Does anyone have information on life cycle inventories (LCI) of PHB biopolymer (polyhydroxybutyrate)?

I have just started a literature review of bioplastic packaging. If you want, we could share our findings in a Mendeley Group. I found some end-of-life specific studies, maybe you miss them in the list below since I have not started to process those.

"Lorite, G. S., Rocha, J. M., Miilumäki, N., Saavalainen, P., Selkälä, T., Morales-Cid, G., … Toth, G. (2017). Evaluation of physicochemical/microbial properties and life cycle assessment (LCA) of PLA-based nanocomposite active packaging. LWT - Food Science and Technology, 75, 305–315.

Fresh cut fruit packaging LCA for PLA and PET. The presence of nanoclays and surfactants in the PLA formulations improved their performance, thus contributing to bring the characteristic and behaviour of PLA packages close to those of PET. PLA packaging with nanoclays had the highest environmental performance.

Razza, F., Innocenti, F. D., Dobon, A., Aliaga, C., Sanchez, C., & Hortal, M. (2015). Environmental profile of a bio-based and biodegradable foamed packaging prototype in comparison with the current benchmark. Journal of Cleaner Production, 102, 493–500. LCA of expanded packaging can also be made from renewable and biodegradable raw materials. In this case, the use of a renewable feedstock, such as starch, can reduce the oil dependence and biodegradability can enable the organic recycling of the final product.

Port-hole spacers for washing machines are mainly made from expanded polystyrene. Life cycle assessment results indicate that the prototype is characterized by a lower consumption of non-renewable energy resources (_50%) and lower greenhouse gas emissions (_60%) compared to the benchmark (expanded polystyrene packaging). This was mainly due to the use of a renewable feedstock (starch). The photochemical ozone creation potential resulted significantly lower (_90%) thanks to the abolition of the expanding agent (i.e. pentane) used in the polystyrene expansion process. The environmental profile of the prototype is mainly affected by the Land Use Change for global warming potential and by the type of starch used for eutrophication and acidification. The use of biodegradable packaging makes it possible to increase the level of recovery by means of organic recycling. Considering the organic recycling rate in the countries where the washing machines are supplied it has been estimated that the cushioning packaging waste that goes to landfill would go from 52% (current scenario with expanded polystyrene packaging) to 37%, whereas recycling would go from 0.5% (mechanical recycling of expanded polystyrene) to 40% (organic recycling of the prototype). A packaging system potentially suitable for inclusion in the industrial composting process opens new routes for waste treatment.

van der Harst, E., Potting, J., & Kroeze, C. (2014). Multiple data sets and modelling choices in a comparative LCA of disposable beverage cups. Science of the Total Environment, 494–495, 129–143. Comparing typical disposable beverage cups made from polystyrene (PS), polylactic acid (PLA; bioplastic) and paper lined with bioplastic (biopaper). Incineration and recycling were considered as waste processing options, and for the PLA and biopaper cup also composting and anaerobic digestion. The LCA the environmental impact dominated: (1) production of the cup's basic material (PS, PLA, biopaper), (2) cup manufacturing, and (3) waste processing. The average waste treatment results indicate that recycling is the preferred option for PLA cups, followed by anaerobic digestion and incineration.

Recycling is slightly preferred over incineration for the biopaper cups. There is no preferred waste treatment option for the PS cups. The only exception is composting, which is least preferred for both PLA and biopaper cups.

Galotto, M., & Ulloa, P. (2010). Effect of high‐pressure food processing on the mass transfer properties of selected packaging materials. Packaging and Technology and Science, 23(May), 253–266.

End of life of biopackaging products.

Bioplastics (a) conventional plastics made from renewable resources, which can contain a proportion of fossil resources; (b) polymers made from fossil or renewable resources, which are suitable for home composting; (c) polymers produced from fossil or renewable resources, which are the standard for industrial composting; and (d) oxodegradable plastics, which are made from polyethylene (PE) and a few additives and are degradable under atmospheric conditions because of the action of ultraviolet radiation and oxygen.

Bioplastics

Can either be collected together with other packaging waste, residual waste or organic waste, depending on the collection system implemented in each country.

• Scenario 1: Bioplastics are selectively collected with other packaging waste, which can be material recycling (if adapted, sorting equipment is used), energy recovery (gasification or combustion), composting (if bioplastics are compostable) or landfilling, which is undesirable.

• Scenario 2: Bioplastics, which are collected in the residual waste container, will end their life as landfill or their energy content will be recovered in municipal solid waste incineration facilities.

In some countries, where packaging and other recyclable components are sorted out from the commingled municipal solid waste streams. Only the most relevant packaging materials (in weight) that have a clear market value are being recovered in those plants.

• Scenario 3: Only a few countries offer a valid alternative to selective organic waste collection, so citizens actually have a third option: to throw bioplastics away. In such cases, the alternative of

composting as an end-of-life option should be taken into consideration. Nevertheless, it should also be taken into account that not all bioplastics are compostable and in some cases composting infrastructures might not be able to be adapted to treat bioplastic packaging.

Ingrao, C., Tricase, C., Cholewa-Wójcik, A., Kawecka, A., Rana, R., & Siracusa, V. (2015). Polylactic acid trays for fresh-food packaging: A Carbon Footprint assessment. Science of the Total Environment, 537, 385–398.

The life-cycle of polylactic acid trays was modelled using Carbon Footprint (CF);

• The most impacting processes within the defined system boundary were highlighted;

• A comparison with conventional synthetic polymer trays were performed;

• Two different transport systems for polylactic acid granule supply were evaluated;

• The influence of transport on the CF associated with the system was so documented.

Hottle, T. A., Bilec, M. M., & Landis, A. E. (2013). Sustainability assessments of bio-based polymers. Polymer Degradation and Stability, 98(9), 1898–1907.

Bio-based polymers have become feasible alternatives to traditional petroleum-based plastics. However, the factors that influence the sustainability of bio-based polymers are often unclear. This paper reviews published life cycle assessments (LCAs) and commonly used LCA databases that quantify the environmental sustainability of bio-based polymers and summarizes the range of findings reported within the literature.

Madival, S., Auras, R., Singh, S. P., & Narayan, R. (2009). Assessment of the environmental profile of PLA, PET and PS clamshell containers using LCA methodology. Journal of Cleaner Production, 17(13), 1183–1194.

Life cycle assessments of bio-based polymer resin and products historically have shown favorable results in terms of environmental impacts and energy use compared to petroleum-based products. However, calculation of these impacts always depends on the system and boundary conditions considered during the study. This paper reports a cradle-to-cradle Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of poly(lactic acid) (PLA) in comparison with poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) and poly(styrene) (PS) thermoformed clamshell containers, used for packaging of strawberries with emphasis on different end-of-life scenarios. It considers all the inputs such as fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides and seed corn required for the growing and harvesting of corn used for manufacturing PLA. For PET and PS, the extraction of crude oil and the entire cracking processes from crude oil through styrene and ethylene glycol and terephathalic acid are considered. Global warming, aquatic acidification, aquatic eutrophication, aquatic ecotoxicity, ozone depletion, non-renewable energy and respiratory organics, land occupation and respiratory inorganics were the selected midpoint impact categories. The geographical scope of the study reflects data from Europe, North America and the Middle East. PET showed the highest overall values for all the impact categories, mainly due to the higher weight of the containers. The main impacts to the environment were the resin production and the transportation stage of the resins and containers. This implies that the transportation stage of the package is an important contributor to the environmental impact of the packaging systems, and that it cannot be diminished.

Matsuura, E., Ye, Y., & He, X. (2008). Sustainability opportunities and challenges of bioplastics. School of Engineering. Blekinge Institute of …, 79.

Various sustainability challenges and opportunities were identified. Most threats were in agricultural production and in the disposal of products. Compelling measures for the BP industry include: having a consensus in BPs applications based on strategic sustainable development, universal labelling and recycling systems for BPs, government strategic policies to encourage research into new technologies in improving biodegradability and energy efficiency in manufacturing.

Siracusa, V., Rocculi, P., Romani, S., & Rosa, M. D. (2008). Biodegradable polymers for food packaging: a review. Trends in Food Science and Technology, 19(12), 634–643.

The aim of this review was to offer a complete view of the state of the art on biodegradable polymer packages for food application.

Lutters, E., Luttikhuis, E. J. O., Toxopeus, M. E., & Klooster, R. (n.d.). Appropriateness of Life Cycle Assessments for Product / Packaging Combinations 2013. Conference"

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