Page 154 - Materials Chemistry, Second Edition
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138 3 Life Cycle Inventory Analysis
The phases of the inventory will be illustrated as follows based on the system
variants: 1-l-beverage carton and 1-l-PET bottle for juice and juice nectar of the
sample study. 187)
3.7.1
Differentiated Description of the Examined Product Systems
On the basis of the first system analysis in the phase ‘definition of goal and scope’,
differentiated product descriptions are provided in the inventory. The following
questions have to be examined:
1. Which materials in which quantities related to the fU are to be considered in
the product system?
2. Which data are available concerning mass flows with regard to disposal or
recycling and waste treatment after use of the product?
3. Which transportations have to be considered?
3.7.1.1 Materials in the Product System
The composition of the packaging systems selected for illustration purposes is
listed in Table 3.8. From these material listings the reference flows for all materials
result relative to the defined fU. These reference flows are the basis to model the
production from raw material to disposal, and to finally quantify the elementary
flows. Material listings can be quite elaborate. This is demonstrated by the following
descriptions (IFEU, 2006, loc. cit):
Beverage Carton
For the German market in the year 2005, the average material composition
of beverage cartons was separately deduced for the three examined filling
goods and the individual box sizes. For this, packaging data were procured
from three manufacturers (Tetra Pak, SIG Combibloc and Elopak), and a
weighted average of market shares of the individual packaging types was
formed. The packaging tares listed in the tables are thus generic values and
do not (necessarily) represent real packagings in trade.
Data on weight share of the dry printing ink of the composite material
are available only for one of the three manufacturers. Because of an overall
proportion of only approximately 0.5%, the cut-off criterion is effective for
this material flow. The production of the printing ink is not considered in
this study.
187) IFEU, 2006 (Quotations from the study).