Abstract
The study aims to develop a full-scale plant to produce biobased PU foam from microwave liquefaction of riparian shrubs and to evaluate its environmental burden using a cradle-to-gate, scaled-up LCA approach. Life Cycle Inventory was built on experimental data for polyol synthesis by using Response Surface Methodology (RSM) to maximize the liquefaction yield. Bio-based PU foam was also compared with the petrochemical counterpart. Life Cycle Assessment was carried out using SimaPro 9.0 software and impacts were evaluated with EPD 2007 method. The results indicate that the methylene diphenyl diisocyanate production and the energy consumption for the liquefaction step are the major sources of impacts. Overall, the environmental superiority of biobased polyurethane cannot always be claimed with respect to their fossil counterpart. Finally, a simplified economic assessment showed that for the bio-based PU foam an interesting profitability could be obtained for a market price of 4.5 €/kg.
Highlights
Polyurethane (PU) foams have several applications in industry, such as in construction, packaging, and furniture production [1]
Life Cycle Inventory was built on experimental data for polyol synthesis by using Response Surface Methodology (RSM) to maximize the liquefaction yield
The system boundaries for the life cycle assessment of the bio-based PU foam are shown in Fig. 1 where the production process is divided into three subsystems: biomass pretreatment (S1), polyol production (S2), and PU foam production (S3)
Summary
Polyurethane (PU) foams have several applications in industry, such as in construction, packaging, and furniture production [1]. The raw materials used for the production of PU, polyol and isocyanate, are usually obtained from petroleum [2]. The liquefaction process is an interesting option to convert lignocellulosic biomass into useful bio-polyol. For the first time, riparian woody shrubs have been considered as raw material. The riparian vegetation is characterized by different ecosystems based on the characteristics of the watercourse where they grow. Riverbanks should be subjected to regular maintenance, which can produce a considerable amount of residual shrub and wood biomass
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