The Life Cycle Assessment for Polylactic Acid (PLA) to Make It a Low-Carbon Material
Erfan Rezvani Ghomi,
Fatemeh Khosravi,
Ali Saedi Ardahaei,
Yunqian Dai,
Rasoul Esmaeely Neisiany,
Firoozeh Foroughi,
Min Wu,
Oisik Das,
Seeram Ramakrishna
Affiliations
Erfan Rezvani Ghomi
Center for Nanotechnology and Sustainability, Department of Mechanical Engineering, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117581, Singapore
Fatemeh Khosravi
Center for Nanotechnology and Sustainability, Department of Mechanical Engineering, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117581, Singapore
Ali Saedi Ardahaei
Department of Polymer Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Golestan University, P.O. Box 491888369, Gorgan 1575949138, Iran
Yunqian Dai
School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Southeast University, Nanjing 211189, China
Rasoul Esmaeely Neisiany
Department of Materials and Polymer Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Hakim Sabzevari University, Sabzevar 9617976487, Iran
Firoozeh Foroughi
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, National University of Singapore, 9 Engineering Drive 1, Singapore 117576, Singapore
Min Wu
School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Southeast University, Nanjing 211189, China
Oisik Das
Structural and Fire Engineering Division, Department of Civil, Environmental and Natural Resources Engineering, Luleå University of Technology, 97187 Luleå, Sweden
Seeram Ramakrishna
Center for Nanotechnology and Sustainability, Department of Mechanical Engineering, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117581, Singapore
The massive plastic production worldwide leads to a global concern for the pollution made by the plastic wastes and the environmental issues associated with them. One of the best solutions is replacing the fossil-based plastics with bioplastics. Bioplastics such as polylactic acid (PLA) are biodegradable materials with less greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. PLA is a biopolymer produced from natural resources with good mechanical and chemical properties, therefore, it is used widely in packaging, agriculture, and biomedical industries. PLA products mostly end up in landfills or composting. In this review paper, the existing life cycle assessments (LCA) for PLA were comprehensively reviewed and classified. According to the LCAs, the energy and materials used in the whole life cycle of PLA were reported. Finally, the GHG emissions of PLA in each stage of its life cycle, including feedstock acquisition and conversion, manufacturing of PLA products, the PLA applications, and the end of life (EoL) options, were described. The most energy-intensive stage in the life cycle of PLA is its conversion. By optimizing the conversion process of PLA, it is possible to make it a low-carbon material with less dependence on energy sources.
