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Is There a Generic Environmental Advantage for Starch–PVOH Biopolymers Over Petrochemical Polymers?

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Abstract

The current study was undertaken to address the general question of whether there is an environmental advantage for renewable, starch–polyvinyl alcohol (PVOH) biopolymer blends over petrochemical polymers. This was addressed using life cycle assessment (LCA) over a set of multiple case studies based on a consistent set of parameters and methodological background. A group of starch–PVOH blended biopolymers derived from different feedstocks (wheat, potato, maize) were compared with high density polyethylene (HDPE), low density polyethylene (LDPE) and expanded polystyrene (EPS) in a range of applications. The results suggest that a general environmental advantage does not exist for the starch–PVOH blended biopolymers over their petrochemical counterparts in all applications and, instead, a case-by-case approach is necessary to evaluate environmental pros and cons, based on specific comparisons. Overall, starch–PVOH biopolymers were found to offer environmentally superior options to LDPE in thermal packaging applications. However, this was not the case in other applications, where the outcome of comparisons between starch–PVOH biopolymers and HDPE/EPS varied according to various factors, including the specific end-of-life scenarios and the recycled content of the petrochemical polymers. A hierarchy of critical parameters for LCA-based decision-making concerning starch–PVOH biopolymers is suggested as a general outcome of this research.

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Abbreviations

AD:

Anaerobic digestion

ALCA:

Attributional LCA

DNDC:

Denitrification-decomposition model

EPS:

Expanded polystyrene

GHG:

Greenhouse gas

GWP:

Global warming potential

HDPE:

High density polyethylene

ISO:

International Standards Organization

LCA:

Life cycle assessment

LCI:

Life cycle inventory/life cycle inventory analysis

LCIA:

Life cycle impact assessment

LDPE:

Low density polyethylene

MSBF:

Maize starch based foam

ODP:

Ozone depletion potential

PE:

Polyethylene

POCP:

Photochemical oxidation potential

PSBF:

Potato starch based foam

PVOH:

Polyvinyl alcohol

WBF:

Wheat based foam

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Acknowledgments

We would like to thank the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI, now BIS) for financial support for this work through the Technology Programme. We are grateful to all partners in the consortium project led by Greenlight Products Ltd., and Brunel University for their assistance and cooperation with the data and results used in this work. We also wish to acknowledge staff at the National Soil Research Institute at Cranfield University, Broom’s Barn Applied Crop Sciences, Rothamsted Research and Institute of Grassland and Environmental Research for their valuable assistance with the dataset development for DNDC modeling work.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biology, Imperial College of Science and Technology and Medicine, London, SW7 2AZ, UK

    M. Guo

  2. Porter Institute, Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine, London, SW7 2AZ, UK

    R. J. Murphy

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  1. M. Guo
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  2. R. J. Murphy
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Correspondence to R. J. Murphy.

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Guo, M., Murphy, R.J. Is There a Generic Environmental Advantage for Starch–PVOH Biopolymers Over Petrochemical Polymers?. J Polym Environ 20, 976–990 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10924-012-0489-3

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