Environmental Impact Analysis of Kapok (Ceiba pentandra) Fiber-Based Oil Sorbent Technology: A Life Cycle Analysis

In this study, a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) was done to assess the environmental performance of kapok-based sorbent boom technology. Kapok fiber has a high potential as a natural oil sorbent due to its natural hydrophobicity, absorbance capacity, local availability, and disposability. The system boundary was set to cradle-to-gate wherein the processes involved were fiber preparation, fiber washing, fiber coating, and boom preparation. The assessment was performed using the SimaPro 9.5 software through the EcoInvent V3 (allocation, cut-off by classification - unit) database. Meanwhile, the evaluation was based on the ISO 14040:2006’s (Environmental Management) international standards and the ReCiPe 2016 model. Results from the assessment of the eighteen (18) midpoint impact categories showed that fiber washing and fiber coating have the highest adverse environmental impact. It was then followed by the boom and fiber preparations. The analyses showed that human carcinogenic toxicity (HTPc), marine ecotoxicity (METP), fine particulate matter formation (FPMF), global warming (GWP), and terrestrial acidification (TAP) were the top five (5) impact categories. This was mainly due to: (1) the use of chemicals such as ethanol (C 2 H 6 O) and sodium hydroxide (NaOH) for fiber modification to increase its hydrophobicity and oleophilicity; and (2) energy requirement to produce the used chemicals and operations of machines. The results of this study could be use in looking into other "green" processes and/or materials to improve the technology's efficiency and sustainability. Moreover, renewable energies such as solar and tidal can be tapped as sources of electrical power for the production of chemicals and machine operations. Further studies could investigate the cradle-to-grave approach of the life cycle analysis of kapok-based sorbent boom.