Process information
| Key Data Set Information | |
| Location | EU+EFTA+UK |
| Geographical representativeness description | European dataset. Representative data for Europe has been used for the foreground systems, Global and European datasets were used in the background systems. |
| Reference year | 2012 |
| Name |
Base name
; Treatment, standards, routes
; Mix and location types
; Quantitative product or process properties
Alkyd resin (thixotropic polyurethane); Technology mix; Production mix, at plant; 77% in low aromatic white spirit
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| Use advice for data set | Notice: this data set supersedes the EF3.0-compliant version (see link under "preceding data set version" below calculated with the EF3.0). The life cycle inventory is not changed from the original EF3.0 data set. The LCIA results are calculated based on the EF3.1 methods which provide updated characterisation factors in the following impact categories: Climate Change, Ecotoxicity freshwater, Photochemical Ozone Formation, Acidification, Human Toxicity non-cancer, and Human Toxicity cancer. The review report and the data quality ratings refer to the original results. The data set has been updated by the European Commission on the basis of the original EF3.0 data set delivered by the data provider. |
| Technical purpose of product or process | Chemical substance used in the production of decorative coatings |
| Complementing processes | |
| Classification |
Class name
:
Hierarchy level
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| General comment on data set | The dataset represents the manufacture of raw materials for the paint industry. It is based on the models created for the CEPE Raw Material database, version 3 (European Council of the Paint, Printing Ink and Artists' Colours Industry; limited access), which have been updated with PEF-compliant background sources based on Ecoinvent 3.3 and process-based EF-compliant LCI datasets for energy and transport. The inventory is based on literature and background sources, following general assumptions for the paint industry. Biogenic carbon content 24,8%. Water content 0% |
| Copyright | Yes |
| Owner of data set | |
| Quantitative reference | |
| Reference flow(s) | |
| Time representativeness | |
| Data set valid until | 2024 |
| Time representativeness description | Annual average data. No intra-annual or intra-daily differences have been made. Representative data for the year 2012 has been used. Data set valid until end of 2024. |
| Technological representativeness | |
| Technology description including background system | In the technology description below, specific dataset names refer to the original modelling based on Ecoinvent 3.3. They might have been updated using the names of the equivalent EF-compliant datasets (In particular transport, infrastructure, water, heat, energy and waste datasets). For this RM no specific data was found, therefore, it was modelled based on a modified process from Ecoinvent: “RER: alkyd resin production, long oil, product in 70% white spirit solution state”, however the data set was modified since the mass balance of the original data set was incorrect since it had been calculated for an output of 1.429 kg alkyd and not 1 kg (Ecoinvent Centre, 2016). The inputs were therefore adjusted to 1 kg alkyd output. White spirit was modified to 23 % so that the concentration of the alkyd was 77 % in white spirit. According to Ullmann´s 2012, polyurethane can be added to an alkyd resin, generating thixotropic behaviours. As reported in Kastanek et al. 1991; 5 wt% polyurethane was added to a soya oil based alkyd, hence, in the model, 5 wt% polyurethane was added to the alkyd. Polyurethane was modelled as follows: Polyurethanes are formed from reactions of a polyol and a diisocyanate (Ullmann´s 2012), therefore, this RM was modelled from polytetramethylene ether glycol (polyol) + hydrogenated methylene diisocyanate (HMDI), added in equal amounts (wt%). These amounts were chosen since no information about the actual amounts were found in literature. HDMI was approximated with MDI in the Gabi model. The data set used in the model was: “RER: Polyol production” (Ecoinvent) and for the MDI, “RoW: Methylene diphenyl diisocyanate production” (Ecoinvent). The reaction to produce polyurethane is exothermic, as according to the section on background assumptions (see below), no heat is required but 0.05 MJ/kg electric energy was added in the model. During the mixture of alkyd with polyurethane, 0.05 MJ/kg electric energy and 0.52 MJ/kg heat was added, based on the generic assumptions as described in the background section (see below). Transportation is accounted for in the alkyd resin and polyurethane modelling only. Standard distances of transportation have been used for all of the input materials used to produce a chemical. It has been assumed that all input materials are transported 600 km by train “EU-28+3: Freight train, average (without fuel)” (EF-compliant datasets) and 100 km by truck “EU-28+3: Articulated lorry transport, Total weight 20-26 t, mix Euro 0-5) (EF-compliant datasets). Use of heat If no specific information was available regarding type of heat used for a production process, the process “RER: market for heat, in chemical industry” has been used (Ecoinvent 3.3), for which the background datasets were replaced with EF-compliant datasets from the node. This process consists mainly of heat from combustion of natural gas, but also some fuel oil, hard coal and electricity. To calculate the amount of heat needed in a process, two different approaches were used. Two different assumptions have been made regarding the energy use of chemical reactions, depending on whether the reactions are exothermic or endothermic. The classification of chemical reactions into these two categories is based on standard enthalpy of reaction. The main sources of information regarding standard enthalpies of formation were chemistry literature and textbooks, such as NIST (2012) and Atkins & Jones (2005). For exothermic reactions, it has been assumed that no additional energy is needed to produce the chemical of interest. This is a simplification as some energy input is likely needed to start a reaction and to maintain it through mixing, etc. The energy generated through the exothermic reaction could also be used in other chemical processes, but this has also been assumed to be non-existent due to lack of data from a specific site. For endothermic reactions, two methods have been used; • It has been assumed that the total energy consumption for the production of a chemical is 30% higher than the standard enthalpy of reaction. • To calculate the required heat, heat losses were assumed to be 20%, and the specific heat capacity for the polymer to be 2.5 [kJ/kg·K], a default value based on that of common organic substances. 2.5 kJ/kg·K is a conservative estimate of the overall heat use for a production process step. For all condensation reactions, it is assumed some energy is required for distillation of the water, therefore 2.26 MJ/kg water (specific heat of evaporation for water) is assumed to be necessary. Electricity use If no specific information was available regarding type of electricity used for a production process, the process “EU-28+3: Electricity grid mix 1kV-60kV” has been used (EF-compliant datasets). When no data regarding amount of electricity use was found, a default value of 0.05 MJ electric power/kg product per process step was used for calculations. Process steps can be e.g. mixing or pumping. This value was derived from studying LCA data of different plastics and chemicals and theoretical calculations of energy use. For the entire product chain, values are often between 0.5-2 MJ/kg plastics (incl. different steps and upstream use), making 0.05 MJ/kg a conservative estimate for one process step. |
| Flow diagram(s) or picture(s) | |
Modelling and validation
Administrative information
Inputs and Outputs
LCIA results