Supplementary data for the PhD thesis: Sustainability of bio-based plastics in a circular economy

Data files on which the studies presented in the chapters 3-5 of Linda Ritzens PhD thesis are based. Chapter 3: Bio-based plastics in a circular economy: a review of recovery pathways and implications for product design

True circularity of bio-based plastics requires efficient material recovery at end-of-life. Recovery is not only determined by material properties, but also by product design. The supplementary data of the literature review is provided in the data files.

Chapter 4: Bottlenecks in establishing the environmental impact of bio-based plastics: a case study of bio-based PE and bio-based PET

The environmental impact of bio-based plastics is a highly debated topic, because the outcomes of lifecycle assessment (LCA) for bio-based plastics vary drastically. In this study, we compare the lifecycle inventories (LCI) of published bio-based plastic LCAs in order to better understand the reasons for these differences. The supplementary files contain the lifecycle inventory assessment (LCIA) outcomes as well as the supplementary information containing the full LCIs used in the study as well as figures for all ReCiPe midpoint impact categories.

Chapter 5: Sustainability of bio-based polyethylene: the influence of biomass sourcing and end-of-life.

The environmental impact of bio-based plastics depends on their biomass resource and recovery at end-of-life. In this study, 31 biomass sourcing scenarios and 5 end-of-life scenarios for bio-based polyethylene were studied in a LCA. The supplementary files contain the lifecycle inventory assessment (LCIA) outcomes as well as the supplementary information containing the full LCIs used in the study as well as figures for all ReCiPe midpoint impact categories.