A comparative life cycle assessment of viscose fibers derived from cotton, wood, and bamboo pulp

In this work, a life cycle assessment (LCA) approach was employed to evaluate the environmental impact of viscose fibers made from cotton, wood and bamboo pulp, in accordance with the ISO 14040 standard. Utilizing SimaPro 9.5.0 software, the research employed the ReCiPe 2016 (H) V1.13 and IPCC 2013 GWP100a methodologies to assess the life cycle of viscose fibers from “cradle to gate”, quantifying their environmental impacts. The findings revealed that during the pulp production stage, the cotton cultivation process contributed significantly to environmental impacts. Notably, bamboo pulp exhibited the lowest endpoint impact category. In the fiber production stage, the treatment, utility, and impregnation processes were identified as having prominent environmental impacts, with high carbon emissions primarily attributed to GWP 100-fossil in the utility and treatment processes. The production of 1 ton of viscose fiber using cotton as the raw material exhibits the highest environmental burden, with a total impact of 506.92 Pt. Wood-based production shows a moderate environmental impact of 470.74 Pt, while bamboo demonstrates the most favorable environmental profile at 453.43 Pt. Sensitivity analysis highlighted steam consumption as the most sensitive factor influencing environmental outcomes. Additionally, electricity usage and chemical reagents emerged as sensitive factors in the production of viscose fibers from different raw materials. • Bamboo pulp demonstrates the lowest environmental impact among cotton, wood, and bamboo in viscose fiber production. • The pulping and recycling stages are the largest contributors to carbon emissions across all raw materials. • Steam consumption is the most sensitive factor affecting the environmental footprint of viscose fiber production. • The utility and treatment processes in fiber production account for over 70 % of carbon emissions.