Comparison of Oleo- vs Petro-Sourcing of Fatty Alcohols via Cradle-to-Gate Life Cycle Assessment.

ABSTRACT: Alcohol ethoxylates surfactants are produced via ethoxylation of fatty alcohol (FA) with ethylene oxide. The source of FA could be either palm kernel oil (PKO) or petrochemicals. The study aimed to compare the potential environmental impacts for PKO-derived FA (PKO-FA) and petrochemicals-derived FA (petro-FA). Cradle-to-gate life cycle assessment has been performed for this purpose because it enables understanding of the impacts across the life cycle and impact categories. The results show that petro-FA has overall lower average greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions (~2.97 kg CO₂e) compared to PKO-FA (~5.27 kg CO₂e). (1) The practices in land use change for palm plantations, (2) end-of-life treatment for palm oil mill wastewater effluent and (3) end-of-life treatment for emp

SUBMITTER: Shah J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5055910 | biostudies-literature | 2016

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature