Embed Size (px)
Citation preview
PVC Cables – From A Life Cycle
Perspective Dr Jason Leadbitter
Sustainability Manager, INEOS ChlorVinyls
& Chairman of VinylPlus Controlled Loop
Committee
Copyright ©INEOS 2006
Contents
• Life Cycle Assessments of PVC Cables
• Regulatory Pressures on Waste and the impact from
cables
– WEEE Directive
– Green Paper on Plastics Waste
– European Commission Communication on Circular Economy
• VinylPlus Voluntary Commitment
• PVC Cables contribution to the EC’s Circular Economy
• Conclusions & Recommendations
• Resources
Copyright ©INEOS 2006
Is it Safe?!!!
• Cables are essential to our modern way of life
• They are almost taken for granted
• They are the arteries in our homes
– Hidden behind walls
– And in some cases only too accessible!
• Cables are highly specified for safety and functionality
• Whilst safety must be our No.1 Priority this paper focuses on the importance of Life Cycle Assessment on PVC Cables
Copyright ©INEOS 2006
Extraction
Processing
Manufacture
Use
Disposal
End of Life
‘Cradle to gate’
Water
Energy
Emissions
to air
Emissions
to soil
Emissions
to water
Re
cyc
lin
g/ R
eu
se
‘Cradle to grave’
System Boundary
Raw
materials
What is Life Cycle Assessment?
Copyright ©INEOS 2006
LCA – Can Consist of 4 Major Steps
• Goal Definition and Scoping
– Why are we doing it?
• Life Cycle Inventory
– Quantifying the inputs and outputs
• Life Cycle Impact Assessment
– Characterising the effects of both the inputs and outputs on the environment and human health
• Life Cycle Interpretation
– Puts the LCIA into context by drawing conclusions as well as undertaking a sensitivity analysis and providing the opportunity to see where improvements can be made
Copyright ©INEOS 2006
Why is LCA so Important?
• Raw Materials used in cables contain finite resources
– Copper, a great conductor is the most valuable component of a cable largely due to its scarcity in nature
– Oil/Natural Gas used to manufacture polymers for use in insulation and jacketing including PVC, PE, are also finite resources
• In the years ahead this will become increasingly more apparent
• LCAs are useful tools to assist in addressing
– Consumption of raw materials
– Emissions during manufacture
– Importance of the use phase
– End-of-life scenarios
Copyright ©INEOS 2006
LCA Studies on Cables
• European Commission Study – LCA of
PVC and Competing Materials – 2004
– ‘PVC Cable does not seem to have
significant competitors within the cable
applications studied therefore few LCA
studies exist. Recycling processes have
been in place some time due to the high
economic value of recovered copper and
aluminium. Economically feasible options
exist for the recycling of the recovered PVC.’
Copyright ©INEOS 2006
LCA Studies from Europe
• Dr. José María Baldasano Recio et. al. (1995), University of Catalonia, Spain published a paper on:
– Production, use and Final Disposal of PVC, XLPE and PE Cables
• It focused on two impacts; – Energy Consumption
– CO2 Emissions
• Assumptions – For the lifetime (50 years) of 1 metre of RS 35 mm2 single-pole cable
• Results – PVC cables: energy consumption of 144 kWh m-1 and the associated CO2
emission of 65 kg.
– PE and XLPE cables: energy consumptions both of around 198 kWh m-1 and the associated CO2 emission of 88 kg.
– Including 25% recycled materials in the composition of the PVC cable signified an energy saving in the region of just 0.1%.
• Key Conclusion – The use phase dominates the energy consumption and CO2 of the above cables
• i.e. energy losses due to heat dissipation during the life of the cable are much bigger than emissions due to raw materials used in cable production
Copyright ©INEOS 2006
LCA Studies from USA
• The US EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) performed a very detailed LCA study in 2008 on behalf of the Wire and Cable Industry
– Many impacts
• It compared 3 cable types namely: – CMR – Category 6 riser rated communication cable
– CMP – Category 6 plenum rated communications cable
– NM-B – Non metallic sheathed low voltage power cable
• Various combinations of polymeric cable types were used including PVC (Pb and non-Pb), PE as well as FEP
• Some observations were noted as follows: – For CMR Cable types:
• Pb Free systems were better for a range of impact categories
• For cradle to gate analysis zero halogen cables had far greater environmental burden in all of the impact categories (except for toxicity)
– For CMP Cable types: • Pb Free systems were better for a range of impact categories
– For NM-B Cable types: • Pb-Free systems were consistently better for nearly all impact categories
• Main contributor to the impact is the manufacture of the polymer itself (study excludes copper)
Copyright ©INEOS 2006
Regulatory Drivers on Plastics Waste
and the Impact from Cables • WEEE Directive (2012/19/EU)
– Binding targets for the recycling of Waste EEE
– From 2016 minimum collection rate shall be 45% (total WEEE collected, expressed as a % of average weight of EEE placed on the market in 3 preceding years
– By the end of 2019, this figure rises to 65%.
• EC Green Paper on Plastics Waste (March 2013) – Addresses plastic waste not specifically addressed by
EU waste legislation
– Plastics recycling alone has the potential to create162,000 jobs if recycling increases up to a level of 70% by 2020.
• Greatest number of jobs created from WEEE
– Plastics account for around 8% global oil consumption hence re-use and recycling saving on resources and greenhouse emissions
• Communication from European Commission on Circular Economy (July 2014)
– How can we move from linear flow to a circular economy?
• Ban on plastics in landfills by 2025
• Boost reuse and recycling of municipal waste to a minimum of 70% by 2030
• All of the above will act as drivers for closing the loop – so how is PVC doing?
From Vinyl 2010 to VinylPlus
2011 – 2020…and beyond 2000 – 2010
• Waste management • Additives of concern
• Addressing sustainability as a whole • Holistic approach to recycling • Goal: 800,0000 tonnes per year • Focus on sustainable use of additives • Sustainability awareness
More recycling, better recyclate nt of PVC throughout its entire lifecycle
CHALLENGE
444,468 tonnes of PVC recycled in 2013
A network of 155 Recyclers (Recovinyl)
Traceability of recyclates including additives
Safety Data Sheets for Recyclates
Pull market (encourage converters to use recyclate)
Industry investment over €5.6 million, from which €1.6 million in R&D
Controlled Loop 1 Progress
made
Recyclers in the Recovinyl network
27
5 13
19
5 7
32
15
2
5 8
3
1
2
1 1
1
Austria 2
Belgium 5
Bulgaria 1
Czech Republic 5
Denmark 1
France 19
Germany 32
Hungary 2
Italy 15
Poland 8
Portugal 5
Romania 8
Slovakia 2
Spain 13
Sweden 3
The Netherlands 7
The United Kingdom 27
155
2
8
PVC recycled in 2013 : 444,468 tonnes!
Copyright ©INEOS 2006
Evolution of PVC Cables
Recycling in Europe (Tonnes)
0
20000
40000
60000
80000
100000
120000
2004 2006 2008 2010 2012
PVC CablesRecycling
Source: Audited Figures reported in Annual
Progress Reports of VinylPlus and Vinyl 2010
Copyright ©INEOS 2006
PVC Cables – A clear Demonstration
of the Circular Economy
Copyright ©INEOS 2006
Conclusions & Recommendations
• PVC cables perform well with regard to Life Cycle Assessment
– LCAs put the science back into the debate
– We have nothing to fear and everything to gain from them!
• PVC Cables industry is well ahead of the game in terms of its
contribution to a circular economy
• And we can do more!
– We need to ensure that all PVC cable waste recycling is reported via
Recovinyl
– Build upon the growing range of recycled applications especially those
being developed for construction
– Ensure that we communicate on all the benefits from PVC Cables
• Key Message to cable producers
– Think out of the box - design your PVC cables for more than one life!
Copyright ©INEOS 2006
We can learn a lot from nature
Possiamo imparare molto dalla natura
Copyright ©INEOS 2006
Resources
• European Commission LCA Study on PVC and Its Alternatives – http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/sectors/chemicals/files/sustdev/pvc-final_report_lca_en.pdf
• Estimate of energy consumption and CO2 emission associated with production use and disposal of PVC, XLPE and PE Cables Dr. José María Baldasano Recio et. al. (1995), University of Catalonia, Spain
– Available from A Sevenster, ECVM [email protected]
• Wire and Cable Insulation and Jacketing: LCA for Selected Applications, The US EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) (2008)
– Available from A Sevenster, ECVM [email protected]
• WEEE Directive 2012/19/EU July 2012 – http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2012:197:0038:0071:en:PDF
• European Commission Green Paper on Plastics Waste COM (2013) 123 Final – http://ec.europa.eu/environment/consultations/plastic_waste_en.htm
• Communication from European Commission on Circular Economy COM (2014) 398 Final – http://ec.europa.eu/transparency/regdoc/rep/1/2014/EN/1-2014-398-EN-F1-1.Pdf
• VinylPlus Voluntary Commitment – http://www.vinylplus.eu/
• Recovinyl Website – http://www.recovinyl.com/
• INEOS ChlorVinyls – http://www.ineos.com/businesses/ineos-chlorvinyls/
