4.

Results
ComparisonofEvergreenCaprolactamandVirginCaprolactam
EvergreenCaprolactamHotspotAnalysis
LifeCycleAssessmentofCaprolactamproductionfromNylon6carpetrecycling
MarcBinder
(1)
,StefanAlbrecht
(2)
,CoppeliaMarincovic
(1)
,LauraFlanigan
(3)
,DennisMcGavis
(4)
(1) PEAmericas,(2)LBPGaBi UniversityofStuttgart,(3)FiveWindsInternational,(4)ShawInc.
1.GoaloftheStudy
ObtainanunderstandingoftheenvironmentalimpactsofEvergreen
caprolactam
Secureanunderstandingofhowthisimpactisdistributedthroughthe
productionprocess(hotspotanalysis)
Compare theEnvironmentalimpactsofEvergreencaprolactamtovirgin
caprolactam,togetaquantitativeassessmentoftheenvironmentalbenefitsof
producingaproductmadeoutofrecycledcarpetwasteratherthanvirginmaterial
(basedoncrudeoil)
SupportexternalcommunicationofenvironmentalperformanceofShaws
recycledcaprolactambyShawsEvergreenprocess
2.ScopeoftheStudy
Systemboundaries
FunctionalUnit:1,000 lb[=453.6 kg]ofcaprolactam
Geographicalcoverage:US
Timecoverage:2007
SoftwareandBackgrounddata:GaBi 4anddatabases
Allocationmethodology:Economicallocation
CriticalReviewPanel(accordingtoISO14.40/14044):
Joep Meijer,President,TheRightenvironment Ltd.Co.(Chair),LCAexpert
BobPeoples,Ph.D.,Director,ACSGreenChemistryInstitute,expertincarpet
chemistryandrecyclingeffortsintheindustry
JonWybar,RevolutionRecoveryLLC/ConstructionWasteManagement,expert
inrecoveryandrecyclinginfrastructure
3.Modeling(continued)
VirginCaprolactam
5.Interpretation
Sensitivityanalysis:
Sensitivityofkeyparameters
Transportationdistance
Allocationmethodology
Conclusions
ManufacturingofcaprolactammadefromrecoveredNylon6carpets bythe
Evergreenprocessshowenvironmentalbenefitsforallimpactcategoriesandthe
consumptionoffossilenergysourcescomparedtothemanufacturingofvirgin
caprolactam
Transportation:althoughshortertransportationdistancesrelatedtothe
collectionofoldcarpethavealowerenvironmentalimpact,theimpactisnotof
significancefortheenvironmentalperformanceofrecycledcaprolactamfromthe
Evergreenprocess
Energyconsumption drivestheprofilesofrecycledcaprolactam Forallimpact
categoriestheenergyconsumptionoftheEvergreenprocessdominatesthe
environmentalprofile(>95%).
Allocationmethodology sensitivityanalysisshowedtheappliedallocation
methodologyhasaninfluenceontheabsolutereductionoftheenvironmental
impactwhenusingcaprolactamfromEvergreenprocesscomparedtovirgin.
HoweverEvergreencaprolactamevenshowedalowerimpactforallimpact
categoriesaswellfortheconsumptionoffossilenergysourcesoncealleffortis
allocatedtorecycledcaprolactamandnothingtothebyproduct.
3.Modeling
Evergreen
Caprolactam
Formoreinformation:c.marincovic@peinternational.com