Bio-based plastics - A review of environmental, social and economic impact assessments

verfasst von

Sebastian Spierling, Eva Knüpffer, Hannah Behnsen, Marina Mudersbach, Hannes Krieg, Sally Springer, Stefan Albrecht, Christoph Herrmann, Hans Josef Endres

Abstract

Bio-based plastics show an evolving market and application range and therefore have become increasingly popular in research and economy. The limitation of fossil resources as well as linked environmental issues have led to the development of an innovative bioeconomy and also triggered the shift from fossil-based plastics to bio-based plastics. The original motivation for this study was to propose a comprehensive approach to calculate the sustainability performance of bio-based plastics on a global scale. To provide a calculative basis, a review on available data from life cycle assessment (LCA), social life cycle assessment (S-LCA) and life cycle costing (LCC) studies on bio-based plastics was carried out and showed limited availability of quantifiable results with regard to the social and economic performance of bio-based plastics. In environmental LCA, with the ISO-family and related documents, a group of harmonized standards and approaches does exist. However, missing practical and consented guidelines hamper the comparability of studies and the exploitability of data - not only within the bio-based plastic sector but also in comparison to the fossil-based counterparts. Therefore, a calculation for the global sustainability performance of bio-based plastics was merely conducted for the environmental impact category global warming potential. Taking the technical substitution potential of fossil-based with bio-based plastics as well as limitations in data availability into account the estimation was performed for a substitution of approximately two-thirds of the global plastic demand. The results show, that bio-based plastics could potentially save 241 to 316 Mio. t of CO₂-eq. annually. Thereby this study gives a first outlook how bio-based plastics could contribute to a sustainable development, making benefits and drawbacks more tangible.

Externe Organisation(en)

Hochschule Hannover (HsH)
Fraunhofer-Institut für Bauphysik (IBP)
Technische Universität Braunschweig

Typ

Artikel

Journal

Journal of cleaner production

Band

185

Seiten

476-491

Anzahl der Seiten

16

ISSN

0959-6526

Publikationsdatum

01.06.2018

Publikationsstatus

Veröffentlicht

Peer-reviewed

Ja

ASJC Scopus Sachgebiete

Erneuerbare Energien, Nachhaltigkeit und Umwelt, Umweltwissenschaften (insg.), Strategie und Management, Wirtschaftsingenieurwesen und Fertigungstechnik

Ziele für nachhaltige Entwicklung

SDG 7 – Erschwingliche und saubere Energie, SDG 12 – Verantwortungsvoller Konsum und Produktion

Elektronische Version(en)

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2018.03.014 (Zugang: Geschlossen)