Environmental impacts of glycerine: a comparison between bio-based and fossil-based production through Life Cycle Assessment (LCA)

Environmental sustainability is now central in several sectors, including the chemical one, where some substances cause impacts to both human health and the environment. Therefore, a transition toward a more sustainable model is needed, reducing dependence on fossil fuels and harmful substances. In this context, there is a growing interest in bio-based products, i.e., deriving from biomass. The thesis compares bio-based glycerine from rapeseed oil with fossil-based glycerine from epichlorohydrin, using a cradle-to-gate Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) aligned with ISO 14040-44. The case study is carried out within the European CBE JU project SurfToGreen for a company, specialised in the purification step of glycerine supply chain. The methodology used is Environemental Footprint 3.1; data include both primary and secondary sources (Ecoinvent 3.10), processed with SimaPro 10.1. In general, results show that bio-based glycerine has lower environmental impacts than fossil-based alternative. However, the former performs worse in impact categories such as acidification, particulate matter, marine and terrestrial eutrophication, and human toxicity, non-cancer. Most of these impacts stem from crude glycerine production linked to upstream agricultural activities and transports, while the purification process contributes less significantly. These outcomes highlight the importance for the company to select local suppliers and ensure a more transparent supply chain. To guarantee the sustainability of bio-based products, it is recommended to improve supply chain control and optimize their environmental and technological performance, making them competitive and preferable to their fossil-based counterparts.