%0 Journal Article %A Menglei ZHAO %A Zeng YANG %A Jingnan ZHAO %A Yan WANG %A Xiaolei MA %A Jian GUO %T Life Cycle Assessment of Biodegradable Polylactic Acid (PLA) Plastic Packaging Products—Taking Tianjin, China as a Case Study %D 2022 %R 10.5814/j.issn.1674-764x.2022.03.008 %J Journal of Resources and Ecology %P 428-441 %V 13 %N 3 %X

In this paper, the life cycle assessment (LCA) method is used to evaluate and quantify the energy consumption and environmental impacts of biodegradable polylactic acid (PLA) plastic packaging from the five stages of raw material acquisition, raw material transportation, product production, products use and final disposal. Seven impact categories were selected for the impact analysis: abiotic depletion potential fossil fuels (ADP), global warming potential (GWP), acidification potential (AP), eutrophication potential (EP), photochemical ozone formation potential (POCP), human toxicity potential (HTP), and terrestrial ecotoxicity potential (TETP). The results of the LCA are discussed and the results show that production of products is the highest stage of the environmental impact. Meanwhile, in the entire life cycle, the top three environmental impact categories are GWP, ADP and HTP, which account for 32.63%, 24.83% and 14.01%, respectively. The LCA results show that the environmental impact can be reduced in several ways: reducing the consumption of electricity, increasing the input of new energy, increasing the conversion rate of materials in the production process, using organic and water-soluble fertilizers instead of conventional fertilizers, using environment-friendly fuels and establishing a sound recycling system.

%U https://www.jorae.cn/EN/10.5814/j.issn.1674-764x.2022.03.008