Comparative Study of a Life Cycle Assessment for Bio-Plastic Straws and Paper Straws: Malaysia’s Perspective
Abstract
:1. Introduction
2. Methodology
2.1. Life Cycle Assessment
2.2. Goal and Scope Definition
2.3. Inventory Analysis
- All calculations were based on 100 units of drinking straws produced, which were equal to 133 g of bio-plastic straws and 260 g of paper straws.
- Corn starch production was adapted from the corn refinery simulation [24].
- Similar physical properties in the injection molding of the PLA and the PP were assumed as the PLA straws are very flexible and perform similarly to conventional plastic straws made of PP [25].
- For the kraft pulping process, biomass combustion was used in the energy generation, which is commonly used in the pulp and paper industry [26].
- The disposal of bio-plastic and paper straws was equally divided between a composite facility, landfill and incineration. A similar amount of bio-plastic paper straws for each disposal method was ensured. The equal division was assumed for different disposal methods in order to analyze how each of the processes contributes to the GWP and AP [27].
- The landfill sites of bio-plastic and paper straws are located in Malaysia. Thus, both landfill sites have similar site characteristics, i.e., weather, humidity and temperature.
- The transportation of raw materials to the manufacturing site, the transportation of the product to the customer and the transportation of used bio-plastic and paper straws to disposal sites were based on the actual location of the supply chain in Peninsular Malaysia as a case study.
2.4. Impact Assessment
2.5. Data Interpretation
3. Results and Discussion
3.1. Overall Result of Bio-Plastic Straws
3.2. Overall Result of Paper Straws
3.3. Overall Comparison of Bio-Plastic Straws and Paper Straws
3.4. Sensitivity Analysis
4. Conclusions
Supplementary Materials
Author Contributions
Funding
Institutional Review Board Statement
Informed Consent Statement
Data Availability Statement
Acknowledgments
Conflicts of Interest
References
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Index | Formula | Unit of Measure |
---|---|---|
Global Warming Potential | GWP = ∑ GWPi × mi | kg CO2 equivalent (kg CO2-eq) |
Acidification Potential | AP = ∑ APi × mi | kg SO2 equivalent (kg SO2-eq) |
Eutrophication Potential | EP = ∑ EPi × mi | kg PO4 equivalent (kg PO4-eq) |
Item of Measurement | GWPi | APi | EPi |
---|---|---|---|
kg CO2-eq/kg | kg SO2-eq/kg | kg PO4-eq/kg | |
CO | 2 | 0 | 0 |
NOx | 0 | 0.7 | 0.13 |
SOx | 0 | 1 | 0 |
VOC | 3 | 0 | 0 |
NH3 | 0 | 1.88 | 0.35 |
CO2 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
CH4 | 23 | 0 | 0 |
N2O | 310 | 0 | 0 |
Pollutants | GWPi | Corn Starch Production (Section 1) | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Corn Steeping | Germ Separation | Fiber Separation | Gluten Separation | Starch Separation | ||
CO (g) | 2 | 2.6 × 10−1 | 1.5 | 7.7 × 10−1 | 6.0 × 10−1 | 8.0 × 10−1 |
VOC (g) | 3 | 3.0 × 10−2 | 1.7 × 10−1 | 8.9 × 10−2 | 6.9 × 10−2 | 9.2 × 10−2 |
CO2 (g) | 1 | 1.1 × 103 | 6.3 × 103 | 3.4 × 103 | 2.6 × 103 | 3.5 × 103 |
Total GWP | 1.1 | 6.3 | 3.4 | 2.6 | 3.5 | |
Overall GWP | 16.9 kg CO2-eq/100 straws |
Starting Point | Destination | Distance (km) |
---|---|---|
Raw Corn | Corn Starch | 187 |
Corn Starch | Bio-Plastic Straws | 202 |
Bio-Plastic Straws | Consumer | 50 |
Consumer | Incineration Plant | 562 |
Composting Facility | 315 | |
Landfill | 27 | |
Total distance (km) | 1343 |
Starting Point | Destination | Distance (km) |
---|---|---|
Wood Supplier | Paper Mill | 59 |
Paper Mill | Paper Straw | 119 |
Paper Straw | Consumer | 50 |
Consumer | Incineration Plant | 252 |
Composting Facility | 31 | |
Landfill | 33 | |
Total distance (km) | 544 |
Vehicle Type | Medium- and Heavy-Duty Truck |
---|---|
CO2 Factor (kg/km) | 0.904716 |
CH4 Factor (g/km) | 0.011185 |
N2O Factor (g/km) | 0.006835 |
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Moy, C.-H.; Tan, L.-S.; Shoparwe, N.F.; Shariff, A.M.; Tan, J. Comparative Study of a Life Cycle Assessment for Bio-Plastic Straws and Paper Straws: Malaysia’s Perspective. Processes 2021, 9, 1007. https://doi.org/10.3390/pr9061007
Moy C-H, Tan L-S, Shoparwe NF, Shariff AM, Tan J. Comparative Study of a Life Cycle Assessment for Bio-Plastic Straws and Paper Straws: Malaysia’s Perspective. Processes. 2021; 9(6):1007. https://doi.org/10.3390/pr9061007
Chicago/Turabian StyleMoy, Chun-Hung, Lian-See Tan, Noor Fazliani Shoparwe, Azmi Mohd Shariff, and Jully Tan. 2021. "Comparative Study of a Life Cycle Assessment for Bio-Plastic Straws and Paper Straws: Malaysia’s Perspective" Processes 9, no. 6: 1007. https://doi.org/10.3390/pr9061007
APA StyleMoy, C. -H., Tan, L. -S., Shoparwe, N. F., Shariff, A. M., & Tan, J. (2021). Comparative Study of a Life Cycle Assessment for Bio-Plastic Straws and Paper Straws: Malaysia’s Perspective. Processes, 9(6), 1007. https://doi.org/10.3390/pr9061007