Sustainability synergies and trade-offs considering circularity and land availability for bioplastics production in Brazil
Abstract Alongside the concerns of waste management, plastic production represents a future problem for managing greenhouse gas emissions. Advanced recycling and bio-based production are paramount to face this challenge. The sustainability of bio-based polyethylene (bioPE) depends on the feedstock,...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Nature Portfolio
2024-10-01
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| Series: | Nature Communications |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-53201-9 |
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| author | Guilherme Pessoa Nogueira Gabriel Palma Petrielli Mateus Ferreira Chagas Isabelle Lobo de Mesquita Sampaio Liliana Zanelli de Oliveira Martins Tassia Lopes Junqueira Edvaldo Rodrigo de Morais Thayse Aparecida Dourado Hernandes |
| author_facet | Guilherme Pessoa Nogueira Gabriel Palma Petrielli Mateus Ferreira Chagas Isabelle Lobo de Mesquita Sampaio Liliana Zanelli de Oliveira Martins Tassia Lopes Junqueira Edvaldo Rodrigo de Morais Thayse Aparecida Dourado Hernandes |
| author_sort | Guilherme Pessoa Nogueira |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Alongside the concerns of waste management, plastic production represents a future problem for managing greenhouse gas emissions. Advanced recycling and bio-based production are paramount to face this challenge. The sustainability of bio-based polyethylene (bioPE) depends on the feedstock, avoiding stress on natural resources. This work discusses Brazil’s potential to meet future global bioPE demand by 2050, using sugarcane as feedstock and considering environmental sustainability for production expansion. From the assessed 35.6 Mha, 3.55 Mha would be exempt from trade-offs related to land use change (dLUC), biodiversity, and water availability. The scenario with the highest circularity efficiency would require 22.2 Mha to meet the global demand, which can be accommodated in areas with positive impacts in carbon stocks, neutral impacts in water availability, and medium impacts on biodiversity. Here, we show that dropping demand is essential to avoid trade-offs and help consolidate bioPE as a sustainable alternative for future net-zero strategies. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-151bfce6108344cbafcbf7f8cae035d0 |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2041-1723 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-10-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Nature Communications |
| spelling | doaj-art-151bfce6108344cbafcbf7f8cae035d02025-08-20T02:17:50ZengNature PortfolioNature Communications2041-17232024-10-0115111310.1038/s41467-024-53201-9Sustainability synergies and trade-offs considering circularity and land availability for bioplastics production in BrazilGuilherme Pessoa Nogueira0Gabriel Palma Petrielli1Mateus Ferreira Chagas2Isabelle Lobo de Mesquita Sampaio3Liliana Zanelli de Oliveira Martins4Tassia Lopes Junqueira5Edvaldo Rodrigo de Morais6Thayse Aparecida Dourado Hernandes7Brazilian Biorenewables National Laboratory (LNBR), Brazilian Center for Research in Energy and Materials (CNPEM)Brazilian Biorenewables National Laboratory (LNBR), Brazilian Center for Research in Energy and Materials (CNPEM)Brazilian Biorenewables National Laboratory (LNBR), Brazilian Center for Research in Energy and Materials (CNPEM)Brazilian Biorenewables National Laboratory (LNBR), Brazilian Center for Research in Energy and Materials (CNPEM)Brazilian Biorenewables National Laboratory (LNBR), Brazilian Center for Research in Energy and Materials (CNPEM)Brazilian Biorenewables National Laboratory (LNBR), Brazilian Center for Research in Energy and Materials (CNPEM)Brazilian Biorenewables National Laboratory (LNBR), Brazilian Center for Research in Energy and Materials (CNPEM)Brazilian Biorenewables National Laboratory (LNBR), Brazilian Center for Research in Energy and Materials (CNPEM)Abstract Alongside the concerns of waste management, plastic production represents a future problem for managing greenhouse gas emissions. Advanced recycling and bio-based production are paramount to face this challenge. The sustainability of bio-based polyethylene (bioPE) depends on the feedstock, avoiding stress on natural resources. This work discusses Brazil’s potential to meet future global bioPE demand by 2050, using sugarcane as feedstock and considering environmental sustainability for production expansion. From the assessed 35.6 Mha, 3.55 Mha would be exempt from trade-offs related to land use change (dLUC), biodiversity, and water availability. The scenario with the highest circularity efficiency would require 22.2 Mha to meet the global demand, which can be accommodated in areas with positive impacts in carbon stocks, neutral impacts in water availability, and medium impacts on biodiversity. Here, we show that dropping demand is essential to avoid trade-offs and help consolidate bioPE as a sustainable alternative for future net-zero strategies.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-53201-9 |
| spellingShingle | Guilherme Pessoa Nogueira Gabriel Palma Petrielli Mateus Ferreira Chagas Isabelle Lobo de Mesquita Sampaio Liliana Zanelli de Oliveira Martins Tassia Lopes Junqueira Edvaldo Rodrigo de Morais Thayse Aparecida Dourado Hernandes Sustainability synergies and trade-offs considering circularity and land availability for bioplastics production in Brazil Nature Communications |
| title | Sustainability synergies and trade-offs considering circularity and land availability for bioplastics production in Brazil |
| title_full | Sustainability synergies and trade-offs considering circularity and land availability for bioplastics production in Brazil |
| title_fullStr | Sustainability synergies and trade-offs considering circularity and land availability for bioplastics production in Brazil |
| title_full_unstemmed | Sustainability synergies and trade-offs considering circularity and land availability for bioplastics production in Brazil |
| title_short | Sustainability synergies and trade-offs considering circularity and land availability for bioplastics production in Brazil |
| title_sort | sustainability synergies and trade offs considering circularity and land availability for bioplastics production in brazil |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-53201-9 |
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