1 Introduction
2 Methods
2.1 Functional unit and system boundaries
ABS | Acrylonitrile butadiene styrene terpolymer |
Alpi | Aluminium diethylphosphonate |
ATH | Aluminium trihydroxide |
ATO | Antimony trioxide |
BDP | Bisphenol-A bis(diphenylphosphate) |
BFR | Brominated flame retardant |
BPS | Brominated polystyrene |
DecaBDE | Decabromo diphenylether |
DOPO | 9,10-Dihydro-9-oxa-10-phosphaphenanthrene-10-oxide |
EPR | Epoxy resin |
EPS | (expanded) Polystyrene foam |
EVA | Ethylene vinyl acetate |
FR | Flame retardant |
HFFR | Halogen free flame retardant |
HIPS | High-impact polystyrene |
MPP | Melamine polyphosphate |
MSWI | Municipal solid waste incineration |
PA66 | Polyamide (Nylon 6,6) |
PAHs | Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons |
PC | Polycarbonate |
PPE | Polyphenylene ether |
PWB | Printed wiring board |
RDP | Resorcinol bis(diphenylphosphate) |
TBBPA | Tetrabromobisphenol A |
TEQ | Toxic equivalent |
VOCs | Volatile organic compounds |
WEEE | Waste electrical and electronic equipment |
ZHS | Zinc hydroxystannate |
ZS | Zinc stannate |
2.2 Inventory data
Life cycle phase, compound | Compartment | Emission factor |
---|---|---|
Production of FR | ||
decaBDEa
| Air | 1.1E-5 |
Water | 1.8E-5 | |
Land | 3.1E-5 | |
TBBPAa
| Air | 1.0E-6 |
Water | 2.0E-7 | |
Land | 0 | |
ATOb
| Air | 7.6E-5 |
Surface water | 2.8E-7 | |
Wastewater | 4.7E-8 | |
Other FRsc
| Wastewater | 0.003 |
Industrial processes | ||
decaBDEd
| Air | 1.0E-4 |
Water | 5.0E-4 | |
TBBPAe
| Air | 1.00E-5 |
Water | 1.01E-5 | |
ATOb
| Air | 1.63E-6 |
Wastewater | 3.5E-4 | |
Solid waste | 1.6E-2 | |
Inorganic FRsf
| Water | 2.0E-4 |
Air | 0 | |
Low volatility organic FRsf
| Water | 1.2E-4 |
Air | 2.0E-5 | |
Medium volatility organic FRsf
| Water | 2.0E-4 |
Air | 1.0E-4 | |
Use phase | ||
decaBDEd
| Air | 0.0019 |
ATOb
| Wastewater | 1.0E-4 |
Inorganic FRsf
| Water | 1.0E-4 |
Air | 0 | |
Low volatility organic FRsf
| Water | 5.0E-4 |
Air | 5.0E-4 | |
Reactive FRs | 0 | |
Accidental fire | ||
Organic FRsg
| Air | 3.0E-7 |
ATOg
| Air | 0.84 |
Other inorganic FRsh
| Air | 0.084 |
Waste phase, treatment according to WEEE Directive | ||
All FRs | Air | 0.001 |
Waste phase, landfill | ||
All FRsi
| Surface water | Between 3.8E-8 and 1 |
Waste phase, incineration | ||
ATOb
| Air | 0.001 |
Surface water | 0.003 | |
Inorganic FRs | Air | 0.001 |
Surface water | 0.003 | |
Organic FRs | Air | 3.0E-8 |
Waste phase, substandard treatment | ||
Organic FRsg
| Air | 3.0E-7 |
ATOj
| Air | 0.005 |
ZHSj
| Air | 0.037 |
ATHj
| Air | 0.037 |
2.2.1 Production of flame retardants
Polymer | Amount in laptop (kg) | BFR scenario | HFFR scenario | Part in which polymer is used | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Compound | % weight | Compound | % weight | |||
PA6,6 | 0.11 | BPS + ATO | 18 + 7 | Alpi + MPP | 16.7 + 8.3 | Connectors, switches |
EVA | 0.16 | decaBDE + ATO | 13 + 4 | ZHS-coated ATH | 70 | Cables |
PPE/HIPS | 0.52 | decaBDE + ATO | 14 + 6 | RDP | 15 | Casing |
PC/ABS | 0.65 | decaBDE + ATO, | 10 + 5 | BDP | 20 | Casing |
Epoxy resin | 0.29 | TBBPA | 20 | DOPO | 25 | PWB |
Total laptop weight | 3.15 |
2.2.2 Production of a laptop
2.2.3 The use phase
Polymer | Ratio of emission with HFFR/ with BFR | ||
---|---|---|---|
CO | CO2
| Smoke | |
PC/ABS | 0.76 | 1.15 | 0.84 |
PPE/HIPS | 0.73 | 2.18 | 0.90 |
PA6,6 | 0.37 | 0.89 | 0.37 |
Chemical emission (g per kg combustible material) | CO | CO2
| Particulate matter, <10 μm |
---|---|---|---|
BFR scenario | 86 | 2400 | 50 |
HFFR scenario | 68 | 3300 | 44 |
2.2.4 End of Life scenarios
-
Collection and treatment according to the WEEE Directive
-
Disposal with municipal waste, followed by incineration in municipal solid waste incinerator (MSWI)
-
Disposal with municipal waste, followed by dump on landfill
-
Export, followed by substandard waste treatment
kg/inhabitant/year | Fraction of WEEE+ used EEE | Further specification, based on own assumptions | Fraction | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
EEE put on market (POM) | 3.03 | ||||
WEEE + used EEE generated | 3.00 | ||||
Export of used EEE | 0.60 | 0.20 | Municipal waste | Incineration | 0.033a
|
Landfill | 0.066a
| ||||
Substandard treatment | 0.10a
| ||||
WEEE generated | 2.40 | 0.80 | |||
Collection and treatment according to WEEE Directive: | |||||
Via official WEEE route | 0.61 | ||||
Via complementary routes | 0.70 | ||||
Total proper WEEE treatment | 1.31 | 0.44 | |||
WEEE ending up in municipal waste | 0.54 | 0.18 | Incineration | 0.06a
| |
Landfill | 0.12a
| ||||
Not (yet) documented | 0.55 | 0.18 | Municipal waste | Incineration | 0.03a
|
Landfill | 0.06a
| ||||
Substandard treatment | 0.09a
| ||||
Total fractions of waste streams | Treated according to WEEE Directive | 0.44a
| |||
Incineration | 0.12a
| ||||
Landfill | 0.25a
| ||||
Substandard treatment | 0.19a
|
2.3 Impact assessment
Flame retardant | Human toxicity (DALY/kg) | Freshwater ecotoxicity (species × year/kg) | Marine water ecotoxicity (species × year/kg) | Terrestrial ecotoxicity (species × year/kg) | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Emission to: | Emission to: | Emission to: | Emission to: | |||||
Freshwater | Air | Freshwater | Air | Freshwater | Air | Freshwater | Air | |
AlPi | 1.6E-09 | 5.9E-08 | 6.9E-09 | 2.8E-09 | 6.0E-09 | 4.5E-09 | 9.8E-13 | 9.7E-07 |
APP | 7.2E-09 | 2.7E-07 | 7.9E-10 | 3.3E-10 | 6.9E-10 | 5.0E-10 | 9.0E-13 | 1.2E-07 |
ATH | 7.6E-10 | 3.0E-08 | 7.3E-10 | 8.1E-11 | 5.3E-10 | 6.3E-10 | 3.3E-29 | 7.7E-08 |
ATO | 7.8E-11 | 8.5E-10 | 6.0E-08 | 6.7E-09 | 5.2E-08 | 2.3E-08 | 1.9E-27 | 1.7E-06 |
BDP | ND | ND | 1.9E-09 | 6.8E-13 | 1.4E-09 | 9.4E-11 | 7.6E-18 | 7.1E-11 |
decaBDE | 2.0E-03 | 7.1E-04 | ND | ND | ND | ND | ND | ND |
DOPO | 1.2E-09 | 4.4E-09 | 1.4E-08 | 3.3E-09 | 1.2E-08 | 8.0E-09 | 3.7E-13 | 8.2E-07 |
RDP | ND | ND | 2.2E-09 | 2.0E-11 | 1.4E-09 | 3.9E-09 | 1.0E-17 | 1.1E-09 |
TBBPA | 3.9E-08 | 5.1E-07 | 2.6E-08 | 2.1E-10 | 2.1E-10 | 1.5E-09 | 2.0E-12 | 3.4E-09 |
ZHS | ND | ND | 2.1E-08 | 2.3E-09 | 1.8E-08 | 7.9E-09 | 6.5E-28 | 5.9E-07 |
ZS | ND | ND | 2.1E-08 | 2.3E-09 | 1.8E-08 | 7.9E-09 | 7.0E-28 | 5.9E-07 |
3 Results
3.1 Production of flame retardants and flame retarded polymers
3.2 Use phase
3.2.1 Emissions during use
3.2.2 Accidental fire
3.3 End of life
3.4 Full life cycle
4 Discussion
4.1 Impact categories most relevant to flame retardants
4.2 Processes most relevant to flame retardants
4.3 Data quality
4.4 Processes normally not included in LCA
-
Polymer additives (flame retardants), including emissions in all life cycle phases
-
Substandard waste treatment
-
Occurrence of accidental fire