Life Cycle Assessment of Linear Alkylbenzene Sulfonate Production:  An Adaptation to the Brazilian Context

Óliver Silva Costa Barreto; Jony Cley Rodrigues da Silva Cruz; Diego Lima Medeiros; Edna dos Santos Almeida

doi:10.34178/jbth.v6i1.277

Óliver Silva Costa Barreto
Jony Cley Rodrigues da Silva Cruz
Diego Lima Medeiros
Edna dos Santos Almeida

DOI: https://doi.org/10.34178/jbth.v6i1.277

Keywords: Linear Alkylbenzene Sulfonate (LAS), Surfactants, OpenLCA, Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), Material Flow Analysis (MFA)

Abstract

Surfactants represent a class of compounds used in large-scale household sanitizers, the Linear Alkylbenzene Sulfonate being the most used. However, there is concern about these compounds’ environmental aspects and impacts. This work aims to analyze the life cycle inventory of the production of Linear Alkylbenzene Sulfonate from cradle to gate for the Brazilian context aiming to propose improvements regarding cumulative energy demand and global warming potential. The total energy demand of the base case scenario was 59 MJ-Eq and a carbon footprint of 1.71 kg CO2-eq. A scenario considering the switch in heat and electricity supply to renewable sources was proposed, and a global reduction of Global Warming Potential in 100 years of 15.73% was realized, reducing the carbon footprint of the heat supply chain by 73.07% and the electricity supply chain by 98.90%.