Integrating Life Cycle Assessment
and Eco-design Strategies
for a Sustainable Production
of Bio-based Plastics
Venkateshwaran Venkatachalam, Sebastian Spierling,
Hans-Josef Endres and Andrea Siebert-Raths
Abstract In order to design and develop a sustainable bio-based plastic product
right from its development phase, it is necessary to analyse and interpret the direct
and indirect environmental impacts along the life cycle of the product system
through life cycle thinking. Eco-design is a well-established approach in designing
products with the consideration and integration of the environmental impacts of the
product system, and Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is a standardized methodology
to quantify and analyse the environmental impacts of the product system along the
production chain. This paper identifies the practical needs for integrating LCA and
eco-design strategies into the production of bio-based plastic products, taking a
bio-based computer mouse body made of Poly Lactic Acid (PLA) as a case study.
1 Introduction
Plastics have an important role in our daily life. From packaging to automotive
areas, the use of plastics has steadily increased during the last 100 years and is
predicted to keep growing in the future [1]. The major part of the current plastics is
based on fossil resources like crude oil. However, in the past few decades,
bio-based plastics have become a focus in plastic research [2], due to the finiteness
of fossil-based raw materials, renewability of the feedstock used in the bio-based
plastics and the current challenges of climate change. Bio-based plastics are defined
as ready to use blends, which consist of biopolymers and additives [2]. With
increasing bio-based plastic production, the question of whether the bio-based
plastics a sustainable alternative to conventional plastics, have been raised repeatedly. Many LCA studies have been conducted for biopolymers [3] but most of these
LCA studies are used as a communication tool to show its environmental performance rather than integrated to the design of products manufactured from these
V. Venkatachalam (&) Á S. Spierling Á H.-J. Endres Á A. Siebert-Raths
Faculty II—Mechanical Engineering and Bio Process Engineering, Institute for Bioplastics
and Biocomposites, University of Applied Sciences and Arts, Hannover, Germany
e-mail: venkateshwaran.venkatachalam@hs-hannover.de
© The Author(s) 2018
E. Benetto et al. (eds.), Designing Sustainable Technologies,
Products and Policies, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-66981-6_54
487
and Eco-design Strategies
for a Sustainable Production
of Bio-based Plastics
Venkateshwaran Venkatachalam, Sebastian Spierling,
Hans-Josef Endres and Andrea Siebert-Raths
Abstract In order to design and develop a sustainable bio-based plastic product
right from its development phase, it is necessary to analyse and interpret the direct
and indirect environmental impacts along the life cycle of the product system
through life cycle thinking. Eco-design is a well-established approach in designing
products with the consideration and integration of the environmental impacts of the
product system, and Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is a standardized methodology
to quantify and analyse the environmental impacts of the product system along the
production chain. This paper identifies the practical needs for integrating LCA and
eco-design strategies into the production of bio-based plastic products, taking a
bio-based computer mouse body made of Poly Lactic Acid (PLA) as a case study.
1 Introduction
Plastics have an important role in our daily life. From packaging to automotive
areas, the use of plastics has steadily increased during the last 100 years and is
predicted to keep growing in the future [1]. The major part of the current plastics is
based on fossil resources like crude oil. However, in the past few decades,
bio-based plastics have become a focus in plastic research [2], due to the finiteness
of fossil-based raw materials, renewability of the feedstock used in the bio-based
plastics and the current challenges of climate change. Bio-based plastics are defined
as ready to use blends, which consist of biopolymers and additives [2]. With
increasing bio-based plastic production, the question of whether the bio-based
plastics a sustainable alternative to conventional plastics, have been raised repeatedly. Many LCA studies have been conducted for biopolymers [3] but most of these
LCA studies are used as a communication tool to show its environmental performance rather than integrated to the design of products manufactured from these
V. Venkatachalam (&) Á S. Spierling Á H.-J. Endres Á A. Siebert-Raths
Faculty II—Mechanical Engineering and Bio Process Engineering, Institute for Bioplastics
and Biocomposites, University of Applied Sciences and Arts, Hannover, Germany
e-mail: venkateshwaran.venkatachalam@hs-hannover.de
© The Author(s) 2018
E. Benetto et al. (eds.), Designing Sustainable Technologies,
Products and Policies, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-66981-6_54
487