Metrics for quantifying the circularity of bioplastics: The case of bio-based and biodegradable mulch films

Razza, Francesco; Briani, Cristiana; Breton, Tony; Marazza, Diego

doi:10.1016/j.resconrec.2020.104753

Cited by 50 publications

(30 citation statements)

References 20 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…The dwindling of fossil resources provides a strong drive to the development of bio-based products, while the possibility to mitigate environmental pollution or simplify organic waste collection are big motivations behind the development of biodegradable and compostable plastic products. Bioplastics already find applications on the market, particularly as packaging [ 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 ], carrier and compost bags [ 5 , 6 ]; they are also applied in the agriculture and horticulture sector [ 6 , 8 ], and in the automotive and electronic industry [ 6 , 9 ]. Furthermore, biodegradable polymers have been long applied in biomedicine [ 5 , 10 , 11 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Still, the production of bio-based plastics is limited to one percent of the worldwide plastic production [ 7 , 12 ] and their adoption comes with uncertainties, as acknowledged in the EC Communication “A European Strategy for Plastics in a Circular Economy” [ 13 ]. This is exemplified by the research focused on bioplastics sustainability and [ 8 , 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 ] biodegradability [ 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 ], as well as the attention of media to the subject. Excluding the ample literature on biomedical applications, academic research has been focusing on the synthesis of bio-based polymers [ 31 , 32 ], on the life cycle assessment (LCA) of the production and end-of-life (EOL) [ 20 , 24 , 33 , 34 ] of different bioplastics, and biodegradation under different conditions [ 10 , 14 , 35 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

A Review of Bioplastics and Their Adoption in the Circular Economy

2021

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The European Union is working towards the 2050 net-zero emissions goal and tackling the ever-growing environmental and sustainability crisis by implementing the European Green Deal. The shift towards a more sustainable society is intertwined with the production, use, and disposal of plastic in the European economy. Emissions generated by plastic production, plastic waste, littering and leakage in nature, insufficient recycling, are some of the issues addressed by the European Commission. Adoption of bioplastics–plastics that are biodegradable, bio-based, or both–is under assessment as one way to decouple society from the use of fossil resources, and to mitigate specific environmental risks related to plastic waste. In this work, we aim at reviewing the field of bioplastics, including standards and life cycle assessment studies, and discuss some of the challenges that can be currently identified with the adoption of these materials.

show abstract

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Review of Bioplastics and Their Adoption in the Circular Economy

2021

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Much research work has been carried out to develop new CRFs containing natural polymers, instead of synthetic polymers. The substitution of synthetic polymers derived from fossil sources with natural polymers is a current major environmental issue [3]. Although biodegradable polymers can be also synthesized from monomers obtained from the petrochemical industry, the consumption of chemicals from fossil sources is a major source of GHG emission.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A New Composite Biomaterial Made from Sunflower Proteins, Urea, and Soluble Polymers Obtained from Industrial and Municipal Biowastes to Perform as Slow Release Fertiliser

et al. 2021

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Controlled-release fertilizers (CRF) are needed under current agriculture practice to decrease the environmental impact caused by fertilizer doses applied in excess of plants’ uptake rate. Commercial CRF are available. They are manufactured from mineral fertilizers encapsulated into a synthetic polymer matrix or coated by a polymer layer. However, substitution of fossil sourced organic polymers with biopolymers is a major environmental concern. In the present paper, we describe the manufacture by a continuous twin-screw extrusion process, and the mechanical and chemical properties of injection-molded composite pellets containing 90% sunflower protein concentrate (SPC) matrix, and 5–10% of a biopolymer (BP) obtained from municipal biowastes (MBW), and/or urea (U). The reported results show that SPC-BP-U behaves as an efficient eco-friendly CRF. BP contributes to several benefits to the performance of the composite pellets, upon increasing surface hardness, and controlling the formation of ammonia from urea hydrolysis and the release of organic nitrogen. The SPC-BP-U appears a powerful eco-friendly CRF to supply organic C and the three major N, P, and K nutrients to soil and plants. It offers worthwhile scope for being tested in the cultivation of specific plants under the real operational conditions of agriculture practices.

show abstract

“…This shortcoming is likely exacerbated for the circularity assessment of already manufactured products, in which case circularity improvements are limited to end-of-life strategies. MCI could adopt more advanced designs to address this aspect, similar to the efforts made to respond to some other limitations of this method [11,28], or be combined with other circularity indicators better suited to account for end-of-life management practices and secondary material quality [10,[29][30][31][32][33][34][35][36]. Multiple circularity indicators have been developed exclusively to support end-of-life management practices and secondary material quality that could be used to complement MCI given some additional data of end-of-life procedures, material pricing or market potential [10,[29][30][31][32][33][34][35].…”

Section: Opportunities and Limitations Of The New Comparative Approach And Potential Implications For MCI Use And Developmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

Environmental Trade-Offs of Downcycling in Circular Economy: Combining Life Cycle Assessment and Material Circularity Indicator to Inform Circularity Strategies for Alkaline Batteries

2021

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The application of circularity strategies to improve resource use and recovery should be considered with their potential impacts on the environment. Their effectiveness could be evaluated by combining the material circularity indicator (MCI) and life cycle assessment (LCA) methods. Environmental trade-offs may be underestimated for some strategies given that the loss of material quality with recycling has not been captured within the methodological framework of MCI. The current study demonstrates how significantly this limitation may influence the trade-offs in a case study. The methods are applied to several scenarios for the circularity improvement of alkaline batteries. The joint interpretation of MCI and LCA scores is carried out using waterfall charts and normalized indicator scores. Results suggest that improving circularity generally reduces environmental impacts, although there is large variability among two sets of values. For example, an increase of MCI score by 14% for two recycling scenarios translates to a small reduction of impacts in one case (0.06–1.64%) and a large reduction in another (9.84–56.82%). Observations from the case study are used to discuss the design and scope of MCI use and its combining with LCA. Lastly, we draw on the opportunities of the new comparative approach.

show abstract

Metrics for quantifying the circularity of bioplastics: The case of bio-based and biodegradable mulch films

Cited by 50 publications

References 20 publications

A Review of Bioplastics and Their Adoption in the Circular Economy

A Review of Bioplastics and Their Adoption in the Circular Economy

A New Composite Biomaterial Made from Sunflower Proteins, Urea, and Soluble Polymers Obtained from Industrial and Municipal Biowastes to Perform as Slow Release Fertiliser

Environmental Trade-Offs of Downcycling in Circular Economy: Combining Life Cycle Assessment and Material Circularity Indicator to Inform Circularity Strategies for Alkaline Batteries

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About