Flax fiber for technical textile: A life cycle inventory. (25th January 2021)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Gomez-Campos, Alejandra; Vialle, Claire; Rouilly, Antoine; Sablayrolles, Caroline; Hamelin, Lorie
• Is Part Of: Journal of cleaner production. Volume 281(2021)
• Publication Date: 2021-01-25
• Subjects: Consequential LCA -- System expansion -- Life cycle assessment -- Flax fiber biobased materials -- Bioeconomy; Factory and trade waste -- Management -- Periodicals; Manufactures -- Environmental aspects -- Periodicals; Déchets industriels -- Gestion -- Périodiques; Usines -- Aspect de l'environnement -- Périodiques; 628.5
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jclepro.2020.125177
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0959-6526

Abstract

Abstract: Flax fiber appears as a suitable feedstock in the endeavor of deploying a sustainable biobased economy. Its environmental performance as reinforcement in composite materials has been studied in previous Life Cycle Assessments (LCAs). However, these studies only present a coarse Life cycle Inventory (LCI) and often fail to detail all processes of the supply chain or to represent the co-products. This paper aims to bridge this gap and provide data for future LCAs on flax fiber production and transformation. The study focuses on the impacts of producing a bio-based reinforcement material (a fabric product for non-aesthetic purposes) with a system expansion perspective. The functional unit is defined as the production of 2400 m 2 flax-based technical textile per year, this corresponds to 1 ha of cultivated land. The geographical scope considers that the production occurs in France and that some manufacturing process are outsourced in China. A Sensitivity Analysis was carried out to assess the influence of the electricity mix in the various countries involved in the manufacturing cycle. A detailed life cycle inventory for flax fiber production and transformation was built and the environmental performance of a flax technical textile was assessed as a cradle-to-gate LCA. The fate of co-products was documented and was shown to contribute to the reduction of the generated environmental impacts. Through a cradle-to-gate LCA, a broader understanding of the environmental performance of a flax-based technical textile was presented by including the valorization of co-products and a wider set of analyzed impact categories, going therefore beyond the existing state-of-the-art. Results show agricultural activities and electricity production to be the biggest contributors to the environmental impacts of flax technical textile; contributions due to land use changes were minor in comparison. Very specifically for this case study, a sensibility analysis showed the influence of an all-French production to be more efficient from an environmental point of view. Graphical abstract: Image 1 Highlights: Environmental impact of the production of 2400 m 2 /y of a flax technical textile. Co-products' fate contribution to the environmental performance was assessed. A total of 16 impact categories are analyzed. A 100% French manufacture process reduces the environmental impact by 30–90%. Biggest impacts' contributors are agricultural activities and electricity production.