Sustainable Plastics Environmental Assessments of Biobased, Biodegradable, and Recycled Plastics

Dr. Joseph Greene is a professor in the Mechanical Engineering and Sustainable Manufacturing Department at California State University. Dr. Greene began teaching in August of 1998 after a 14-year career with General Motors Corporation in Detroit, Michigan. His research interests include compostable and biodegradable polymers, biobased plastics, recycled plastics, composting technology, and anaerobic digestion.

Preface i

Acknowledgements ii

Glossary iii

Chapter 1. Introduction to Sustainability 1

1.1 Sustainability Definition

1.2 Green Chemistry Definitions

1.3 Green Engineering Definitions

1.4 Sustainability Definitions for Manufacturing

1.5 Life Cycle Assessment (LCA)

1.6 Lean and Green Manufacturing

1.7 Summary

1.8 References

1.9 Review Questions

1.10 Review Problems

1.11 Review Exercises

Chapter 2. Environmental Issues 13

2.1 The Planet is Warming

2.2 Melting of Glaciers

2.3 Rising Seas

2.4 Causes of Global Warming

2.5 Ocean Pollution and Marine Debris

2.6 Chemical Pollution from Plastics

2.7 Landfill Trash

2.8 Summary

2.9 References

2.10 Review Questions

2.11 Review Problems

2.12 Review Exercises

Chapter 3. Life Cycle Information 46

3.1 LCA for Environmental Hazards

3.2 Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) Definitions

3.3 ISO 14040/14044 LCA Standards

3.4 Sensitivity Analysis

3.5 Minimal Acceptable Framework for Life Cycle Assessments (LCAs)

3.6 LCI for Petroleum-Based Plastics

3.7 LCA for Biobased Poly Lactic Acid (PLA)

3.8 Summary

3.9 References

3.10 Review Questions

3.11 Review Problems

3.12 Review Exercises

Chapter 4. Biobased and Biodegradable Polymers 63

4.1 Biobased and Biodegradable Definitions

4.2 Biobased Polymers

4.3 Petroleum-based Compostable Polymers

4.4 LCA of Compostable and Biodegradable Polymers

4.5 Summary

4.6 Review Questions

4.7 Review Problems

4.8 Review Exercises

Chapter 5. Biobased and Recycled Petroleum-Based Plastics 95

5.1 Biobased Conventional Plastics

5.2 Recycled Petroleum-Based Plastics

5.3 Oxodegradable Additives for Plastics

5.4 Summary

5.5 References

5.6 Review Questions

5.7 Review Problems

5.8 Review Exercises

Chapter 6. End-of-Life Options for Plastics 113

6.1 U.S. EPA WARM Program

6.2 Mechanical recycling of plastics

6.3 Chemical recycling

6.4 Composting

6.5 Waste to energy

6.6 Landfill Operations

6.7 LCA of end-of-life options

6.8 Summary

6.9 References

6.10 Review Questions

6.11 Review Problems

6.12 Review Exercises

Chapter 7. Sustainable Plastic Products 129

7.1 Introduction

7.2 Sustainable plastic packaging

7.3 Sustainable plastic grocery bags

7.4 LCA of sustainable plastic bottles

7.5 Summary

7.6 References

7.7 Review Questions

7.8 Review Problems

7.9 Review Exercises

Chapter 8. Biobased and Biodegradation Standards for Polymeric Materials 169

8.1 Introduction

8.2 Biobased standard test method

8.3 Industrial Compost Environment

8.4 Marine Environment

8.5 Anaerobic Digestion

8.6 Active Landfill

8.7 Home Compost

8.8 Soil biodegradation

8.9 Summary

8.10 References

8.11 Review Questions

8.12 Review Problems

8.13 Review Exercises

Chapter 9. Sustainable Strategies for Plastics Companies 213

9.1 Sustainable plastics manufacturing and best practices

9.2 Manual creation of LCA calculations

9.3 Carbon Credits and Carbon Taxes

9.4 Summary

9.5 References

9.6 Review Questions

9.7 Review Problems

9.8 Review Exercises

Chapter 10. Future Sustainable Plastics 223

10.1 Sustainable biobased plastics from renewable non-food sources

10.2 Sustainable traditional plastics from renewable non-food sources

10.3 Growth in biobased plastics with development of durable goods

10.4 Growth in biobased plastics for pharmaceuticals and medical devices

10.5 Summary

10.6 References

10.7 Review Questions

10.8 Review Problems

10.9 Review Exercises

Appendix A. Injection Molding 234

A.1 Introduction

A.2 Process control during injection molding

A.3 Molds for injection molding

A.4 Molding defects

A.5 References

Appendix B. Extrusion 249

B.1 Introduction

B.2 Extrusion processing

B.3 Extrusion process control

B.4 Extrusion defects

B.5 References

Appendix C. Blow Molding 257

C.1 Extrusion blow molding

C.2 Injection stretch blow molding

C.3 References

Appendix D. Industrial Compost Biodegradation Testing 261

D.1 Methodology

D.2 Materials

D.3 Carbon Content Testing Results

D.4 Biodegradation Results

D.5 Phytotoxicity  Testing

D.6 Regulated Heavy Metals Testing

D.7 References

Appendix E. Marine Biodegradation Testing 269

E.1 Methodology

E.2 Materials

E.3 Experimental Set-up

E.4 Marine Biodegradation Results

Appendix F. Answers to Selected Questions at the End of Each Chapter 274

Appendix G.
Index 278

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