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Life cycle and environmental impact evaluation of polylactic acid (PLA) production in Ecuador

Abstract:

Purpose: Plastics generate more than 500 tons of waste in Ecuador each year, according to statistics from 2016. Therefore, the Ecuadorian Congress has approved a law to ban single-use plastics to deal with their high volumes contaminating the environment. Furthermore, researchers and policymakers have been concerned about finding possible solutions to replace single-use plastics. Hence, the production of polylactic acid (PLA) in Ecuador and its environmental impact analysis and potential use as the replacement material for petroleum-based polymers is the aim of this study. Methods: An environmental performance analysis is carried out for the potential production of polylactic acid (PLA) in Guayaquil, Ecuador. For this purpose, the life cycle assessment (LCA) methodology has been used. Therefore, the LCA was considered in three steps: production of PLA, transformation to film product, and end-of-life scenario. The LCA was performed to analyze the potential environmental impact of 1 m2 PLA film production. The International Life Cycle Data System (ILCD) 2011 Midpoint + method, which exists in SimaPro software, was used for the impact analysis. Results and discussion: The production of biodegradable PLA film causes a climate change impact of 0.85 kg CO2 eq for the established functional unit and several positive environmental impacts. Due to the natural raw material used for its production, the PLA production process significantly contributes to the impacts. The process contribution order was calculated starting with PLA production (74.32%), then electricity (20.41%), polyethylene glycol (PEG) (5.05%), and finally transport (0.21%). An increase in PLA production requires more land, machinery, fuel, and fertilizers. These increases mean higher environmental impacts. PLA production in Ecuador showed a 14% higher climate change indicator than its production in the USA. Optimization of the process could lower the indicator. The landfill scenario was the most pollutant, but recycling shows great promise as the option for end-of-life. Conclusion: Despite being a bio-solution, all the parameters must be considered when analyzing a shift from plastics to PLA biopolymer. According to the sensitivity analysis, the production of PLA and its film product system had a good consistency when parameters like the amount of sugar needed is varied. According to the environmental score obtained, PLA production from sugar cane is the best option in its production in Ecuador.