Energy Efficiency and Decarbonisation Pathways in Injection Moulding: A Life Cycle Assessment of End-of-Life Allocation Methods

Unofficial AI-generated summary based on the public title and abstract. Not an official translation.

🔬研究者:LCA practitioners should note the sensitivity of results to allocation choices and the need for transparent frameworks.

🏢実務担当者:Manufacturing firms can use the findings to optimize recycling loops and communicate environmental performance credibly.

🏛政策担当者:Policymakers should consider the landfill paradox when designing waste management and energy transition policies.

Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is extensively employed to support sustainability evaluation in waste management and manufacturing systems; however, outcomes are highly sensitive to methodological decisions, particularly end-of-life (EoL) allocation approaches. This study examines how cut-off and substitution approaches affect the energy performance and decarbonisation potential of high-density polyethylene (HDPE) injection moulding systems. A dual framework is adopted: first, a literature review examines methodological sensitivities in EoL modelling; second, a quantitative case study assesses industrial-scale primary data for the production of durable HDPE bottles (300 mL). The LCA model integrates specific technical parameters, including a 220 °C melt temperature and a 36 s cycle time, ensuring a realistic representation of manufacturing conditions. The results indicate that allocation choices significantly influence calculated impacts, sometimes reversing the relative ranking of configurations. Substitution-based approaches report higher benefits by crediting avoided primary production, while cut-off logic provides more conservative estimates. Quantitative analysis shows that transitioning from open-loop to fully closed-loop configurations reduces cumulative energy demand by 3.2% and freshwater emissions per functional unit by 2.8%. Furthermore, the study identifies a ‘landfill paradox’ specific to HDPE waste within transitional energy systems: due to the carbon sequestration effect of landfilled polymers and current grid emission factors, landfilling exhibits a lower net carbon footprint (0.03 kg CO2-eq./kg) than high-efficiency incineration (1.54 kg CO2-eq./kg). These findings highlight that circular economy evaluations are strongly shaped by methodological assumptions, with direct implications for energy policy. Bridging the gap between specific industrial processing parameters and end-of-life allocation logic underscores the need to incorporate primary industrial data and transparent allocation frameworks to support reliable decision-making in the transition toward low-carbon and energy-efficient manufacturing systems.

• crossref https://doi.org/10.3390/en19102295first seen 2026-05-14 22:16:15 · last seen 2026-05-24 05:10:35
• openalex https://doi.org/10.3390/en19102295first seen 2026-05-31 04:36:37 · last seen 2026-06-09 04:35:12