State of art review on Life Cycle Assessment of polymers

Sustainable polymers are environmentally benign and better alternative for fossil-based petrochemical polymers. Sustainable polymers consume lesser energy, minimal environmental impact and are economically balanced. This article presents cumulative review of Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of fossil and biopolymers. LCA is performed for different polymers with different scenarios and categories: Cradle to Gate and Cradle to Grave. Environmental impact of different polymers is analysed and compared for different scenarios with different strategies (Cradle to Gate and Cradle to Grave). Product and process-based polymers are considered for review and Articles from various journals and publisher are considered for review. Based on the review, it was found that Global Warming (GW), Acidification Potential (AP) and Eutrophication Potential (EP) were focused impacts in many studies based on environmental viewpoint. SimaPro software and Ecoinvent database were widely used in studies to find environmental impact. Most of the articles were focused on Cradle to Gate boundary system, and among End of Life (EoL) scenarios, recycling, landfill, incineration and composting and energy recovery were mostly addressed.Abbreviations PLA: Poly Lactic Acid; TPS: Thermo Plastic Starch; PHA: Polyhydroxyalkanoates; PBS: Polybutylene succinate; ABS: Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene; HIPS: High Impact Polystyrene; HDPE: High Density Polyethylene; LDPE: Low Density Polyethylene; PE: Polyethylene; EG: Ethylene Glycol; PP: Poly Propylene; PS: Polystyrene; PET: Polyethylene Terephthalate; PL: Polyester; GPPS: General Purpose Polystyrene; Ozone Depletion: OD; CO2 emission; COE; Greenhouse Gas: GHG; Climate Change: CC; Global Warming: GW; Acidification Potential: AP; Eutrophication Potential: EP; Carcinogenics: CAR; Non Carcinogenics: NCAR; Respiratory Effects / Respiratory Organics: RE / RO; Ecotoxicity: ET; Fossil Fuel Depletion: FFD; Metal Depletion: MD; Smog Formation: SF; Abiotic Depletion: AD; Natural Resources Depletion: NRP; Particulate Matter Formation: PMF; Radiation: R; Minerals Depletion: MSD; Urban Land use: ULU; Agricultural Land use / land occupation Potential/Urban Land Occupation/ Natural Land Transformation: ALU/ LOP/ULO/NLT; Water Depletion: WD; Fresh water Eutrophication: FWE; Fresh water/ Water Use: FW/WU; Human Health: HH; HH Cancer: HHC; HH Noncancer: HHNC; Carbon Footprint: CFP; Human Toxicity: HT; Energy: Marine Aquatic Ecotoxicity / Marine Ecotoxicity: MAET/ MET; Photo Chemical Oxidation: PCO; Terrestrial Ecotoxicity: TET; Terrestrial Acidification: TA: Terrestrial Eutrophication: TE; Non Renewable Energy Use: NREU; Ionizing Radiation: IR