Comparative Study of a Life Cycle Assessment for Bio-Plastic Straws and Paper Straws: Malaysia’s Perspective
| Autor: | Jully Tan, Azmi Mohd Shariff, Lian See Tan, Chun Hung Moy, Noor Fazliani Shoparwe |
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| Rok vydání: | 2021 |
| Předmět: |
Beverage industry
acidification potential 0211 other engineering and technologies Bioengineering TP1-1185 02 engineering and technology 010501 environmental sciences 01 natural sciences Bioplastic Environmental issue life cycle assessment Chemical Engineering (miscellaneous) Environmental impact assessment 021108 energy QD1-999 Life-cycle assessment 0105 earth and related environmental sciences Waste management Chemical technology Process Chemistry and Technology eutrophication potential bio-plastic straws Chemistry global warming potential Sustainability Environmental science Plastic waste Global-warming potential paper straws |
| Zdroj: | Processes Volume 9 Issue 6 Processes, Vol 9, Iss 1007, p 1007 (2021) |
| ISSN: | 2227-9717 |
| DOI: | 10.3390/pr9061007 |
| Popis: | Plastics are used for various applications, including in the food and beverage industry, for the manufacturing of plastic utensils and straws. The higher utilization of plastic straws has indirectly resulted in the significant disposal of plastic waste, which has become a serious environmental issue. Alternatively, bio-plastic and paper straws have been introduced to reduce plastic waste. However, limited studies are available on the environmental assessment of drinking straws. Life cycle assessment (LCA) studies for bio-plastic and paper straws have not been comprehensively performed previously. Therefore, the impact of both bio-plastic and paper straws on the environment are quantified and compared in this study. Parameters, such as the global warming potential (GWP), acidification potential (AP) and eutrophication potential (EP), were evaluated. The input–output data of the bio-plastic and paper straws processes from a gate-to-grave analysis were obtained from the literature and generated using the SuperPro Designer V9 process simulator. The results show that bio-plastic straws, which are also known as polylactic acid (PLA) straws, had reduced environmental impacts compared to paper straws. The outcomes of this work provide an insight into the application of bio-plastic and paper straws in effectively reducing the impact on the environment and in promoting sustainability, especially from the perspective of Malaysia. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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