Environmental Life Cycle Assessment of Poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) (PHB): A Comparative Study with Petrochemical and Bio-Based Polymers
Magdalena Wojnarowska,
Marcin Rychwalski and
Tomasz Witko ()
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Magdalena Wojnarowska: Department of Technology and Ecology of Products, College of Management and Quality Sciences, Krakow University of Economics, 31-510 Krakow, Poland
Marcin Rychwalski: Department of Technology and Ecology of Products, College of Management and Quality Sciences, Krakow University of Economics, 31-510 Krakow, Poland
Tomasz Witko: Department of Technology and Ecology of Products, College of Management and Quality Sciences, Krakow University of Economics, 31-510 Krakow, Poland
Resources, 2025, vol. 14, issue 10, 1-31
Abstract:
In the context of the urgent global transition toward sustainable materials, this study presents a comparative environmental life cycle assessment (LCA) of poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) (PHB), a biodegradable, bio-based polymer, against conventional petrochemical plastics (polystyrene—PS; polypropylene—PP) and another popular biopolymer, namely polylactic acid (PLA). The LCA was conducted using primary production data from a laboratory-scale PHB manufacturing process, integrating real-time energy consumption measurements across all production stages. Environmental indicators such as carbon footprint and energy demand were analyzed under cradle-to-gate and end-of-life scenarios. The results indicate that PHB, while offering biodegradability and renewable sourcing, currently exhibits a significantly higher carbon footprint than PP, PS, and PLA, primarily due to its energy-intensive downstream processing. However, the environmental impact of PHB can be markedly reduced—by over 67%—through partial integration of renewable energy. PLA demonstrated the lowest production-phase emissions, while PP showed the most favorable end-of-life outcomes under municipal waste management assumptions. The study highlights the critical influence of energy sourcing, production scale, and waste treatment infrastructure on the sustainability performance of biopolymers. These findings provide practical insights for industry and policymakers aiming to reduce the environmental burden of plastics and support a shift toward circular material systems.
Keywords: life cycle assessment; biopolymers; polyhydroxyalkanoates; energy consumption; bacterial fermentation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jresou:v:14:y:2025:i:10:p:162-:d:1767813
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