This is the last article on water-based alkyds. In previous editions of “Formulating with Mike” we have covered alkyd chemistry, emulsifying alkyds, and some testing results of alkyd emulsions using a design of Experiment (DOE) to determine which inputs are the most important. In this issue we will look at the life cycle assessment of alkyd emulsions. Normally a life cycle assessment should have been done in the last two years, but the data I will be providing is a bit older than that, about five years old. Please note the life cycle assessment was done using inputs for production in Brazil, but will be similar to other regions. As usual, I wish to thank the following people for providing the information used in this article: Bruno Dario, Juliane Pereira, Silmar Barrios, Fabio Rosa, and Kip Sharp of Indorama Ventures. We will also be discussing conclusions drawn from the four articles in this series on alkyd emulsification, as well as tips/learnings from the work in this study.
A life cycle assessment (LCA) quantitatively evaluates the environmental impacts of various areas. These areas are associated with the consumption of matter and energy, as well as the generation of waste – in the form of air emissions, wastewater, solid waste, and energy loss that occur throughout the life cycle of a product. LCA was developed in the early 1970s, and since then it has been refined and supported with inventory databases and impact-assessment methodologies. Today, LCA can be applied to very complex issues aiming to compare the eco friendliness of products and processes, allowing us to design process and products for continuous improvement in the environmental dimension of sustainability. LCA is essentially a comparative method, where different systems serving the same purpose are compared. The basis of comparison is a functional unit, for instance, a specific painted area in the case of paint and coatings.