Comparative Study of a Life Cycle Assessment for Bio-Plastic Straws and Paper Straws: Malaysia’s Perspective

Processes

Azmi Mohd Shariff¹  Noor Fazliani Shoparwe²  Chun-Hung Moy³  Lian-See Tan³  Jully Tan⁴ 

[1] Chemical Engineering Department, Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS, Seri Iskandar, Perak 32610, Malaysia;Faculty of Bioengineering and Technology, Jeli Campus, Universiti Malaysia Kelantan, Jeli, Kelantan 17600, Malaysia;Malaysia-Japan International Institute of Technology, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Jalan Sultan Yahya Petra, Kuala Lumpur 54100, Malaysia;School of Engineering, Monash University Malaysia, Jalan Lagoon Selatan, Bandar Sunway, Selangor 47500, Malaysia;

关键词: life cycle assessment;    global warming potential;    acidification potential;    eutrophication potential;    bio-plastic straws;    paper straws;   

DOI  :  10.3390/pr9061007

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

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.

【 授权许可】

Unknown