Untitled - avniR

Mechanical
recycling
Enregy
recovery
Landfill
Mechanical
recycling
Enregy
recovery
Landfill
Mechanical
recycling
Enregy
recovery
Landfill
Congrès International sur l’Analyse du Cycle de Vie Lille, Novembre 2011
- End-of-life
The results show that the mechanical recycling is more interesting than the energy recovery
approach and the landfill (cf. FIG. 2).
Abiotic depletion potential
(fossil) [MJ]
10
1,5
Global warming potential
[kg CO2-Equiv.]
Water consumption
100%
5
1
Textile insulation production
80%
0
0,5
Classic insulation production
Eutrophication
potential
60%
40%
20%
Energy resources
consumption
-5
-10
0
-0,5
Energy recovery
Energy and steam production
Landfill
0%
-15
-1
NET
Global warming
potential
10
Abiotic depletion potential
(fossil) [MJ]
Abiotic depletion
potential (fossil)
-20
-1,5
5
0
Acidification potential
-5
Sheet n°1
Sheet n°2
Sheet n°3
Sheet n°4
Textile insulation production
Energy recovery
Landfill
Classic insulation production
Energy and steam production
NET
FIG. 1 – Environmental impacts for -10the bed-sheets 1 to 4 FIG. 2 - Influence of the end-of-life of a bed-sheet
-15
Discussions
-20
The results obtained for the bed-sheets 2 and 4 are partly explained by the longer lifetime of these
two articles. In fact, the polyester and the easy-care treatment lead to a better abrasion resistance. For the
bed-sheet n°4 the results are also related to the removal of ironing step during the use phase. Thus,
despite an additional finishing step for the easy-care treatment, there is a reduction of environmental
impacts.
For the end-of-life of bed-sheets, it is more interesting to perform a mechanical recycling rather
than energy recovery approach or landfill. However, only two environmental impacts are studied. It is
necessary to study a larger number of indicators for an overall vision.
The impacts of mechanical recycling are mainly due to the presence of polyester bi-component
used as binder in the production of textile insulation. The negative impact of the binder was also
demonstrated by the study of Murphy and Norton [2].
Conclusions
It is possible to act on all stages of the cycle of a textile product to reduce its environmental impact.
LCA is a tool that enables companies to make the best choices for the design and the production of their
products. With LCA the manufacturers have also a vision of the overall life cycle of the item, and can work
on the end of life for example.
References
[1] European Commission, 2003, Reference document on Best Available Techniques for the
textiles industry, IPPC
[2] Murphy R.J. and A. Norton, 2008, Life cycle assessments of natural fibre insulation materials,
NNFCC
[3] National Renewable Energy Laboratory, 2000, U.S. Life Cycle Inventory (LCI) Database
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