Techno-Economic Analysis and Life Cycle Assessment of the Production of Biodegradable Polyaliphatic–Polyaromatic Polyesters

Wang, Bo-Xun; Cortes-Peña, Yoel; Grady, Brian P.; Huber, George W.; Zavala, Victor M.

doi:10.1021/acssuschemeng.4c01842

Techno-Economic Analysis and Life Cycle Assessment of the Production of Biodegradable Polyaliphatic–Polyaromatic Polyesters

Journal Article · Fri May 31 04:00:00 EDT 2024 · ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1021/acssuschemeng.4c01842· OSTI ID:2406960

Wang, Bo-Xun ^[1]; Cortes-Peña, Yoel ^[2]; ^[3]; ^[2]; ^[2]

University of Wisconsin-Madison, WI (United States); University of Wisconsin-Madison
University of Wisconsin-Madison, WI (United States)
University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK (United States)

Poly(butylene-adipate terephthalate) (PBAT) is a polyaliphatic–polyaromatic polyester that is biodegradable and has found application in several markets, making it a widely produced biodegradable polymer worldwide. However, the production of PBAT is carbon-intensive, as it relies on the use of petroleum-based monomers. There is, thus, significant interest in identifying polyesters that are biodegradable and less carbon-intensive (e.g., use of biomass- derived monomers). In this work, we develop a detailed process model (and an associated database) for the production of polyaliphatic–polyaromatic polyesters including petroleum-based PBAT and biomass-derived alternatives including poly(pentylene- adipate terephthalate) and poly(pentylene-adipate furandicarboxy- late). Techno-economic analysis (TEA) reveals that the production costs of these polyesters strongly depend on monomer costs (accounting for over 90% of the total production cost) and identifies market conditions under which biomass-based polyesters can be cost-competitive to petroleum-based PBAT. Life cycle assessment (LCA) shows that biomass-derived polyesters can reduce the global warming impact of PBAT by half. Altogether, the proposed TEA/LCA model aims to provide guidance into polyesters that are most promising and help assess their overall economic and environmental performance.

View Accepted Manuscript (DOE)

Research Organization:: University of Wisconsin-Madison, WI (United States); University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE

Grant/Contract Number:: EE0009305

OSTI ID:: 2406960

Journal Information:: ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering, Journal Name: ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering Journal Issue: 24 Vol. 12; ISSN 2168-0485

Publisher:: American Chemical Society (ACS)Copyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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Techno-Economic Analysis and Life Cycle Assessment of the Production of Biodegradable Polyaliphatic–Polyaromatic Polyesters

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