A Comparative Life Cycle Assessment of Alternative Polymers to Poly(vinyl chloride) for Use in Flooring Applications

Abstract: Poly(vinyl chloride) has a long history of use in the flooring industry. Throughout the years, several environmental and health issues have arisen concerning the production, usage and disposal of PVC. Forbo Flooring Systems is a company striving to provide environmentally friendly products for their customers, and therefore has an investigation of alternative polymers to PVC been initiated. The aim of this study is to investigate the environmental effects of the production of alternative polymers to PVC. The study consists of two main parts: • A literature research in which potential alternative polymers were selected for further investigation based on qualities required in flooring applications. • A life cycle assessment where the alternative polymers environmental impacts were evaluated using S-PVC as benchmark. In the literature study, four alternative polymers were found: modified poly(phenylene ether) (mPPE), epoxidized linseed oil (ELO), ethylene methacrylic acid (EMAA) and ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA). The LCA results showed that PVC had the lowest environmental impact of the five different polymers. In the LCA study a dominance and a sensitivity analysis were also performed. The results of the dominance analysis were applied in the sensitivity analysis to evaluate the influence of the origin of the raw material and the energy. The sensitivity analysis revealed that the exchange of fossil-based to bio-based raw materials decreased the global warming potential of the polymer production but had an increase in other impact categories. It also determined that the exchange of generic European to Swedish electricity had a positive effect on the environment. The conclusion was reached that the production of PVC has a lower environmental impact than the investigated polymers. However, when bio-based raw materials and Swedish electricity was used for mPPE (PS), EMAA and EVA, the GWP was lower than for PVC. This indicates that the polymers have the potential to be an environmentally preferable alternative to PVC.