gate energy use 1) (production and waste
compounds
incineration)
% (wt) GJ/t product kg CO2/t product

TPS 2) 0% 25.4 1140

3)
TPS/polyvinyl alcohol 15% 24.9 1730
3)
TPS/polycaprolacton 52.5% 48.3 3360
TPS/polycaprolacton 3) 60% 52.3 3600
LDPE 4) 100% 80.6 4840
1)
Non-renewable energy (fossil and nuclear)
2)
Source of data in this row: Dinkel et al. (1996), p.51 (without waste management).
The CO2:energy ratio according to this dataset is very low (45 kg CO2/GJ). The reason
might be co-firing of biomass waste.
3)
Patel et al.(1999)
4)
Boustead (1999). Embodied carbon: 3140 kg CO2/t PE.

4.1.2 Starch polymer loose fills

Estermann et al. (2000)

The Italian starch polymer manufacturer Novamont commissioned Estermann et al. (2000) to conduct an
LCA for loose fill packaging material made from Novamont's product Mater-Bi PE01U and from ex-
panded polystyrene (EPS). Mater-Bi PE01U is a starch polymer containing about 15% of polyvinylalco-
hol. The study evaluates the use of Mater-Bi loose fills in Switzerland. The entire production chain and
waste management is included in the system boundaries while the use phase is excluded (Annex 1). The
transportation of loose fills is also included in the LCA. This is of general importance for products with
low density due to the relatively high energy requirements for transportation. It is, moreover, of particu-
lar importance for the products studied here since the density of starch polymer loose fills is about twice
as high than that of EPS loose fills. Regarding waste management, incineration has been assumed for
EPS loose fills while composting has been assumed for Mater-Bi loose fills (more than 90% of all or-
ganic waste delivered to commercial plants in Switzerland is processed by composting, the rest is fed to
digestion plants). The calculations are based on composting in open stacks since more than 80% of the
organic waste in Switzerland is composted in this way while the remainder is treated in boxes located in

5 It must be borne in mind that there are still considerable uncertainties even for conventional, fossil fuel-based polymers (see Chapter 6).

11
buildings (Estermann, 1998). An important assumption made here is that 60% of the carbon absorbed in
the vegetable material is released to the atmosphere during composting (97% as CO2, 3% as CH4) and
that the rest (40%) is sequestered in the compost.6 The authors of the LCA consider these data to be par-
ticularly uncertain (Estermann and Schwarzwälder, 1998, p.19; Estermann et al., 2000, p.16).
The polvinylalcohol (PVOH) required for the manufacture of Mater-Bi PE01U is of petrochemi-
cal origin. The production of PVOH is reported to be the largest consumer of energy resources through-
out the life cycle of starch polymer loose fills (Estermann et al., 2000, p.19). The authors consider the
data used for PVOH to be another major source of uncertainty (Estermann et al., 2000, p.28).
To account for these data uncertainties when comparing the results for starch and EPS loose fills,
threshold values were determined. For example, the ecological damage is considered "significantly
higher" if the impact is at least double as high in the case of energy and waste and if there is a difference
of at least a factor of five for all the other impact categories. Similarly, threshold values are determined
to quantify the relationships "higher", "comparable", "lower" and "significantly lower" (Estermann et al.,
2000, p.15).
Two different approaches were used to generate aggregated values for the various impact catego-
ries (Figure 1; compare also Annex 1). One of them is based on Dinkel et al. (1996) who use the charac-
terisation factors generated by Heijungs (1992) and various other sources (9 impact categories); in the
other approach characterisation factors according to Eco-indicator '95 (Goedkoop, 1995) are used (8
impact categories). Since there is some overlap between the two there are 13 impact categories in total
(Estermann et al., 2000, p.26). In eight of these 13 impact categories the production and disposal of Ma-
ter-Bi loose fill causes less environmental damage than EPS loose fill. The environmental impact of Ma-
ter-Bi loose fill is reported to be significantly lower for the categories winter smog, air toxicity and car-
cinogeneity. The impact of Mater-Bi loose fills is lower than EPS loose fills with regard to energy use,
global warming, acidification, ozone creation/summer smog and heavy metals. In two categories, Mater-
Bi loose fill has a larger environmental impact than EPS loose fill (salinization and deposited waste)
while the effects are comparable for the three remaining categories (eutrophication, toxicity water and
ozone layer depletion). The overall conclusion of this LCA is that Mater-Bi loose fills are ecologically
less damaging than EPS loose fills (Estermann et al., 2000, p.27).

6 These assumptions have been described in the LCA study for bags prepared by Estermann and Schwarzwälder (1998), p.21.

12
Figure 1: LCA for 1 m3 loose fills: Environmental performance using two different methodologies
in the impact assessment stage (Estermann et al., 2000)

Impact categories based on: Heijungs et al. (1992); Dinkel et al. (1996)
500
Mater-Bi loose fill
400 EPS loose fill

300
%

200

100

Acidification

Toxicity air

Salinization
Toxicity

Deposited
resources

emissions

precursors

water
phication
Energy

Ozone

Eutro
GHG

waste
Impact categories based on: Eco-indicator '95 (Goedkoop, 1995)
500
Mater-Bi loose fill
400 EPS loose fill

300
%

200

100

0
Acidification

Winter smog
Ozone layer

Heavy metals

Carcinogeneity
emissions

Summer smog
Eutrophication
depletion
GHG

Würdinger et al. (2001)

Together with the LCA on starch polymers prepared by Dinkel et al. (1996) the LCA prepared by
Würdinger et al. (2001) is the most detailed study that is publicly available. This study was prepared by
a project consortium comprising the organisations BIFA, IFEU and Flo-Pak. Two types of loose fills are
compared: one based on starch polymers and the other on EPS. The study follows a 2-step-approach:
- In the first step, various options of production, use and waste management are evaluated sequen-
tially: First, the effects of variations in production are studied while the assumptions made for the use
phase and for waste management remain unchanged. This is followed by similar sensitivity analyses for
the use phase and for waste management. All these analyses are prepared both for starch polymer (Ta-
ble 3) and EPS loose fills (not reported here).

13
- In the second step, various scenarios are formed by combining selected options in the production, use
and waste management stage (Table 4).

For starch polymer loose fills, the first column of Table 3 provides a ranking of the various options stud-
ied in production, in the use phase and in waste management. Twenty enviromental parameters were
determined. The ranking shown in Table 3 has been determined by comparing for how many impact
categories the environmental damage is lower in one case compared to the other without normalisation
and valuation. Similar comparisons were also made for EPS loose fills (results not displayed).
The results of the scenarios studied in the second step (Table 4) are shown in Table 5. The main
results can be summarized as follows:
- Among the scenarios for starch polymer loose fills, the environmental impacts are lowest for sce-
nario Starch IV, followed by Starch III, Starch II and Starch I (see Table 4).
- Among the scenarios for EPS loose fills, the environmental effects are lowest for scenario EPS IV,
followed EPS III, EPS II and EPS I.
- As shown in Table 5 loose-fill production from maize (Starch I) and from virgin EPS (EPS I) assum-
ing no recycling of the products in neither of the two cases and waste management according to current
practices are roughly comparable in environmental terms (9 impact categories in favour of starch, 11
impact categories in favour of EPS).
- EPS loose fills exclusively produced from post-consumer waste score better than starch polymer
loose fills in most cases (Table 5). Exceptions are the comparisons Starch III – EPS II, Starch IV – EPS
II and Starch IV – EPS III.

The assumption that all EPS loose fills can be manufactured exclusively from post-consumer waste
might not be realistic at the national scale and over longer periods of time due to logistics and cost re-
strictions. From this point of view the choice of the production process might be too optimistic in the
scenarios EPS II, EPS III and EPS IV (see Table 4). However, the comparison of these results with those
for the starch polymer scenarios show that important tradeoffs exist between recycling and bio-based
polymers: According to Würdinger et al. (2001) starch polymers can hardly compete with petrochemical
polymers on environmental grounds if the latter have been produced from recycled materials and if the
loose-fills (from petrochemical polymers) are also recycled after use. It can be concluded that the use of
renewable raw materials for the production of recyclable materials offers unexploited potentials which
deserve further R&D.

14
Table 3: Overall environmental ranking for starch polymer loose fills according to step 1 of the
LCA study by Würdinger et al. (2001)
Environmental Phases throughout the life cycle
performance Production Use Waste management
Best Wheat, extensive 4 cycles (within Optimized MSWI plant
(13/1/2/2) *) company) (20/0/0/0) (12/3/0/3)
2nd Potato, with effluent 4 cycles (recycling Standard MSWI plant (2/4/0/3)
use (6/7/4/1) station) (9/10/0/0)
3rd Corn (maize) 2 cycles (within - Current MSW m'mt practice
(4/3/6/3) company) (0/1/0/0) (3/2/3/7)
4th Potato 1 cycle (basis sc.) - Digestion (4/2/3/8)
(0/3/0/8) (0/0/12/8) - DSD (blast furnace) (2/1/6/5)
Worst Wheat, intensive 1 cycle (w/o allocation) Composting (3/0/3/8)
(2/2/3/11) (0/0/0/20)

In Step 1, the options of production, use and waste management listed in this table are studied
separately and sequentially in a ceteris paribus approach; ranking of the environmental
performance has been determined by comparing for how many of the 20 impact categories the
environmental damage is lower in one case compared to the other (comparison without
weighting).
The following 20 impact assessment have been taken into account: GHG emissions,
carcinogeneity, eutrophication, acidification, diesel particles, ozone precursors, ozone precursors
N-corrected, use of natural land, ozone depletion, eutrophication, cumulative fossil energy
demand, cumulative nuclear energy demand, oil equivalents, lead, sulphur dioxide, fluorinated
hydrocarbons, ammonia, nitrous oxide, adsorbable halogenated organic compounds, biocide
use.
Example: Among all the production scenarios studied, the option marked with *) scores best in
13 impact categories, it obtains the second-best score for one impact category, the second-to-
worst position in two cases and the worst score also for two impact categories. This result is
abbreviated by (13/1/2/2). The number of scores does not add up to a total of 20 in many cases
because partly 5 and partly 6 grades have been distinguished in the BIFA study while only 4
grades are reported here.

Table 4: Definition of four starch polymer scenarios and four EPS scenarios in step 2 of the LCA
study on loose fill packaging material by Würdinger et al. (2001)
Starch I Starch II Starch III Starch IV EPS I EPS II EPS III EPS IV
Production Maize Wheat, Potato, with Wheat, Virgin Recycled Recycled Recycled
intensive effluent use extensive Polystyrene PS1) PS1) PS2)
(PS)
Use3) 1 cycle 2 cycles 2 cycles 2 cycles 1 cycle 2 cycles 2 cycles 2 cycles
Waste Current Compos- Digestion Optimized Current DSD (blast Open-loop- Optimized
management MSW m'mt ting MSWI plant MSW m'mt furnace) recycling MSWI plant
practice4) practice4)
1)
1/3 EPS packaging, 1/3 MC/CD covers, 1/3 pre-consumer waste.
2)
MC/CD covers
3)
1 cycle = single use of loose fill packaging material; 2 cycles = re-use of loose-fill packaging material.
4)
Refers to the average situation in Germany: 30% incineration (including waste-to-energy facilities)
and 70% landfilling.

15
Table 5: Comparison of scores between the four starch polymer scenarios and the four EPS scenar-
ios (based on Würdinger et al., 2001)
Number of impact categories with
Overall
lower damage caused by ...
judgement
...starch polymers ...EPS
Starch I - EPS I 9 11 comparable
Starch II - EPS II 5 15 EPS better
Starch III - EPS III 7 12 EPS better
Starch IV - EPS IV 7 12 EPS better
Starch II - EPS III 3 17 EPS better
Starch III - EPS II 11 9 comparable
Starch II - EPS IV 3 17 EPS better
Starch III - EPS IV 4 16 EPS better
Starch IV - EPS II 16 4 Starch better
Starch IV - EPS III 9 10 comparable
The abbreviations of the scenarios used in the first columns are
described in Table 5.
The number of scores do not add up to a total of 20 if there is at least
one impact category for which the results are identical for starch
polymers and EPS.

4.1.3 Starch polymer films and bags

Dinkel et al. (1996)

The study prepared by Dinkel et al. (1996), which was partly discussed in Section 4.1.1, contains also a
comparative LCA for films made from thermoplastic starch (TPS) and polyethylene (LDPE). The study
refers to Switzerland and assumes that 80% of the waste is incinerated and the remaining 20% is land-
filled. The results are again lower for TPS compared to LDPE for most impact categories with eutrophi-
cation and deposited waste being the main exceptions; for acidification and exotoxicity the impacts are
practically identical (Table 6). The results for human toxicity are reported to be subject to major uncer-
tainties (Dinkel et al., 1996, p.60). Compared to the analysis prepared by Dinkel et al. for materials (Sec-
tion 4.1.1) the starch polymer's advantage compared to LDPE is smaller. This is due to the assumption
that the polymer input required to manufacture a given area of film is about 60% larger for starch poly-
mers compared to LDPE (22.1 kg TPS compared to 13.8 kg LDPE for 100 m2 of film of 150µm). In the
meantime, the raw material requirements for starch polymer films have decreased and now exceed that
for LDPE by only 30% (personal communication Novamont, 2001).

16
Table 6: LCA results for films (100 m2, 150µm) made from TPS compared to LDPE; assumed
waste management: 80% incineration, 20% landfilling (Dinkel et al., 1996)
Ozone
Energy GHG Human Eutro- Deposited
precursors Acidification Ecotoxicity Salinization
resources emissions toxicity phication +
waste
[kg ethylene 3 [kg SO2 eq.] [d l] [H /mol] -3
[MJ] [kg CO2 eq.] [a m ] [kg PO4 eq.] [10 EPS]
eq.]

(1) TPS Film 649 +/- 5% 25 +/- 15% 0.10 +/- 20% 4.3 +/- 40% 0.24 +/- 5% 0.13 +/- 40% 0.62 +/- 75% 40 +/- 15% 1.1 +/- 10%

(2) LDPE Film 1340 +/- 5% 67 +/- 20% 0.18 +/- 15% 9.7 +/- 60% 0.24 +/- 5% 0.02 +/- 50% 0.65 +/- 40% 120 +/- 8% 0.8 +/- 5%

(3) Ratio (1)/(2) 48% 38% 56% 44% 100% 687% 95% 33% 138%

Estermann and Schwarzwälder (1998)

In this study prepared by Estermann and Schwarzwälder (1998) for Novamont, biodegradable waste
bags made from Mater-Bi ZF03U/A material are compared to High Density Polyethylene (HDPE) bags
and Kraft paper bags. Mater-Bi ZF03U/A is a blend of TPS and polycaprolacton. It is assumed that these
bags are used as liners for compost bins. The comparison is made for the smallest bags which were
commercially available in Switzerland in 1998 and which could be used for a 10-litre bin. The consider-
able difference in the size of the bags assumed (Mater-Bi bag: 16.6 l; paper bag: 13.6 l; PE bag: 35.6 l)
hence reflects the standard products available on the Swiss market. Most energy resources for the pro-
duction of Mater-Bi bags are required to manufacture polycaprolactone (PCL). Mater-Bi bags and paper
bags are assumed to be composted while PE bags are incinerated. Data for composting are considered to
be particularly uncertain (see Section 4.1.2 and Estermann and Schwarzwälder, 1998, p.19).
To account for the data uncertainties when comparing the results for the three materials, thresh-
old values were determined by analogy to the study for loose fills prepared by Estermann and colleagues
(2000; Section 4.1.2). The impact categories distinguished here are also identical with those for loose
fills (Section 4.1.2). In eleven of these 13 impact categories Mater-Bi compost bags cause less environ-
mental damage than paper compost bags (for energy resources, GHG emissions, ozone precur-
sors/summer smog, acidification, eutrophication, toxicity air, toxicity water, deposited waste, heavy
metals, carcinogeneity, winter smog; Figure 2). In the two remaining impact categories, Mater-Bi bags
cause a comparable or a greater degree of environmental damage (salinization; ozone layer depletion).
The Mater-Bi compost bags and the PE multipurpose bags are equivalent in seven impact categories
(energy resources, acidification, eutrophication, toxicity water, ozone layer depletion, carcinogeneity,
winter smog). The Mater-Bi bag achieves better scores in four categories (GHG emissions, toxicity air,
ozone precursors, heavy metals) but worse results in the two remaining categories (salinization and de-
posited waste). However, Mater-Bi bags have a smaller environmental impact than PE multipurpose
bags in ten categories if one considers that the waste adhering to the bags is incinerated together with the
bags (ozone layer depletion and carcinogeneity). It is not specified in the LCA whether the organic
waste is considered as neutral in CO2 terms (this would be expected due to its predominantly biogenic
origin) and whether an energy yield according to its heating value has also been taken into account.

17
 A sensitivity analysis was conducted to study whether the production of maize in France instead
of Switzerland changes the final results. It is concluded that this is not the case since maize production
has a relatively small influence on the total life cycle of Mater-Bi bags and since there are only slight
differences between maize production in France and Switzerland. In another sensitivity analysis it was
taken into account that the organic waste adhering to the PE bags is co-combusted in MSWI plants.
These calculations show a clearer environmental advantage for Mater-Bi bags ("significantly better").
However, as above, it is unclear whether the CO2 neutrality of natural organic waste and the additional
energy yield have been taken into account.
No sensitivity analysis was conducted to determine how the availability of PE bags of the same
size as Mater-Bi and paper bags would influence the results.

Figure 2: LCA results for bags made from thermoplastic starch (TPS) compared to polyethylene
multipurpose bags and compost paper bags (Estermann and Schwarzwälder, 1998)

Impact categories based on: Heijungs et al. (1992); Dinkel et al. (1996)
500
Mater-Bi bag
400 Paper bag
PE multipurpose bag
300
%

200

100

Deposited
resources

precursors
emissions

Toxicity air

Toxicity

Salinization
Acidification

water
phication
Energy

Ozone
GHG

Eutro

waste
Impact categories based on: Eco-indicator '95 (Goedkoop, 1995)
500
Mater-Bi bag
400
Paper bag
300
%

200
PE
multipurpose
bag
100

0
Winter smog
Ozone layer

Acidification

Carcinogeneity

Summer smog
Heavy metals
emissions

Eutrophication
depletion
GHG

18
Estermann (1998)
In this study prepared by Estermann (1998) for the Kompostforum Schweiz, various types of options for
the collection of organic household waste were compared, among them three bags made from biode-
gradable polymers, one PE bag and finally cleaning of the compost bin instead of the use of an inlet7:
The collection of organic kitchen waste in a compost bin without inlet results in the lowest envi-
ronmental impact of all options if the bin is cleaned after use with cold water or with washing-up water.
Since, however, 54% of the surveyed Swiss households use hot fresh water and 38% use, in addition,
detergents for this purpose, the average environmental impact is highest for those households that do not
use an inliner. Compared to these impacts in the use phase, the environmental damage originating from
the production and waste management of the inlets is relatively small. The production of biodegradable
inlets has a larger environmental impact than PE inlets. On the other hand the use of PE inliners results
in environmental impacts especially due to incineration of the bag and adhering compostable waste (tox-
icity air and toxicity water). Interestingly, one of the compostable inlets (CompoBag) performs very well
compared to the other biodegradable products in spite of being produced exclusively from petrochemical
raw materials (the impact categories salinization and deposited waste are exceptions, see Figure 3). It is
also interesting to note that the results for air and water toxicity differ considerably for the COMPOSAC
and ecosac although both are produced from the same material (this difference is explained only partly
by the difference in size). It is unclear whether any credits have been allocated to the co-production of
electricity and/or steam when incinerating the PE compost bags. It is also unclear whether any credits
have been ascribed to composting due to carbon sequestration in the compost. To summarize, the au-
thors of the LCA recommend to clean the compost bin with cold water or with washing-up water. For
consumers with higher standards of cleanliness they recommend biodegradable inliners.
Similar calculations were conducted for container inlets with a volume of 240 l (CompoBag
240 l, MaterBi bag 240 l, PE inlet 240 l). According to the LCA results the use of these inlets is compa-
rable in environmental terms with the generally practised cleaning with cold water. In six out of nine
impact categories, the biodegradable inliners score better than the PE inliner.

7 In more detail, the five options studied are:

1.) CompoBag 9 l, made from polycaprolacton (PCL) and polyester amide (these raw materials are both made from petrochemical
resources).
2.) COMPOSAC 14 l, made from Mater-Bi Z, i.e. a blend of maize starch, PCL and additives.
3.) ecosac 6.5 l, also made from Mater-Bi Z.
4.) PE-Inlet 30x45cm
5.) No inlet (instead the compost bin is cleaned).

19
Figure 3: LCA for household composting inlets (including average consumer behaviour in the use
phase; Estermann, 1998)
100%

90%

80%

70%

60%

50%

40%

30%

20%

10%

0%
Energy GHG Ozone Acidification Eutro Toxicity air Toxicity Salinization Deposited
resources emissions precursors phication water waste

4-litre container with CompoBag 9 l (PCL + Polyesteramid) with COMPOSAC 14 l (MaterBi Z = PCL + corn starch)
with ecosac 6.5 l (MaterBi Z = PCL + corn starch) with PE inlet 30x45cm
4-litre container without inlet (av. cleaning: hot water/detergents)

Note: The highest value has been set to 100%.

4.1.4 Starch nanoparticles as fillers in tyres

Corvasce (1999)
Since 2001, Goodyear has been producing tyres containing biopolymeric fillers derived from starch (a
joint development by Goodyear and Novamont). These tyres are reported to have various functional ad-
vantages, the most important being controlled stiffness, improved wet skid performance, lower weight
and reduced rolling resistance. As Table 7 shows, especially the latter feature leads to lower CO2 emis-
sions: Savings due to lower rolling resistance, which result in fuel savings in the use phase, exceed cra-
dle-to-factory gate emission reduction by factors of 23 to 26. The total savings according to Table 7 rep-
resent about 2% (for 3.53 g CO2/km) to 5% (for 9.52 g CO2/km) of the average CO2 emissions of a pas-
senger car. It has to be pointed out that these results have so far not been published as a report or exten-
sive article but only in the form of a presentation by Corvasce (1999). This case study is nevertheless
discussed here it sheds light on a new, pr omising bulk application of biopolymers.

20
Table 7: CO2 emission reduction potential of tyres with biopolymeric fillers (Corvasce, 1999)
CO2 reduction compared to
conventional tyres1)
g CO2/km
20% weight 50% weight
replacement of replacement of
carbon black carbon black

Use of starch-based raw materials2) 0.15 0.35

Tyre weight reduction3) 0.03 0.25

Tyre rolling resistance reduction3) 3.35 8.92

Total 3.53 9.52

1)
Averaged values over 30 000 km; tread weight 3.0 kg.
2)
Cradle-to-factory gate: Emission of fossil CO2 during processing
minus carbon sequestration in starch during plant growth.
3)
Use phase

4.2 Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA)

Gerngross, Slater et al. (1999, 2000, 2001)

The main representatives of polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA) are polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB) and polyhy-
droxyvalerate (PHV). For this family of polymers, no full LCAs are available but only studies and esti-
mates comparing the energy requirements and CO2 or greenhouse gas emissions, among them the papers
by Gerngross and Slater (2000), Gerngross (1999) and Kurdikar et al. (2001; with Gerngross and Slater
as co-authors). In Table 8 their data are compared to LCA data for petrochemical polymers according to
Boustead (commissioned by APME).8 The table shows that the total cradle-to-factory gate fossil energy
requirements of PHA can compete with polyethylene (HDPE) depending on the type of the PHA pro-
duction process. Compared to polyethylene terephthalate (PET), the minimum total energy input for
PHA production (fermentation) is somewhat higher while it is lower compared to polystyrene (PS). In
contrast, the process energy requirements of PHA are two to three times higher than for petrochemical
polymers (Table 8). Limiting the discussion to these process energy data Gerngross and Slater drew the
conclusion that polyhydroxyalkanoates do not offer any opportunities for emission reduction (Gerngross
and Slater, 2000; Gerngross, 1999). This finding is valid for certain system boundaries, e.g. for the sys-
tem 'cradle-to-factory gate' the output of which are plastics pellets. The conclusion is also correct if all
plastic waste is deposited in landfills. In contrast, the finding is not correct if other types of waste man-
agement processes are assumed within the 'cradle-to-grave' concept. As the last column of Table 8
shows the total fossil energy requirements are practically identical for PE and PHA manufactured by
bacterial fermentation. Hence, if combusted in a waste incinerator (without energy recovery), both plas-
tics result in comparable CO2 emissions throughout the life cycle.

8 As mentioned earlier there are still considerable uncertainties even for conventional, fossil fuel-based polymers (see Chapter 5).

21
Table 8: Energy requirements for plastics production (Gerngross and Slater, 2000; Boustead,
1999)
Cradle-to-factory gate fossil energy
requirements, in GJ/tonne plastic
Process Feedstock
Total
energy energy
PHA grown in corn plants 90 0 90
PHA by bacterial fermentation 81 0 81
HDPE 31 49 80
PET (bottle grade) 38 39 77
PS (general purpose) 39 48 87
Data for PHA from Gerngross and Slater (2000).
Data for petrochemical polymers from Boustead (1999).

A more recent publication, co-authored by Gerngross and Slater, studies in more detail the
greenhouse gas profile of PHA production in genetically modified corn (Kurdikar et al., 2001). Two
alternative energy systems were studied. In one case process energy requirements are covered by natural
gas and in the other, biomass energy from the corn stover is used as fuel. The publication focusses pri-
marily on the system cradle-to-factory gate but some data on waste management is also provided. This
information has been used in Table 9 to estimate also GHG emissions for two cradle-to-grave systems. It
can be concluded that PHA production with integrated steam and electricity generation based on bio-
mass scores better than conventional PE production in all cases, while the opposite is the case if natural
gas is used to provide the PHA production process with steam and electricity9. The authors conclude that
it is the biomass power and not the renewable feedstock that makes the product preferable to PE from a
GHG point of view.
When drawing conclusions from these results, it must also be taken into consideration that PHA
production both by bacterial fermentation and by production in the plants, is in an early stage of devel-
opment compared to the manufacture of polyolefins and that efficiency improvements are likely to ac-
crue from upscaling of production and from process optimisation. In the medium term, this might result
in a better environmental performance of PHA throughout its life cycle compared to PE and PET.

9 Note that the underlying process energy requirements for "PHA, natural gas" in Table 9 is around 100 GJ/t, while the the respective value
for "PHA grown in corn plants" in Table 8 is 90 GJ/t.

22
Table 9: CO2 emissions from the life cycle of polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA) and polyethylene
(PE) (Kurdikar et al., 2001; complemented with own assumptions)

CO2 eq. Cradle-to- Cradle-to-

Cradle-to- CO2 eq. Cradle-to- CO2 eq.
All values in kg uptake in grave CO2 eq. grave CO2 eq.
gate fossil uptake in gate net embodied in
CO2 eq. / kg biopoly- without energy with energy
CO2 eq. ash2) CO2 eq. polymer3)
polymer mers1) recovery4) recovery4) 5)

(A) (B) (C) (D)6) (E) (F)7) (G)

8)
PHA, natural gas ca. 5.8 2.0 - ca. 3.8 2.0 ca. 5.8 ca. 4.8
9)
PHA, bioenergy -0.5 2.0 1.5 -4.0 2.0 -2.0 -3.0

PE 1.8 - - 1.8 3.1 4.9 2.8

1)
Uptake of carbon from the atmosphere and fixation in biopolymer.
2)
Carbon fixed in the ash from the boiler (due to incomplete combustion).
3)
Both fossil and biogeneous CO2 is accounted for here. For PHA values in column B and E are identical.
4)
Waste incineration in a plant without resp. with energy recovery
5)
Estimated CO2 credits for 20% electricity yield from waste-to-energy recovery: 1 kg CO2/kg PHA, 2.1 kg
CO2/kg PE (underlying assumptions: Efficiency of electricity generation in average power station = 30%;
CO2 emission factor of fuel mix used = 74 kg CO2/GJ; Heating value, PHA = 18 MJ/kg; Heating value, PE =
42 MJ/kg).
6)
(D) = (A) - (B) - (C)
7)
(F) = (D) + (E)
8)
Including energy use for smaller consumers, i.e. compounding, farming etc.
9)
Small fossil energy input minus credit for surplus electricity produced from biomass

Heyde and Luck (1998, 1996)

Heyde (1998) compared the energy requirements of PHB production by bacterial fermentation using
various feedstocks and processes to those of High Density Polyethylene (HDPE) and polystyrene (PS).
The PHB options studied include substrate supply from sugar beet, starch, fossil methane and fossil-
based methanol and moreover, in the processing stage, the options of enzymatic treatment and solvent
extraction. As Figure 4 shows the energy requirements for biotechnological PHB production can sub-
stantially exceed the requirements for conventional plastics, but on the other hand there is also scope to
outpace fossil-based polymers in terms of energy requirements (PHB Best Case). An earlier publication
by Luck (1996) shows that the choice in the waste management process also has a decisive influence on
the results. For example, PHB manufactured in an efficient way and disposed of with MSW (German
average) requires more energy resources and leads to higher GHG emissions than HDPE if the latter is
recycled according to the German 1995 Packaging Ordinance (64% material recycling). If, on the other
hand, the plastics waste is fed to average MSWI plants in both cases, then the results are comparable for
energy and GHG emissions.
It can be concluded that energy use and CO2 emissions are nowadays often larger for PHB than
for conventional polymers but that there is also scope to avoid this disadvantage if the entire system
covering all stages of the life cycle is carefully optimised. In spite of these prospects, Monsanto, a front-
runner regarding PHA, decided in 1999 to postpone further research and to close down their production
line based on fermentation. The original strategy had been to produce PHA by fermentation as an in-

23
terim step on the way towards PHA production in genetically modified plants. The goal of PHA produc-
tion by fermentation was hence to gain experience with this product and to develop the market. The
overall strategy was given up when it turned out that it would not be possible to reach in the short term
the target of increasing PHA yields in genetically modified plants from around 3% of dry weight to at
least 15% (Anonymous, 1999).

Figure 4: Cradle-to-factory gate requirements of non-renewable energy for the production of vari-
ous polymers (Heyde, 1998)

700
Non-renewable energy resources,

573.2
600

500

400
in MJ/kg

300

200
73.8 91.7
100 66.1

0
PHB Best HDPE PS PHB Worst
Case Case

4.3 Polylactides (PLA)

Vink (2001, 2002)

LCA data for polylactides are very scarce. Cargill Dow Polymers, the major manufacturer of this type of
bio-based polymer, has only published energy and CO2 data but no comprehensive dataset so far: As
shown in Table 10 total fossil energy requirements of PLA are clearly below the respective values for
the petrochemical polymers while the process energy requirements are higher for the first commercial
PLA plant (termed PLA-Year 1 in Table 10). Additional fossil energy savings are envisaged for future
plants (PLA - Target, Year 5) by use of renewable energy as a fuel source (for power and heat), by en-
ergy integration of the PLA unit with the lactic acid facility and by optimised product separation. Further
options are changes in feedstocks and in the production processes, such as the direct use of agricultural
waste and biomass without the intermediate step of isolating dextrose and the use of improved biocata-
lysts (Vink, 2001, 2002).

24
Table 10: Cradle-to-factory gate energy requirements and CO2 emissions for plastics production
(Vink, 2001 and 2002; Boustead, 1999/2000)

Process Feedstock Total fossil Fossil CO2 from CO2 absorption, Net
energy, fossil energy, fossil energy process energy plant growth CO2
[GJ/t plastic] [GJ/t plastic] [GJ/t plastic] [kg/t plastic] [kg/t plastic] [kg/t PLA] *)

PLA - Year 1 54 0 54 3450 -2190 1260

PLA - Target, Year 5 7 0 7 520 -2280 -1760

HDPE 31 49 80 1700 0 1700

PET (bottle grade) 38 39 77 4300 0 4300

Nylon 6 81 39 120 5500 0 5500

*) Equals the sum of "Fossil CO2 from process energy" (positive value) and "CO2 absorption, plant growth" (negative
value).
Data for PLA by personal communication with E. Vink, 2002.
Data for petrochemical polymers from Boustead (1999/2000).

Hakala et al. (1997)

In cooperation with the Neste company, the Technical Research Centre of Finland prepared a compara-
tive LCA for two diaper systems one of which is based on polyolefins (PP, PE) while the other uses
PLA (made from maize, wheat and sugar beet). For most of the parameters studied, the polyolefin-based
diaper shows better results than its bio-based counterpart. However, the differences in environmental
impacts between the two systems are small. Moreover, the lactide and PLA production process were still
under development when the LCA was prepared (Hakala et al., 1997, p.28) which gives the study a more
preliminary, indicative quality.

Summarising the information that is currently available one can expect the environmental performance
of PLA according to current production methods to be less advantageous than most starch polymers but
clearly more beneficial than for PHA. Substantial improvements are expected for PLA for the future.

4.4 Other polymers based on renewable resources

Wolfensberger and Dinkel (1997)

This study was jointly prepared by the Swiss Research Institute for Agriculture (Eidgenössische For-
schungsanstalt für Agrarwirtschaft und Landtechnik, FAT) and the environmental consultancy CAR-
BOTECH for the Swiss Federal Office of Agriculture. It contains LCA results for three products:10
(i) Mulch films made of kenaf could be used as an alternative to PE mulch films.
(ii) Loose-fill chips made of china reed represent a potential substitute for EPS chips.

10 In the study co-ordinated by Wolfensberger and Dinkel (1997), these three products are referred to as No.3, No.10 and No.12.

25
(iii) Shreddered and ground china reed, combined with a matrix based on renewable resources, could
be used as a substitute for PE in injection moulding.
For kenaf mulch films (i), the LCA shows clear advantages compared to the PE alternatives with
regard to the use of energy resources, GHG emissions, ozone precursors, acidification and toxicity. Dis-
advantages have been identified for eutrophication, biodiversity and soil fertility (the last two indicators
were not studied as part of the LCA). Moreover, the economics are less favourable than for the conven-
tional product.
The two products made of china reed (ii, iii) score clearly better than or at least as good as their
petrochemical counterparts for most of the indicators studied. For these two products, unresolved techni-
cal issues and the forthcoming commercialisation represent the main challenges for the future.

Kosbar et al. (2001)

This LCA compares a lignin-epoxy blend with a pure epoxy resin for the manufacture of printed wiring
boards (PWB) as being used in the microelectronics industry. Nowadays most PWBs are disposed of by
incineration to reclaim the precious metals content. The intractable nature of epoxy fibreglass laminates
combined with the features of the embedded wiring make PWB unlikely candidates for either recycling
or reuse. These were important reasons for IBM to analyse bio-based options. Lignin was chosen since
its aromatic structure is similar to the phenolic resins in current PWBs. Lignin is available as a byprod-
uct of paper making but it has only few industrial uses. Very little additional energy or processing is
reported to be required for making lignin available for resin manufacture. The primary sources for lignin
considered in this study were kraft pulping mills in the U.S. and Europe and an Organosolve pilot-scale
pulping mill in Canada. As shown in Table 11 the organosolve lignin/epoxy resin is estimated to require
38% less total energy and the kraft lignin/epoxy resin 27% less total energy than currently used resins. If
a combination of 50% incineration (for metal reclamation) and 50% disposal as municipal solid waste11
is assumed (not shown in Table 11) the energy requirements are about 2% smaller in both cases. With
regard to atmospheric and waterborne emissions it was found that the release can be significantly re-
duced by lignin-based resins (Table 12). The findings of this project were not exploited by IBM for
commercial purposes, mainly because of the varying purity of the available lignin. Organosolve lignin is
an attractive raw material due to its low content of ionic contaminants. However, the organosolve pilot
plant in Canada was recently shut down. Kraft lignin can also be used for PWB production but it re-
quires substantial treatment to remove ionic contaminants. This imposes a financial disadvantage which
was the main reason for IBM not to proceed with industrial application.

11 MSW management in the U.S. in 1996: 55.5% landfilling, 27.3% recycling/composting, 17.2% combustion (Subramanian, 2000)

26
Table 11: Energy requirements for wiring board systems assuming 100% metal reclamation (Kosbar et
al., 2001)
Process Feedstock Transpor- Total
GJ/100 kg resin solids
energy energy tation energy

Conventional epoxy*) 10.0 7.16 0.68 17.8

Kraft lignin/epoxy 9.54 2.91 0.44 12.9

Organosolve lignin/epoxy 7.64 2.91 0.45 11.0

Note: Apart from fossil and nuclear energy these data include smaller
amounts of renewable energy including also wood energy which is used
in the pulp and paper industry.
*) Epoxy resin (FR4) cured with dicyandiamide (DICY)

Table 12: Comparison of air and waterborne emissions from conventional epoxy and lignin/epoxy res-
ins (Kosbar et al., 2001)
Conventional epoxy resin Lignin resin emissions at least 50%
emissions at least 50% greater greater than conventional epoxy
than lignin resin emissions resin emissions

Nitrogen oxides Nonfossil CO2

Hydrocarbons Metals
Sulphur oxides Acid
Aldehydes Sulphuric acid
Methane Suspended solids
Ammonia Phosphates
Fossil CO2 Nitrogen
Metal ions
Dissolved solids
Phenols
Sulphides
Oil
Chlorides
Sulphates

Diehlmann and Kreisel (2000a, 2000b)

At the Institute of Technical Chemistry and Environmental Chemistry (ITUC) at Jena University (Ger-
many) Diehlmann and Kreisel (2000a, 2000b) compared a lacquer based on epoxidised linseed oil as
thickener with a conventional lacquer based on tripropylene glycol diacrylate / bisphenol-A-
diglycidetheracrylate (50:50, on a weight basis). The linseed-oil based lacquer is being produced by two
companies in Germany (Dreisol and Lott Lacke). The authors adopt the cradle-to-factory gate concept
since the use and waste management are identical for the bio-based and the petrochemical products and
therefore have no influence on the conclusions. As Figure 5 shows the linseed oil-based lacquer (average
for centralised and decentralised production) scores clearly better than its purely petrochemical counter-
part for the indicators presented. The authors conclude that, given the large advantage of epoxidised lin-
seed thickeners, even substantial optimisation of the petrochemical route is very unlikely to change the
overall conclusion about the environmental benefits of the bio-based product.

27
Figure 5: Comparison of environmental impacts of lacquers based on epoxidised linseed oil as thick-
ener versus petrochemical thickener (tripropylene glycol diacrylate / bisphenol-A-
diglycidetheracrylate) (Diehlmann and Kreisel, 2000a, 2000b)

100%
90%

9.8 kg CO2/kg

36 g NOx/kg
80%

217 MJ/kg
70%
60%

~1.2 kg CO2/kg
50%

~4 g NOx/kg
40%
30% ~19 MJ/kg

20%
10%
0%
Energy CO2 NOx
Petrochemical Linseed oil

4.5 Natural fibre composites

Diener and Siehler (1999)

This brief publication deals with an under-floor panel for the Mercedes A class. The main purposes of
this panel are protection of the chassis and improved aerodynamics. In one case the panel is made from
fibreglass reinforced polypropylene (PP) and in the other from PP reinforced with flax. The flax-
reinforced panel has passed successfully all the technical tests which are very demanding for an under-
floor panel due to its exposure to mechanical and thermal stress. The introduction of the flax-reinforced
component instead of the fibreglass-based panel in series production had not been decided upon when
this chapter was written. As shown in Figure 6 the flax reinforced panel scores better for all environ-
mental impacts studied. For seven out of the ten impact categories, the environmental impact is reduced
by close to 10% to 20%, in the remaining three cases the reduction of impacts is higher (30-80%). These
reductions of environmental impacts reflect the fact that the manufacture of flax fibre mats requires 80%
less energy than fibreglass mats (Table 13). The total energy savings for the entire component are
smaller (14%) since the overall environmental impact is dominated by the PP input.

28
Figure 6: Cradle-to-factory gate environmental impacts for the production of a fibre-reinforced auto-
motive panel (Diener and Siehler, 1999)
100%
90%
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
GWP

renewable
Waste

Resources
depletion

precursors

Eutrophication

Toxicity water
Toxicity air
Acidification
Ozone

energy
Ozone

Non-
Glass fibre & PP Flax & PP

Table 13: Energy requirements for the manufacture of mats from fibreglass versus (Diener and Siehler,
1999)
Non-renewable energy requirements (MJ/kg)
Fibreglass mat Flax fibre mat

Raw materials 1.7 Seed production 0.05

Mixture 1.0 Fertilizers 1.0
Transport 1.6 Transport 0.9
Melting 21.5 Cultivation 2.0
Spinning 5.9 Fibre separation 2.7
Mat production 23.0 Mat production 2.9
Total 54.7 Total 9.55

Wötzel et al. (1999)

In this publication prepared by Braunschweig University and Seeber, which is a manufacturer of auto-
motive components, LCA results for the interior side panel of an Audi A3 are presented.12 13 The conven-
tional side panel is manufactured by injection moulding of virgin acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS)
and weighs 1125 grammes. The bio-based component is made of a composite consisting of 66 vol-%
hemp fibres and 34 vol-% epoxy resin plus hardener; this component weighs 820 grammes. This hemp-
reinforced composite is nowadays manufactured in series production.
Apart from energy use the authors have established emission data for a whole range of solid, liq-
uid and gaseous compounds; however, these have not been aggregated to impact categories14. For the
purpose of this review, the GHG emissions have therefore been calculated on the basis of the available
data. As Table 14 shows the requirements of non-renewable energy, are by 59 MJ or 45% lower for the
hemp/epoxy composite and GHG emissions are 13% lower (table 14).
12 More recently, LCE Consulting and AUDI presented results on a conference for the same component (Flake et al., 2000a). While the
system studied differs somewhat compared to the publication by Wötzel et al. (1999), the overall findings are identical. The paper by
Wötzel et al. (1999) was chosen for inclusion in this review since it contains more details of the LCA analysis.

13 One of the authors is co-author of a book on the use of renewable raw materials in passenger cars (Flake et al., 2000b).

14 The single-score indicator "Eco-indicator 95" has been determined in order to derive overall conclusions. As discussed in the
introduction of this chapter, these results will not be discussed here.

29
 The results presented so far were based on the cradle-to-factory gate perspective. For this reason
they did not address the possibilities of energy recovery and they neither accounted for the use phase of
a car where weight reduction can reduce the environmental impacts substantially (modelled by so-called
fuel reduction coefficients which depend on the weight of the car). As Figure 7 shows, energy recovery
reduces the net energy requirements for the hemp component to 55 MJ (=73-18) and for the ABS com-
ponent to 87 MJ (=132-45). Compared to the cradle-to-factory gate perspective, inclusion of energy re-
covery nearly halves the hemp composite's advantage in energy terms (from 59 MJ to {87-55} MJ = 32
MJ). However, the higher weight of the ABS component results in an additional burden during the use
phase in the range of 71 MJ (light car) to 118 MJ (heavy car). The savings which are obtainable by natu-
ral fibres during the use phase (equivalent to the additional burden) are hence 2.2 to 3.7 times higher
than the net benefit including energy recovery (32 MJ). If the use phase is included the overall advan-
tage for the hemp composite amounts 103 to 150 MJ.15 This is equivalent to 1.4 to 2.1-fold of the cradle-
to-factory gate energy requirements of the hemp composite (73 MJ).

Table 14: Energy requirements and greenhouse gas emissions for the production of one interior side
panel of an Audi A3 (Wötzel et al., 1999; own calculations)
All data for prod. Hemp
ABS
of one interior Unit fibre/epoxy
copolymer
side panel composite
Non-renewable
MJ 132 73
energy
CO2, fossil kg CO2eq 5.0 4.2
CH4 kg CO2eq 0.4 0.4
N2O kg CO2eq 0.003 0.160
Total GHG
kg CO2eq 5.4 4.7
emissions*)
*) Only CO2, CH4 and N2O have been taken into account.
The GWP values (100 year period) assumed are 23 for
CH4 and 296 for N2O.

15 103 MJ = (132 + 71 – 45) MJ – (73 – 18) MJ

150 MJ = (132 + 118 – 45) MJ – (73 – 18) MJ

30
Figure 7: Non-renewable energy requirements related to the life cycle of an interior side panel of an
Audi A3 (Wötzel et al., 1999)

250

MJ energy / component
max
200
118
Production
150
Energy recovery
100 min Burden use phase
132 71
132
50 73
18 45 132 45 45
0
Hemp part ABS part ABS part ABS part
with use with use
phase light phase heavy
car car

Corbière-Nicollier et al. (2001)

This life cycle assessment prepared by Corbière-Nicollier et al. (2001) at the Swiss Federal Instute of
Technology in Lausanne compares a pallet made from fibreglass reinforced polypropylene (GF pallet)
with a pallet manufactured from a polypropylene/china reed composite (CR pallet). The GF pallet
weighs 15 kg (fibreglass content: 42 weight-%), while the CF pallet weighs only 11.8 kg (china reed
fibre content: 53 weight-%). The lifetime of both products has been assumed to be 5 years. However,
poor contact between matrix and biofibres currently leads to a strong decrease in material stiffness, call-
ing for further R&D.
Table 15 shows the LCA results including all processes related to production and to incineration
of the pallets in waste-to-energy facilities (the use phase is excluded and will be dealt with below). The
CR pallets score better or even much better than the GF pallets for all eight environmental impacts stud-
ied.

Table 15: Results by impact categories for fibreglass pallets (GF) and China reed (CR) pallets - System
boundaries: production plus incineration with energy recovery (Corbière-Nicollier et al.,
2001)
GF pallet CR pallet CR pallet (% GF pallet)

Energy MJ/pal. 1400 717 51%

GHG emissions kg CO2eq./pal. 75.3 40.4 54%

Ozone precursors kg ethyleneeq./pal. 0.208 0.133 64%

Acidification kg SO2eq./pal. 0.653 0.432 66%

Eutrophication kg PO4eq./pal. 0.0682 0.0628 92%

Human toxicity kg 1,4 dichleq./pal. 21.2 9.04 43%

Terrestrial ecotoxicity kg 1,4 dichleq./pal. 5250 4480 85%

Aquatic ecotoxicity kg 1,4 dichleq./pal. 1.09 0.665 61%

31
 Apart from incineration also mechanical recycling was studied. The authors consider a rate of
20% to be realistic for pallets. Since the technical feasibility of recycling CR pallets is unknown, the
comparison has been made both with and without recycling of CR pallets. It is concluded that for all
impact categories except for human toxicity a recycling level of 20% is not sufficient for the GF pallets
to match the low environmental impact of the CR pallets without recycling. The recycling rate for GF
pallets would need to be clearly beyond 40% to reach the (environmental) break-even point (such a high
recycling rate is not considered reachable by the authors under present conditions). If, on the other hand,
both the GF and the CR pallet are recycled, then the difference between the two pallets decreases with
higher recycling rates.
Since the real lifetime of the CR pallets is not known (base case assumption: 5 years) Corbière-
Nicollier et al. conducted a sensitivity analysis. The minimum lifetime necessary for the CR pallet to
have an environmental impact lower than or equal to that of the GF pallet was found to be approxi-
mately 3 years.
By analogy to the preceding LCA the fuel savings in the use phase due to the lower weight of the
CR pallet were also assessed. Assuming a transportation distance of 5000 km the savings amount to
660 MJ, which is equivalent to more than 90% of the non-renewable energy required to produce a CR
pallet (compare Table 15). For a distance of 200 000 km, 2300 MJ are saved, which is more than three
times of the production energy required for manufacturing a new CR pallet.
As Table 16 shows the use of China reed as a replacement for fibreglass in pallets is four to ten
times more efficient in terms of energy savings per land use than direct combustion of China reed for
heat production (substitution of 1000-2300 GJ/ha). Fibreglass substitution in pallets is also a clearly
more efficient type of use for China reed than the substitution of polypropylene chips. CR pallets also
outscores the starch polymer product and the biofuel options studied. However, caveats that have to be
kept in mind are the shortcomings of mechanical properties of CRF pallets according to the current
state-of-the-art and their unknown lifetime.

Table 16: Comparison of potential energy savings by biomass cultivation for biomaterials versus bio-
energy (Corbière-Nicollier et al., 2001)
Potential for
Substituted
Renewable raw material energy savings Source
product
(GJ/ha)
China reed transport pallet, Corbière-Nicollier et
Glass fibre pallet 2500
100 000 km al. (2001)
China reed transport pallet, Corbière-Nicollier et
Glass fibre pallet 1200
5000 km al. (2001)
Starch-based polymer films LDPE films 300 - 750 Dinkel et al. (1996)
China reed for packaging Wolfensberger and
Polystyrene chips 600 - 700
chips Dinkel (1997)
Wolfensberger and
China reed for heat Dinkel (1997),
Fuel oil 200 - 240
production Hartmann and
Strehler (1995)
Hartmann and
Rapeseed biofuel Diesel 40 - 60
Strehler (1995)

Rapeseed biofuel and heat Wolfensberger and

Diesel and fuel oil 110 - 120
production from straw Dinkel (1997)

32
5. Summarising comparison

An overview of the life cycle inventory results for pellets and end products is given in Table 17a and
17b. Only those impact categories are listed for which data were available from several sources. All ma-
terials listed in Table 17a are commercially available and they are produced according to the current
state-of-the-art. In contrast, future options, e.g. PHA production in plants and the medium and long-term
PLA production processes (Tables 8, 9 and 10), are not listed. In Table 17b, inventory data are presented
for end products. All products listed in this table except for the printed wiring boards, the underfloor
panel for the Mercedes A Class and the transport pallets are currently on the market. In the case of
printed wiring boards, the lack of low-priced, pure lignin represents an obstacle to industrial implemen-
tation while, in the case of the underfloor panel the management decision about introduction in series
production was pending when this chapter was written. For the transportation pallets reinforced with
china reed, technical problems still need to be resolved (material stiffness).
Table 17a provides data for polycaprolactone (PCL) and polyvinyl alcohol (PVOH) which are
both used as co-polymers for starch plastics. Life-cycle practitioners consider these data to be subject to
major uncertainities. This is supported by the considerable range of values for energy use in the case of
polyvinyl alcohol and for CO2 emissions for both PCL and PVOH.
In the case of starch polymer pellets energy requirements are mostly 25%-75% below those for
polyethylene and greenhouse gas emissions are 20%-80% lower. These ranges originate from the com-
parison of different starch/copolymer blends, different waste treatment and different polyolefin materials
used as reference. For the latter, Boustead's data for LLDPE (72.3 MJ/kg) and LDPE (80.6 MJ/kg) were
assumed, which are lower than the value according to Dinkel et al. (91.7 MJ/kg, see Table 17a). The
lower values according to Boustead serve also as reference for the comparison with the other bioplastics
(below).
Starch polymers score better than PE also for all the other indicators listed in Table 17a with eu-
trophication being the sole exception. The lower the share of petrochemical copolymers, the smaller the
environmental impact of starch polymers generally is. However, the application areas for pure starch
polymers and blends with small amounts of copolymers are limited due to inferior material properties.
Hence, blending can extend the applicability of starch polymers and thus lower the overall environ-
mental impact at the macroeconomic level.
The cradle-to-factory gate energy requirements for PLA are 20%-30% below those for polyeth-
ylene, while GHG emissions are about 15%-25% lower. The results for PHA vary greatly (only energy
data are available). Cradle-to-factory gate energy requirements in the best case (66.1 GJ/t) are 10%-20%
lower than those for polyethylene. For more energy intensive production processes PHA does not com-
pare well with petrochemical polymers. As pointed out earlier, especially the process energy require-
ments are higher for PHA than for conventional polymers (see Section 4.2).
Since all data in Table 17a refer to the current state-of-the-art, technological progress, improved
process integration and various other possibilities for optimisation are likely to result in more favourable
results for bio-based polymers in the future.
The results for starch polymer loose fills (Table 17b) differ decisively depending on the source.
Much of these differences can be explained by different assumptions regarding the bulk density of the
33
loose fills (see second column in Table 17b) and different approaches for the quantification of the ozone
depletion potential (inclusion versus exclusion of NOx). It therefore seems more useful to compare the
results of each study separately. One can conclude from both the study by Estermann (2000) and
Würdinger et al. (2001) that starch polymer loose fills generally score better than their equivalents made
of virgin EPS. GHG emissions represent an exception where the release of CH4 emissions from
biodegradable compounds in landfills results in a disadvantage for starch polymers (only according to
Würdinger et al., 2001). Loose fills produced from recycled polystyrene may represent an attractive op-
tion in environmental terms compared to starch polymers (Würdinger et al, 2001).
By analogy to loose fills, the range of results for starch polymer films and bags is to a large ex-
tent understandable from the differences in film thickness. Taking this factor into account, the environ-
mental impacts of the starch films/bags are lower with regard to energy, GHG emissions and ozone pre-
cursors. The situation is less clear for acidification. For eutrophication, PE films tend to score better.
For Printed Wiring Boards (PWBs), about 30%-40% energy can be saved and the GHG mitiga-
tion potential is estimated to lie in a similar range. Exceptionally high savings (around 90% for energy
and GHG emissions) have been established for epoxidised linseed oil as thickener for lacquers. Similar
savings (above 80% for energy) are only reached by substituting flax fibre mats for fibreglass mats (Ta-
ble 17b). For complete components (end products), the use of natural fibres is reported to save between
14% (under-floor panel) and 45%-50% energy (interior side panel and transport pallet).
Leaving PHA aside as the only exception, it can be summarised that bio-based polymers and
natural fibres typically enable savings of around 20% (energy and CO2). Substantially higher savings up
to 50% and beyond are considered feasible for certain starch polymers, printed wiring boards, certain
lacquers and natural fibre composites.

34
Table 17a: Summary of LCA key indicators for plastic pellets (only commercialised products manufactured by state-of-the-art
technologies are listed)

35
Table 17b: Summary of LCA key indicators for end products (some of the products listed are commercialised, others not;
see text)

36
 Apart from assessing bio-based materials in terms of the relative decrease of environ-
mental impacts (in %, as just discussed), the comparison of savings per kg of bio-based poly-
mer as shown in Table 18 can provide additional insight. These results show that printed wir-
ing boards offer relatively low saving potentials and that GHG emissions for fibre composites
can be disadvantageous.16 Otherwise, Table 17 confirms the finding that very attractive poten-
tials for energy saving and GHG emission reduction exist for bio-based plastics (pellets), non-
plastics (lacquer) and fibre composites.

Table 18: Energy and GHG savings by bio-based polymers relative to their petrochemical
counterparts
Energy savings, GHG savings,
MJ/kg bio-based kg CO2 eq./kg bio-
polymer*) based polymer*)
Bio-based plastics (pellets)
TPS 51 3.7
TPS + 15% PVOH 52 3.1
TPS + 52.5% PCL 28 1.4
TPS + 60% PCL 24 1.2
Mater-Bi foam grade 42 3.6
Mater-Bi film grade 23 3.6
PLA 19 1.0
Printed wiring boards 5 n/a
Lacquer 195 8.3
Flax fibre mat 45 n/a
Interior side panel for pass. car 28 -0.9
Transport pallet 33 1.6
*) Max. +/- 15% depending on whether LDPE or LLDPE according to
Boustead (1999/2000) is chosen as reference (see Table 17a)

6. Discussion

The comparison of the main assumptions made in the various studies and the comparison with
the current state of the art reveals a number of uncertainties and caveats which are discussed
in this chapter:
• LCA data for polycaprolactone (PCL) and polyvinyl alcohol (PVOH) are generally
considered to be subject to major uncertainties. In view of the widespread use of these com-
pounds in biodegradable materials and given the strong impact on the final results especially
for some starch polymers, reliable LCA data need to be generated.
• A literature survey revealed that the process energy requirements for propylene oxide
differ substantially depending on the source. The value used by Diehlmann and Kreisel
(2000b) is in the upper range. Since the production of propylene oxide contributes more than
55% to the total energy requirements for producing the petrochemical thickener (Diehlmann
and Kreisel, 2000b) the energy input for the petrochemical thickener as a whole might be

16 Note that this statement - derived from the GHG data for the interior side panel of a passenger car in Table 17b - refers to
the use of this material for other purposes where substitution may occur on a 1:1 mass basis. As apparent from Table 14 the
lower weight of the bio-based panel overcompensates this disadvantage.

- 37 -
overestimated. This might explain to a large extent why the saving potential related to the
replacement of petrochemical by bio-based lacquer is exceptionally high compared to the
other products (Table 18). In-depth analysis of the key assumptions would be required to un-
derstand the reasons and, if required, to reduce the concomitant uncertainties.
• The data used for composting are subject to major uncertainties. This is partly explic-
itly stated by the authors (Estermann et al., 2000, p.16), partly it becomes obvious by compar-
ing the assumptions made in the various studies (wherever these are described in detail). Ac-
cording to Esterman et al. (1998) 40-60% of the carbon absorbed in the vegetable material is
released to the atmosphere during composting. To avoid the underestimation of GHG emis-
sions, Esterman and colleagues (1998, 2000) assume in their studies that 60% of the absorbed
carbon is released. The assumption can be considered as safe if compared to Schleiss and
Chardonnens (1994) according to whom the average carbon dissipation in the form of CO2
amounts to 40% (average of all composting plants in Switzerland). While these data refer to
the average of all inputs and outputs of a composting plant, the question arises whether it also
holds true for biodegradable starch polymers: Since the quality of biodegradable polymers is
that they decompose to a large extent within a short period of time the question arises whether
the approach chosen by Würdinger et al. (2001) might be more accurate where it was assumed
that the buildup of organic matter and hence, the effect of carbon sequestration is negligible.
According to biodegradation tests conducted by several institutes, the degradation of starch
polymers during composting (59ºC, 45 days) amounts to about 80% to 90% (test refers to
mixture of 15% starch polymers and 85% pure cellulose). Since biodegradation in the subse-
quent maturation phase is negligible Novamont draws the conclusion that an average conver-
sion rate of 80% is realistic (personal communication, L. Marini, 2001). The specific charac-
teristics of the starch polymer considered and the type of composting technology applied may
influence the biodegradation fraction.
• The various studies differ in the accounting method for waste incineration of bio-based
polymers. Even though the detailed assumptions are hardly ever spelled out it is quite obvious
that the chosen approaches are not comparable. For example, Würdinger et al. (2001) assume
that incineration takes place in waste-to-energy facilities, resulting in a net output of electric-
ity and/or heat. Credits are assigned to these useful products. In contrast, Esterman and col-
leagues (1998, 2000) do not account for co-produced electricity/steam. It is unlikely that this
reflects the differences in the share of energy recovery (waste-to-energy facilities versus sim-
ple incineration without energy recovery) among the countries studied; it rather represents
different choices of system boundaries.
• The environmental assessment of the incineration of mulch films with adhering or-
ganic waste (soil) raises particular questions. In one of the sensitivity analyses, Estermann and
Schwarzwälder (1998) introduce a CO2 penalty in order to account for the emissions resulting
from the incineration of adhering organic waste. This may be justified if the moisture of the
organic waste is so high that the vaporisation of the water contained requires more energy
than the calorific value of the organic waste. In this case the incineration of the adhering
waste represents a net energy sink. In practice, this is typically compensated by co-firing of
fossil fuels or of other high-calorific combustible waste leading to CO2 and other environ-
mental impacts. On the other hand it is also possible that the moisture content of the adhering

- 38 -
waste is low, resulting in a net energy yield in the incineration process. Moreover, if the or-
ganic waste is of biogenic origin, its incineration is neutral in CO2 terms (due to extraction of
CO2 from the atmosphere during plant growth). These considerations show that the specific
circumstances determine whether the co-combustion of adhering organic waste – be it soil,
organic kitchen waste or any other type of biogeneous waste – results in net environmental
benefits or disadvantages.
• Bio-based polymers generally have lower heating values than most petrochemical bulk
polymers (Table 19). In some cases the difference is negligible (e.g., Polyhydroxybutyrate
versus PET), while in other cases it is substantial (starch polymers versus PE). In practice, the
difference in recoverable heat may be even larger than indicated by Table 19 due to the fea-
ture of most bio-based polymers to absorb water rather easily. The choice of the waste man-
agement system may therefore have a considerable impact on the overall conclusions. Regard-
ing energy use, cradle-to-factory gate analyses, landfilling and waste incineration without
energy recovery are in favour of bio-based polymers; on the other hand, incineration in waste-
to-energy facilities, especially with high energy recovery yields, is in favour of petrochemical
polymers (in energy terms). This calls for studying the material options by types of waste
management technologies individually. Moreover, the actual situation in the country and re-
gion studied should be analysed. It should be taken into account here that energy recovery
yields from waste-to-energy facilities are generally low at present: It is estimated that, one
quarter of the heating value of the waste is converted to final energy in the form of power and
useable heat.17 The generation of the same amount of final energy from regular fuels in power
plants and district heating plants requires only half of the energy input. As a consequence, the
credit for energy recovery is only half of the heating value. The advantage of petrochemical
over bio-based polymers is therefore only half of the difference of their heating values. De-
pending on the petrochemical and the bio-based polymer studied this difference can still be
substantial but it may also be negligible.
• In the case of landfilling some studies account for methane (CH4) emissions due to
anaerobic emissions while others do not take this into consideration. This can have a consid-
erable impact on the results due to the relatively strong greenhouse gas effect of CH4. As a
consequence the overall GHG emissions from biodegradable polymers manufactured from
renewable raw materials may be higher than for petrochemical plastics depending on the
waste management system chosen for the latter (Würdinger et al., 2001). Moreover, N2O
emissions can have a sizable influence (compare e.g. Table 14).
• Environmental comparisons including recycling as a waste management option are
rarely made. Moreover, most of the bio-based polymers except for starch can be processed by
mechanical or even feedstock recycling (back to monomer). Mechanical recycling, is in prin-
ciple even possible for thermoplastic polymers reinforced with natural fibres (Hauspurg et al.,
2000). More attention must be paid to these options in future studies.

17 This estimate is based on an analysis for Germany (12% efficiency for both electricity and heat generation from
combustible waste; Patel, 1999) and for Western Europe (personal communication, Pezetta, 2001).

- 39 -
• The characterisation factors for global warming used in most of the studies reviewed
are outdated in the meantime (Global Warming Potentials for methane and nitrous oxide).18
Since the contribution of CO2 dominates the overall GHG effect, this uncertainty is consid-
ered to be less important.
• When making comparisons with conventional fossil fuel-based polymers it must be
borne in mind that LCA data for these products are also uncertain and continue to be cor-
rected. This is in spite of the fact that petrochemical polymers are manufactured by use of
mature technologies that are applied globally with only limited variations. For example, en-
ergy data for polyethylene (PE) production range between ca. 65 GJ/t and 85 GJ/t according
to a comparison of various sources (Patel, 1999) while Dinkel et al. (1996) assume about
92 GJ/t. If, for example, compared to the TPS data determined by Dinkel et al. (1996), the
wide range of the values for PE does not change anything about the conclusion that TPS is
most beneficial in terms of energy use and CO2 emissions. However, it is unclear whether the
final conclusions for the other environmental parameters covered by Dinkel et al. (e.g., emis-
sions) are also insensitive to larger variations in the PE data.

Table 19: Heating value of bio-based and petrochemical polymers (heating values calculated
according to Boie, compare Reimann and Hämmerli, 1995)
Lower heating
Polymer
value, GJ/tonne
Starch polymers 13.6
Polyhydroxybutyrate (P3HB) 22.0
Polyhydroxyvalerate (P3HV) 25.0
Polylactic acid 17.9
Lignin (picea abies) 24.2
China reed 18.0
Flax 16.3
Hemp 17.4
Kenaf 16.5
PE 43.3
PS 39.4
PET 22.1
PVC 17.9

The problem related to these uncertainties can be resolved to some extent by taking into ac-
count the significance of the difference in values for the systems compared (thresholds for the
categories "significantly higher", "higher", "comparable" etc., see Estermann et al., 2000, Sec-
tion 4.1.2). In addition, it is an important goal of future research to reduce further the existing
uncertainties.
In all of the studies reviewed ecological ranking was determined by comparing for
how many indicators the environmental impact is lower for bio-based polymers compared to

18 The Global Warming Potentials (GWP) used in the various studies are 11 or 21 for CH and 270 or 310 for N O, while -
4 2
according to the current state of research - more accurate figures are 23 (CH4) and 296 (N2O) (Houghton et al., 2001). All
GWP values refer to a 100 year period.

- 40 -
the petrochemical polymers.19 The disadvantage of this approach is that the selection of the
indicators compared can have an influence on the final conclusions. Together with the fact
that the relative difference in the results for the various impact categories (a few per cent ver-
sus a a few hundred per cent) is hardly ever accounted for this shows the urgent need for the
further development of the LCA methodology (e.g., by introduction of significance thresh-
olds). When interpreting the results, it must finally be taken into account that the studies re-
viewed partly differ in regional scope. Since the results are to some extent subject to country
specific circumstances (e.g., GHG emissions from national power production) care must be
taken when drawing more general conclusions. On the other hand, the uncertainties related to
conclusions can be reduced if several independent analyses for different countries arrive at
similar conclusions. A summary of the aspects to be considered in future LCA studies for bio-
based polymers is given in the checklist in Annex 2 (with a special focus on biodegradable
polymers).

7. Conclusions

7.1 Summary and further elaboration of findings

The number of published LCAs for bioplastics is very limited. This seems to be in contrast to
the general public interest for this issue and the more recent interest by policy makers. For
example, no comprehensive LCAs have been published so far for PLA (plant-based), cellu-
lose polymers (plant-based) and petrochemical copolymers such as BASF's product Ecoflex.
The existing LCAs contain uncertainties which should be addressed by future research
and analysis. A prominent example is the environmental assessment of the composting proc-
ess for biodegradable polymers. In some studies further sensitivity analyses would be required
to ensure that the final findings are well underpinned (e.g. for smaller PE bags in Estermann
and Schwarzwälder, 1998). Moreover, many of the environmental analyses choose a cradle-
to-factory gate perspective (i.e., the analysis ends with the product under consideration).
While this approach provides valuable results, additional analyses taking a cradle-to-grave
perspective by inclusion of the waste management stage should also be conducted. Due to
their strong impact on the final results all major waste management options should be studied
(landfilling, composting, MSWI plants, waste-to-energy facilities, digestion and recycling).
To assist life cycle practitioners in making use of the lessons learnt from this review, a
checklist has been prepared which will be published by RAPRA (Patel, 2003). In addition to
this checklist, any LCA study must comply with the requirements specified in the ISO stan-
dards 14 040 to 14 043 (ISO, 1997-1999).
Apart from some methodological shortcomings three LCAs evaluate products for
which considerable technical problems related to production and product properties still need

19 In addition, single-score parameters were used; as indicated earlier these results are not described here since the method
applied is not generally accepted.

- 41 -
to be overcome. This is the case for the two china reed-based products studied by Wolfens-
berger and Dinkel (1997) and for the transport pallet studied by Corbière-Nicollier et al.
(2001). This calls firstly, for further R&D and secondly, for caution when making use of the
LCA results for these specific applications.
In spite of these restrictions and the uncertainties and the information gaps mentioned
above the body of work analysed overwhelmingly indicates that bio-based polymers offer
important environmental benefits today and for the future. This applies to all three goups
studied, i.e. to bio-based plastics, bio-based non-plastics (with one type of lacquers as the only
representative) and composites based on natural fibres.
Of all bio-based plastics (pellets) studied, starch polymers are considered to perform
best in environmental terms under the current state of the art – with some differences among
the various types of starch polymers. Compared to starch polymers the environmental benefits
seem to be smaller for PLA (LCA results only available for energy and CO2). For PHA, the
environmental advantage currently seems to be very small compared to conventional poly-
mers (LCA results only available for energy use). For both PLA and PHA, the production
method, the scale of production and the type of waste management treatment can influence
decisively the ultimate conclusion about the overall environmental balance.
The only available analysis for non-plastics (lacquer thickener based on linseed oil)
revealed an exceptionally high saving potential, which calls for further analysis.
For natural fibres, the extent to which these can replace fibreglass (which is heavy and
energy intensive to produce) determines mainly the net environmental benefits. The advan-
tages according to cradle-to-factory gate analyses were rather limited in one case (-14% for
under-floor panel) and very attractive in the two other cases (-45% to –50% for interior side
panel and transport pallet).
The case studies for reinforced products demonstrate that savings in the use phase –
sometimes also referred to as "secondary savings" – are as high or even clearly higher than
the "primary savings" (typically related to cradle-to-factory gate systems) and that they may
even be the main driver for substitution. In the case of the china reed pallet and the hemp fi-
bre-based interior side panel secondary energy savings are up to three times as high. Excep-
tionally high secondary savings are reported to be obtainable with tyres containing starch-
based fillers where secondary energy savings exceed primary savings by a factor of more than
20. The conclusion of the ECCP Working Group on Renewable Raw materials (European
Commission, 2001), according to which total secondary savings may exceed the primary sav-
ings by about one order of magnitude, is hence clearly confirmed by the case study for tyres
while it seems somewhat too optimistic if compared to the results for natural fibres.
Starch polymers are currently the only type of bio-based polymer for which several
comprehensive LCA studies are available. According to these assessments starch polymers do
not perform better than their fossil fuel-based counterparts in all environmental categories,
including biodiversity and soil quality, which are generally outside the scope of LCAs. How-
ever, most studies come to the conclusion that starch polymers (pellets and end products) are
more beneficial in environmental terms than their petrochemical counterparts; this conclusion
is drawn without weighting and in most cases without significance thresholds. The prefer-
ences among the environmental targets determine whether bio-based polymers are considered

- 42 -
to be environmentally attractive. Full-sized LCA studies for further bio-based materials are
indispensible to allow deriving conclusions and recommendations that are better underpinned
and more focussed.
For the time being, it is not possible to make a concluding general judgement whether
bio-based plastics should be preferred to petrochemical polymers from an environmental point
of view. This has partly to do with the limited availability of comprehensive LCAs. But even
if more LCA studies were available one would be left with considerable uncertainties, e.g.
because it will never be feasible to cover all possible products and all possible impact catego-
ries (compare Finnveden, 2000 and Box 1 in Annex). In spite of these limitations one can
conclude that the results for the use of fossil energy resources and GHG emissions are more
favourable for most bio-based polymers already today. As an exception, landfilling of biode-
gradable polymers can result in methane emissions (unless landfill gas is captured) which may
make the system unattractive in terms of reducing greenhouse gas emissions. As a potential
source of N2O emissions, fertilizers also require special attention.
By comparing the use of biomass for the manufacture of materials (polymers and fi-
bres) on the one hand and for energy purposes (bioenergy) on the other insight can be gained
about the most effective options for land use and cultivation. Important findings of Dinkel et
al. (1996) and the LCA prepared by Corbière-Nicollier et al. (2001) are hence that materials
based on starch, kenaf and china reed offer larger opportunities for energy saving and GHG
mitigation than bioenergy (Dinkel et al., 1996, p.12 and p.92; partly based on Wolfensberger
and Dinkel, 1997). In contrast, Kurdikar et al. (2001) argue that bioenergy contributes more to
GHG emission reduction than biomass-derived feedstocks. The main reason for this contrast-
ing finding seems to be that the product and process Kurdikar et al. (2001) studied – i.e., the
production of polyhydroxyalkanoates in plants – currently cannot compete with conventional
products in energy terms. Wherever the opposite applies – and this is the case for most of the
other products analysed – the available results indicate that biomaterials offer higher envi-
ronmental gains than bioenergy. This issue will systematically have to be studied for bio-
based polymers by comparing the benefits per km2 of cultivated land. In other words, com-
parative assessments will continue to be needed in order to keep track of the aspects of com-
petition and complementarity between bioenergy and biomaterials. This is also necessary in
order to account for innovations in both areas. It would ease such comparisons and the useful-
ness for decision-makers if future studies dealing with bioenergy and biomaterials always also
studied the land use requirements of the various options.

7.2 Outlook and perspectives

To maximise the environmental benefits from bio-based polymers further R&D will
be necessary in order to optimise the production by increasing the efficiencies of the various
unit processes involved (e.g. separation processes) and by process integration. Substantial
scope for improvement can be expected here considering economies of scale and given the
fact that all bio-based polymers are still in their infancy while the manufacture of petrochemi-
cal polymers has been optimized for decades. Some of the LCA discussed above were already
outdated when these conclusions were drawn since substantial progress had been made in

- 43 -
manufacturing and processing bio-based polymers (e.g., for films). This means that the real
environmental impacts caused by bio-based polymers tend to be lower than established in the
LCA studies reviewed.
As a guide for future R&D, good practice targets for "environmentally correct" bio-
based products could be very useful. Based on the results presented in the preceding sections,
a first attempt is made here to specify such targets: It is recommended that, relative to their
petrochemical counterparts, bio-based polymers should
• save at least 20 MJ (non-renewable) energy per kg polymer,
• avoid at least 1 kg CO2 per kg polymer and
• reduce most other environmental impacts by at least 20%.
A good practice target will also have to be specified for land use, i.e. in terms of GJ energy
saved per ha land cultivated. In parallel to these environmental targets, cost reduction must
continue to be a priority.
A promising line for R&D in the longer term could be the development of biomass-
derived polymers that can be recycled mechanically and/or back to feedstocks/monomers.
Preferably this should be possible also in combination with petrochemical polymers. Such
recyclable polymers made from renewable raw materials have good chances to be unrivalled
in environmental terms provided that their manufacture is not too resource-intensive in the
first place. This may offer longer term prospects to PHA, PLA and some other bio-based
polymers.
To summarize, the available LCA studies and environmental assessments strongly
support the further development of bio-based polymers. Careful monitoring of the various
environmental impacts continues to be necessary both for decision makers in companies and
in policy. If combined with good-practice targets, this may accelerate and focus the ongoing
product and process innovation. For some materials the environmental benefits achieved are
substantial already today. In many other cases the potentials are very promising and need to
be exploited.

- 44 -
8. Acknowledgements

The preparation of this chapter was only possible due to the large support from various ex-
perts in the field, among them Mrs. Tourane Corbière-Nicollier (Swiss Fed. Inst. of Technol-
ogy), Mr. Joachim Diener (Daimler-Chrysler, Germany), Mr. Achim Diehlmann (ITUC, Jena
University), Mr. Fredy Dinkel (CARBOTECH, Switzerland), Mr. Thomas Fleißner (Techni-
cal University of Munich), Mr. Urs Hänggi (Biomer, Germany), Mr. Olivier Jolliet (Swiss
Fed. Inst. of Technology), Mr. Urs Lübker (Dreisol Coatings), Mr. Nitin Mutha (visiting fel-
low at Utrecht University, Netherlands), Mr. V. Premnath (National Chemical Laboratory,
India), Mrs. Bea Schwarzwälder (Composto, Switzerland) and Mr. Erwin Vink (Cargill Dow,
Netherlands).

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Cargill Dow on 29 March 2001, Birmingham, United Kingdom.
Vink, E. (2002) Personal communication with E. Vink, Cargill Dow, Netherlands, March
2002
Wötzel, K., Wirth, R., Flake, R. (1999) Life cycle studies on hemp fibre reinforced compo-
nents and ABS for automotive parts. Braunschweig University and Seeber. Angew. Makro-
mol. Chem. 272 (4763), 121-127.
Wolfensberger, U., Dinkel, F. (co-ordinators, 1997) Beurteilung nachwachsender Rohstoffe in
der Schweiz in den Jahren 1993-1996 – Vergleichende Betrachtung von Produkten aus aus-
gewählten nachwachsenden Rohstoffen und entsprechenden konventionellen Produkten
bezüglich Umweltwirkungen und Wirtschaftlichkeit. Prepared by FAT (Eidgenössische For-
schungsanstalt für Agrarwirtschaft und Landtechnik) and CARBOTECH for the Federal Of-
fice of Agriculture, Bern, Switzerland.
Würdinger, E.; Wegener, A.; Roth, U.; Peche, R.; Reinhardt, G.A.; Detzel, A.; Giegrich, J.;
Möhler, S.; Borken, J.; Patyk, A.; Fehrenbach, H.; Vogt, R.; Mühlberger, D.; Wante, J.;
Klein, M.; Straver, F. C. M. (2001) Kunststoffe aus nachwachsenden Rohstoffen - Verglei-
chende Ökobilanz für Loose-fill-Packmittel aus Stärke bzw. aus Polystyrol (interim report).
Bayrisches Institut für angewandte Umweltforschung und –technik, Augsburg (BIFA; pro-
ject leader), Institut für Energie- und Umweltforschung Heidelberg (IFEU), Flo-Pak GmbH,
Germany (part of the information presented in this chapter originates from the interim report
published in April 2000; wherever required, more recent calculation results were made
available by E. Würdinger, BIFA).

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Annex 1: Overview of environmental life cycle comparisons for biodegradable
polymers included in this review

Table A1-1: LCA studies for starch polymer pellets and films

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Table A1-2: LCA studies for starch polymer loose fill packaging material

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Table A1-3: LCA studies for compost bags

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Table A1-4: LCA studies for polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA), polylactides (PLA) and other
biodegradable polymers

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Annex 2: Checklist for the preparation of an LCA for biodegradable plastics

The following aspects should be taken into account when preparing a life cycle assessment for
biodegradable plastics. All the methodological decisions, assumptions and key data should be
specified in the text. In addition to the aspects listed in this checklist the life cycle assessment
must comply with the requirements specified in the ISO standards 14 040 to 14 043 (ISO,
1997-1999).

1. Biomass production

1.1 Country of origin: Where is the biomass used grown?

1.2 Type of cultivation: Is the biomass grown by intensive or extensive cultivation?
1.3 Fertilizers: Have the effects related to the production of fertilizers been taken into
account?
1.4 Carbon balance plant growth: Is carbon uptake during plant growth
a) considered as a separate process which is therefore reflected in the LCA
calculations as negative CO2 emissions or is it
b) combined with the process of decomposition (after the use of the product)
resulting in overall net zero emissions?
Note: Both concepts are possible and the aggregated results throughout the life cycle
are identical; however, differences in approaches result in difficulties when
comparing disaggregated results of studies (results for subsystems). It is therefore
recommended to apply approach a) since this is the more differentiated approach by
breaking down the entire activity into more subprocesses.

2. Plastics production and use

2.1 Country: In which country is the biodegradable plastic (or the end product)
manufactured?
2.2 Power generation: Are the assumptions regarding the average efficiency of power
generation and the specific emissions (e.g. in kg per MWhel) stated?
2.3 By-products: If any by-products are produced (materials or energy), how are these
taken into account (by means of credits or by extension of the system)?
2.4 System boundaries: Does the LCA refers to the system "cradle-to-factory gate" or to
the system "cradle-to-grave"?
Note: "Cradle-to-factory gate" refers to the entire production system from the
extraction of the required resources to the production of the product under
consideration. The system "Cradle-to-grave" includes, moreover, the waste
management after the useful life of the product.

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2.5 Functional unit: Is the functional unit a certain amount of polymer (in mass terms or
in terms of volume?), a semi-finished product (e.g. 1m2 of film) or an end product
(e.g. 100 plastic bags)? A further option is to choose the product service as the
functional unit, e.g. 100m3 of packed goods in the case of packaging materials. Has it
been taken into account that the amount of material required (in kg) for a given
functional unit might differ for biodegradable polymers and their potential alternatives
(e.g., non-degradable polymers, paper)?
2.6 Use phase (for end products only): Is it clearly specified whether the use phase is or is
not included in the system boundaries? If so, have the assumptions been specified?
Note: For example, the inclusion of the use phase for compost bags means that the
functional unit is the collection of biodegradable household waste; in this case,
comparisons are generally made with the collection in a compost bin without a bag;
the compost bin is therefore cleaned after use; this implies the use of water and
detergents which are included in the system boundaries while this would, for example,
not be the case for the system "cradle-to-factory gate".

3. Plastics waste management

The following aspects are only relevant if the system "cradle-to-grave" has been
chosen, otherwise they are irrelevant.
3.1 Waste management system: Which waste treatment process/es has/have been
assumed? I.e., what are the shares of waste landfilled, recycled, incinerated without
energy recovery, fed to waste-to-energy facilities, composted, digested and/or
disposed of via sewage treatment?
Note: Sewage treatment is a practical option e.g. for loose-fill polymers.
3.2 Landfill emissions: Have emissions from biodegradation in landfills been taken into
account (especially: methane which orginates from inaerobic processes in landfills)?
How high are the emissions?
3.3 Composting: Has any sequestration of carbon in the compost been assumed and if so,
to which extent?
3.4 Waste-to-energy: In the case of waste-to-energy facilities, what are the yields of
power and/or heat? Have these useful outputs been accounted for by credits (for input-
related impact categories like energy resources and output-related impact categories
such as greenhouse gas emissions)? And if so, which assumptions have been made
when establishing these credits?
3.5 Recycling processes: In the case of recycling, have the types of technologies been
specified?
- Mechanical or feedstock recycling?
- Which type(s) of feedstock recycling?
3.6 Mechanical recycling: Which substitution factor has been assumed in the case of
mechanical recycling?
Note: It may be necessary to blend the recycled plastics with virgin material in order
to obtain the desired material properties; it may also be necessary to use more

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 recyclates than virgin polymers for the same functional unit. In both cases the
substitution factors is less than 100%, i.e. each kilogramme recycled plastics
substitutes less than one kilogramme virgin material.
3.7 Waste scenarios: Have separate scenarios been developed for waste management, e.g.
in order to account for different practices depending on the country or to account for
(future) changes in waste policy?

4. Transportation

4.1 Particularly light products: Has transportation been taken into account for products
with a particularly high volume/mass ratio?
Note: Transportation energy generally does not play any major role, neither for the
production of plastics (including biodegradable ones) nor for final products made
thereof. Particularly light products, e.g. loose fill packaging material, are exempted
from this general rule.
4.2 Assumptions: Have all the assumptions been made clear in these cases (transportation
mode, transportation distances, load factors, fuel efficiencies)?

5. Overall assessment

5.1 Impact categories and impact subcategories: The choice of the impact
subcategories specified in addition to the impact categories can have a major impact
on the final conclusions. Has the selection of the impact subcategories been throughly
reflected and is the choice justified in the text?
Note: Background information is given in Box 1. In Table A2-1, a set of impact
categories is listed that are considered to be particularly relevant for biodegradable
polymers.
5.2 Significance thresholds: In comparative LCAs, the uncertainty of the results and the
importance of the differences in the results can be taken into account by distinguishing
between significance thresholds. Has any approach of this type been been applied?
Note: Table A2-2 gives an example of how this can be done.
5.3 Characterisation factors: Have updated characterisation factors been used for
aggregation within the impact categories? (Characterisation factors are sometimes also
referred to as equivalence factors.)
Note: The characterization factors for climate change are referred to as GWP values
(Global Warming Potential). The most recent figures can be found in Houghton et al.
(2001).
5.4 Weighting: Have the aggregated scores of the various impact categories been
weighted?

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 Note: If not - i.e. if the conclusions are drawn without an weighting procedure - even
more attention must be paid to the selection of the impact categories (see above, No
5.1).
5.5 Non-biodegradable polymer: Has the non-biodegradable (conventional) polymer
been named (in the case of comparative LCAs)? Are the approach and the assumptions
consistent with those used for biodegradable polymers and are all these assumptions
clearly described?

6. Further aspects (consider only if relevant)

6.1 Alternative use of biomass: Has the alternative use of renewable raw materials for
other material purposes or as an energy source been studied in order to put the results
for biodegradable polymers into perspective?
Note: The background of this question is that it is already known that biodegradable
polymers based on renewable raw materials generally score better than petrochemical
polymers with regard to fossil energy use and greenhouse gas emissions while they
score worse with regard to land use, ecotoxicity and eutrophication. Given this
knowledge and considering the limited availability of biomass-derived raw materials it
might be of interest to study the environmental impacts of other options of using the
same renewable raw materials as used for the manufacture of biodegradable
polymers.
6.2 National level: Have the results been translated to the national level?
Note: For materials that are or that could be used in bulk quantities this can be
relevant for strategy development in companies and governmental policy.

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Box 1: LCA results for biodegradable polymers - Consequences of the choice of impact
categories and impact subcategories and limitations of LCAs

The choice of the impact categories can have an important impact on the final conclu-
sions drawn from an LCA study. So far, only suggestions for the choice of impact cate-
gories to be included have been made (Udo de Haes, 1996, Lindfors et al, 1995) but no
obligatory set has been decided upon by SETAC (Society of Environmental Toxicology
and Chemistry). Neither does a minimum or a maximum list exist. The following crite-
ria have been put forward for the choice of the impact categories (Udo de Haes, 1996):
• Completeness: The list should include all relevant environmental problems.
• Independence: The categories should be as independent of each other as possible in
order to avoid double counting of indirect effects.
• Practicality: For practical reasons the list should be as concise as possible.

A distinction can be made between input related and output related impact categories.
Input related impact categories refer to resource depletion or competition while output
related categories are metrics for emission and pollution.

Apart from the main impact categories, subcategories can be defined. This is usually
done in those cases where the overall impact within one main category is caused by two
or more factors that differ decisively (e.g. input of materials and energy as two sub-
categories of the main category "resources"). The definition of subcategories raises the
question how to aggregate this information in the further course of an LCA. There are
two options (Udo de Haes, 1996)
• Impact subcategories may be aggregated in the "characterisation step" (e.g., aggre-
gation of the subcategories "energy" and "materials" to the main category "re-
sources") if the distinction of subcategories was mainly made due to lack of infor-
mation for the impact category as a whole.
• The impact subcategories should be aggregated as a part of the valuation step if the
effects and the underlying mechanisms are so diverse that the aggregation is primar-
ily determined by the value system (this means that subcategories are upgraded to
categories; example: ecotoxicity versus human toxicity).

The following table provides an overview of firstly, the main impact categories
proposed by Udo de Haes (1996) and secondly, a selection of subcategories (and other
impact indicators) encountered in LCAs for biodegradable polymers. The crosses in the
columns give a rough indication for which of the categories either polymers based on
renewable resources or on petrochemical raw materials score better and in which cases
the difference tends to be insignificant (column "Neutral"). The table points out once
more the potential importance of the
…
selection of impact categories for the findings of an LCA. If, for example, the selection
is such that it includes many impact categories that are relatively insignificant (column
"Neutral"), comparative LCAs may come to the conclusion that the differences between
the options are relatively small. This type of misinterpretation can be avoided to some

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extent by introducing "Significance thresholds" (see No 5.2 in checklist) and by
conducting a full-sized LCA including normalisation and valuation.

Table: Main impact categories and subcategories in LCA studies for biodegradable
polymers (developed on the basis of Udo de Haes, 1996)

Advantage
Advantage
petro- Neutral
renewables
chemicals

I.) Impact categories

I.A) Input related categories
- Abiotic resources X
- Biotic resources X
- Land use X
I.B) Output related categories
- Global warming X
- Depletion of stratospheric ozone X
- Human toxicity X
1)
- Ecotoxicity X
- Photo-oxidant formation X
- Acidification X
- Eutrophication X
- Odour X
- Noise X
- Radiation X
- Casualties X

II.) Impact subcategories and

2)
other impact indicators
- Carbon resources (renewable & non-renew.) X
- Non-renewable resources X
- Non-renewable energy (fossil & nuclear) X
- Nuclear energy X
- AOX X
- Lead X
- Carcinogeneity X
- Diesel particulates X
- Total waste X
- Hazardous waste X
1)
Mainly due to biocide and pesticide use
2) Selection of indicators used in LCA studies on biodegradable polymers: some of these indicators are categorised by Udo de
Haes (1996) as "Pro Memoria Categories". Udo de Haes defines these as "truncated flows" that cannot be allocated to the
categories extraction or emissions. Examples named are energy and waste.

Finally, it is important to note the limitations of an LCA as a tool for decision support.
Finnveden (2000) points out that it is - strictly spoken – impossible to show by means
of an LCA that one product is environmentally preferable to another. This has to do
with the fact that universal statements are logically impossible to prove. Let us, for
example, assume that a product A is (objectively) preferable to product B in
environmental terms. Even if there is an LCA showing this, it is likely to contain some
methodological and empirical choices that are uncertain to some extent. For example, it
will probably be impossible to show that all relevant impact categories have been taken
into account. It will therefore not be possible to prove the general environmental
superiority of product A. If such a proof must be provided as a precondition for a
decision at the company or governmental level, it is very likely that no action will ever
take place. If, on the other hand, society wants to be able to act then it is inevitable to
make decisions on a less rigid basis (Finnveden, 2000).

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 Table A2-1: List of LCA impact categories of particular relevance for biodegradable
polymers

1. Non-renewable energy (fossil & nuclear)

2. Land use*)
3. Inorganic resources
4. Global warming
5. Depletion of stratospheric ozone
6. Human toxicity
7. Ecotoxicity
8. Photo-oxidant formation
9. Acidification
10. Eutrophication
11. Hazardous waste

*) The subcategories biodiversity and soil quality

may be accounted for in qualitative terms.

Table A2-2: Significance thresholds used in an LCA study on biodegradable polymers

(Estermann et al., 2000)

Environmental categories
The environmental impact is… Symbol
Energy, waste All others
…much higher > 200% > 500% ++
…higher 125% - 200% 167% - 500% +
…comparable 80% - 125% 60% - 167% o
…lower 50% - 80% 20% - 60% -
…much lower < 50% < 20% --

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