Plastics and Renewable Resources-a Life Cycle Perspective-

CEESBrussels, February 2008

wolfgang.siebourg@plasticseurope.org &aafko.schanssema@plasticseurope.org

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The agenda driving the debate

• Sustainable development – life cycle thinking– GHG emissions/carbon footprint

• Energy efficiency & resource debate• Waste management• Litter issues

– plastics bags & foodservice packaging– marine litter

• Agricultural & biomass issues– Common Agricultural Policy (EU)– bio-energy – biomass action plan

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Life cycle thinking in sustainable decision making

Key aspects:• Considers the complete life cycle

– to avoid shifting-of-burdens• Considers all relevant aspects jointly

– To avoid over-estimation of 1 indicator, i.e. carbon footprint• Compares on the basis of functional unit

– To avoid misleading comparisons• Quantifies the overall impact along the life cycle

– To avoid over-estimation of one single step

Consider the work of Dr. Jan Kooijman, a supply chain expert from The Netherlands

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“The environmental impact of packaging is inextricably linked to the product it contains and the actual needs of the consumer”

• E.g. a 2 litre milk container has less environmental impact than four 0.5 litre containersHowever, if a small amount (5%) of the milk goes ‘off’ and has to be thrown away, this wastes more energy than the total energy in making any size or type of container

• Relative to its job, the environmental impact of packaging is small – consider the energy used by the average UK household

from: Towards Greener Households, Products, Packaging and Energy;

Incpen: www.incpen.org

Proper system definition is crucial

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Strength of the Use-phase: PLASTICS SAVE ENERGY!

Resource debate opens opportunities for plastics:

• “plastics materials are resource efficient”– Do more with less

• “plastics-in-use save energy”– Light-weighting and insulation capacities

• “plastics-in-use reduce emissions”– Less energy = less emissions

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Plastics packaging: Resource efficient

• In less developed world up to 50% of all food is wasted between “farm and fork”; in a ‘packaging-oriented’ society wastage is reduced to around 3%

• Without plastics in the UK:• Weight will be up to 391%• Energy +150%• Waste +160%• CO2 +200% • Costs +190%

• In a world without plastics packaging¹:– Energy consumption would increase from 12.1 22.3 Mtoe/year– CO2 emissions would increase from 7 51 Mio tonnes/year

METAL CAN 23.7g

CARTONBOARD 24.8g

GLASS 100.8g

PLASTIC 3.1g

¹ Gua, Vienna 2005

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• Performance in application is highest priority• more than 200 plastics families• custom tailored properties

• Total cost of material and conversion process determinesthe material choice

What is the learning?

Plastics performance in the use phase contributes much more to resource and energy savings than substitution of their raw materials

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• Total fuel demand EU25 (2004)…………………………….: 1747 Mtoe• Final energy consumption EU25 (2004)….…………..…: 1141• Oil demand ………………………………………………………..: 651

• Plastics consumption EU25 + N/CH (2005) 47.5 Mt; gross energy expressed in Mtoe……...: 70 (*)

recoverable as fuel…………................: 42.5

Does plastics consumption influence oil availability?

(*) Source: PlasticsEurope Eco-profiles

Oil demand is driven by energy demand!

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The meaning of „bio-plastics“

• For public opinion, “bio-plastics”– degrade completely and instantly in nature– are produced from renewable raw material resources– are more environmentally friendly than „man-made“ plastics

• However, biomass based plastics are not always biodegradable in a short term and biodegradable plastics are not always biomass-based.

• Biodegradability is not synonym with being environmentally friendly*.

* (IFEU 2003)

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Snapshot Europe 2005

• Total plastics demand 47.5 Mio.t1

• Bioplastics demand 0.05 Mio.t (30% p.a. Growth)2

• Current production of energy from biomass 69 Mtoe3

• Total Oil & gas consumption 1 068 Mtoe4

1) PlasticsEurope 2)European Bioplastics 3) EEA 4) Eurostat 2004

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Bio-based plastics –production capacity world*

1) European Bioplastics 2) Novamont

• Total capacity 2007 unclear– 110 000tpa2 vs. 600 000tpa1

• Potential long term1

– World 20 Mio. tpa– Europe 5 Mio. Tpa– Based on comparison of

physical properties– Up to 10% of total plastics

demand

*Polymerisation and compounding

Volume projections are still uncertain!

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Packaging is main market driver

•Transparancy for display

•Combined waste disposal

• High moisture transition• Crackling noise symbolising crispiness

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Sources of bio based pastics

•Only a few polymers naturally available

•Most require modification to become plastics

O il /F a ts

S ta rch /S u g ar

N a tu ra lfib res

L ig n o -ce llu lo se

P ro te in s

In -p lan ta P ro d u ctio n

E n zym atic C a ta lys is

F erm entation

la c tic a c id ;c itric a c id ; fa tty a c id s;

trig lyce r id e s ;… ..

B io m a ss

C a ta lys t; ΔT ; Δ p ..

C h e m ic a ls

u se as is

C h em istry o rM eta l-cata lys is

R en ew ab leR eso u rces

B io co m p o s ite

1 ,3 P ro p an d io l

S u cc in ic ac id

P H B ; P ro te in s

O rg a n ic A c id s

P L A

L e vu lin ic A c id

P o lyes terP o lyo ls

Biocomposite

Cellulose

Polyols

1,3 Propandiol Succinic acid

Lactic acid (PLA)

Levulinic acid

Organic acids Proteins, PHB

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A word of caution

not all chemicals for plastics can be provided by biomass-based resources economically

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Development of sustainable plastics

Both resources should be considered!biomass based and fossil resources

Look for eco-efficiency!

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Two approaches biomass based plastics

• Synthesis of new monomers for production of new plastics with different property balances (e.g. PLA)

Initially small markets, growth rate depends on market development needs

• Synthesis of known monomers from RRM, complementing fossil resources, to produce existing plastics (e.g. PE)

Well established markets, introduction mainly cost driven

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Starch based compounds

Application: shopping bags

• Elastomeric fossil basedpolyesters filled with starch

• Compostable under definedconditions

Side track: Will not resolve litter issue

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Polyurethane foam for insulation

Sugar as basis for polyol synthesis

Polyol and isocyanates react to form Polyurethane foam

Quelle: Bayer MaterialScience

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Rilsan® (PA11) Production Chain

Castor oil

Methyl Ricinoleate

Amino 11 Undecanoic Acid

Rilsan® PA11

Polymerization & Compounding

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Stretch - recoverySoft handStain resistanceEasy care & dyeResilienceCrush resistance

Softness

Vibrantcolors

Stretch & Recovery

price - performancenaturally derived

Yeast Bacterium

PDOGlucose Glycerol

TextilesFlooringCoatingsNonwovensFilmStapleEngineeringPolymers

Sorona® - poly propylene terephtalate (PPT)

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Ethanol to PE or PVC – the technology exists

• Production of ethylene from bio-based ethanol (1981-1991)

• Plant Capacity: 100,000 ton/year (PVC)

• 3 ton / ha PE

• 100% renewable according to Standard ASTM D6866-06

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Bioplastics – no perpetuum mobile

1t bioplastic

Matter: ~0.46 toe*

Consumed energy: ~0.89 toe

*based on lower heat value

reco

vere

d

lost

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Land use aspects

Comparing agricultural systems, land use is an important aspect, with regard to:

- the environmental performance,

- the economic impacts,

- the social impacts,

based on the increasing competition for space

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Bioplastics are competing against•Food•Biofuels•Other chemicals

for the same resource arable land

Keep in mind: demand fuels vs. demand materials is >10:1

Competition for bio-based plastics

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What would happen, if 10 Mio t of ethylene (approx. ¼ of the European demand) would be substituted by ethylene from bio routes?

Land use aspects

Renewable resource

Land use[ha]

Corn (US) 4 880 000

Wheat grains (EU) 6 300 000

Sugar cane (BR) 3 050 000

Sugar beet (EU) 3 480 000

Source: PE Europe, personal communication

(79% of EU fallow land)

(44% of EU fallow land)

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Bio-based plastics – environmental footprint – typical example

Learning: Do not focus on carbon footprint only!

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Are additional emissions caused by bio-based plastics relevant?

What would happen, if 10 Mio t of ethylene (approx. ¼ of the European demand) would be substituted by ethylene from bio routes?

Acidification emissions would increase by 100.000 t - 250.000 t SO2 equvalents. Equals ~ ¼ of annual SO2 emissionssaved due to the phase out of East Germanlignite power plants (1990 – 1996).

Increase of phosphate equivalents in Eutrophication emissions would equal ~ ¼ of the annual German phosphate use for commercial fertilization.

Source: PE Europe, personal communication

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Bio-based plasticsEnvironmental impact – learning’s from LCA

• Main benefit linked to feedstock (biomass = solar energy).

• Benefit offset by higher process energy requirements (PLA today) or by poorer performance (starch based plastics).

• Total energy savings due to biomass-based plastics will remain insignificant during, at least, the next two decades.

• RRM based plastics are not truly CO2-neutral.

• Agricultural issues like eutrophication, ozone depletion are generally worse for RRM-based plastics than for oil based plastics.

• Uncertainty remains about land requirements, water consumption, impact on biodiversity and soil modification due to extensive monoculture lack quantitative data.

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Conclusions and recommendations

• Life cycle thinking is a ‘must’ for sustainable decision making• All life cycle stages must be taken into consideration

– To avoid shifting of burden and misleading conclusions– Reliable life cycle data (LCI, eco-profiles) are crucial for good decision

making

• Plastics contribute to energy efficiency mainly in the use phase.

• Plastics enable eco-efficient use of natural resources and save energy.

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Conclusions and recommendations

• Bioplastics are an integrated part of the plastics family• Bioplastics will not replace fossil based plastic significantly• Use most eco-efficient ways make plastics from carbon

sources• Plastics industry will use biomass based materials where they

are economically / technically advantageous• More research needed to efficiently exploit biomass resources• Food, fuel and materials compete for same resoucre, i.e.

arable land, conflicting with biodiversity, eutrophication etc.Society needs to address the priorities

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PlasticsEurope – life cycle database history

• Was the first industry based organization in the world to assemble a detailed environmental footprint of the production processes of their members

• Its LCI methodology was developed with the input from academia, consultancy, industry, government and NGOs

• Publishes its eco-profiles free of charge via the internet

• Eco-profiles are used by LCA practitioners and have been the basis for numerous LCAs

• Is partner in the EU Platform for Life Cycle Assessment managed by the Joint Research Centre.

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Over 75 eco-profile data-sets & reports

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INDEX OF ECO-PROFILES: Click on green circle to go to relevant flow chart

Ethylbenzene

Ethylene

Ethylene (pipeline)

ABS

Acetone

Acetone cyanohydrin

Acrylonitrile

Benzene

Ammonia

Brine

Butadiene

Butenes

Crude oil

Chlorine

Electricity

Epoxy liquid resins

Hydrogen (cracker)

Hydrogen chloride

Naphtha

Natural gas

Methylmethacrylate (MMA)

Ethylene dichloride

Hydrogen (electrolytic)

Hydrogen (reformer)

Hydrogen cyanide

MDI

Methodology

Nylon 6

Nylon 6 (glass filled)

Nylon 66

Nylon 66 (glass filled)

Pentane

PET (amorphous)

Polycarbonate

PET (Bottle grade)

PET bottles

PET film

PET film (packed)

PMMA beads

PMMA sheet

Polybutadiene

Phenol

HDPE resin

LDPE resin

LLDPE resin

HDPE bottles

HDPE pipe

LDPE bottles

LDPE film

Polyols

Polystyrene thermoform

Polypropylene

Polypropylene inj. moulding

Polypropylene oriented film

Polystyrene (expandable)

Polystyrene (gen purpose)

Polystyrene (high impact)

Polyvinylidene chloride

Propylene

Propylene (pipeline)

PVC resin (bulk)

PVC resin (emulsion)

PVC resin (suspension)

PVC film

PVC injection moulding

Polyurethane flexible foam

Polyurethane rigid foam

PVC pipes

PVC calendered sheet

Pyrolysis gasoline

Styrene-acrylonitrile (SAN)

Sodium hydroxide

Steam

Styrene

TDI

Terephthalic acid

Toluene

Vinyl chloride (VCM)

Xylenes

OTHER POLYMERS

www.plasticseurope.org

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Manufacturer 1990 1995 2000 2007

Natureworks 8000 70000

Novamont 100 5000 10000 35000

BASF 8000 14000

Eastman 15000 0

Rodenburg 40000 0?

PHB/PHV 100 3000 500 500?

Biotec 1000 2000 4000

Biop 1000

Others (based on petrochemicals) 100 5000 5000 5000

Others (based on RRM) 50 200 1000 2000

TOTAL 350 14200 89500 131000

TOTAL FROM PETROL 100 5000 28000 19000

TOTAL FROM RRM 250 9200 61500 112000

Manufacturing capacity ofbiodegradable plastics (tpa, world)

Source: Novamont 2007

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Cost analysis for bio-based aromatics

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Yields from agricultural crops

• Energy/fuel– 9 toe/ha from energy plants (EEA for 2030)– 1 t/ha biodiesel from rapseede oil (FNR)**

• Plastics* – 4.6 t/ha PLA (polylactic acid) 6.4 t/ha corn starch (Europe)– 2.9 t/ha PLA 4 t/ha wheat starch (FNR)

– 1.1 t/ha PE (polyethylene) 4 t/ha wheat starch (FNR)– 1.4 t/ha PE 4,6 t/ha cane sugar (ave. world)– 2.8 t/ha PE 9 t/ha sugar from sugar beeds (Europe)

• World market price ratio ~ 1 : 4.5 cane versus bead sugar

* Not accounting for conversion losses

** Fachagentur Nachwachsende Rohstoffe e.V.

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Biomass-based material for use in plastics

• Plastics industry uses already renewable raw materials where they are economically viable and technically advantageous– cellulose plastics, polylactic acid or polyamide 11.– polyurethane foams and coatings partly based on sugars and natural

oils– bio-based additives such as fatty acid esters – composite systems containing natural fibers such as flax, wood fibers,

etc.

• within the German chemical industry, for instance, 10% of theoverall chemical feedstock is bio-based