Environmental performance assessment of biocomposite production reinforced with plantain pseudostem using life cycle assessment (LCA)

Agricultural waste represents a significant environmental challenge when it is not properly managed. Natural fibers (NFs), incorporated into the manufacture of biocomposites, constitute a promising alternative for the valorization of this waste, promoting sustainability and a circular economy by transforming NFs into high-value resources with diverse applications. In this study, a life cycle assessment (LCA) was conducted on biocomposites reinforced with plantain pseudostem and a polyester resin matrix, using a “cradle-to-manufacture” approach. Four scenarios were evaluated, with and without chemical treatment, each with different fiber contents. The environmental impact assessment applied the methods of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC 2021), expressed as the 100 year global warming potential (GWP100) in kg of CO2, and the ReCiPe Midpoint (H) 2016 method, using SimaPro software. The results show that the scenarios without chemical treatment exhibit better environmental performance, with emissions of 17.2 kg CO2-eq (RF-PNT/85) and 11.3 kg CO2-eq (RF-PNT/46) per kilogram of composite material. The main reason is associated with the chemical treatment involving acetic acid and sodium hydroxide, which significantly increased CO2 emissions and, consequently, the impacts on categories such as terrestrial and marine ecotoxicity, fossil resource scarcity, and human carcinogenic toxicity.