e3b65970-3420-43e6-8265-131ef3485c27Polyoxymethylene (POM)1 kg of primary POM “at gate” (production site output) representing a European industry production average, in pellet formEurope-27Used mainly in automotive and electronics applications, POM resin is used to produce injectionmoulded mechanical and electrical parts such as gears, sliding and guide elements, screwing and assembly pieces, insulators and connectors etc. Materials productionPlasticsDisclaimer: The LCI and LCIA results of this dataset can vary from the published Eco-profile on PlasticsEurope website due to the conversion of the original LCI to an ILCD compliant LCI, and some updates of characterization factors used in the Eco-profile since the time of the publication. This was done in agreement with PlasticsEurope.0PlasticsEurope Eco-profiles and EPDs represent European industry averages within the scope of PlasticsEurope as the issuing trade federation. Hence they are not attributed to any single producer, but rather to the European plastics industry as represented by PlasticsEurope’s membership and the production sites participating in the Eco-profile data collection. Primary production data for POM are from two different European producers. Fuel and energy inputs in the system reflect average European conditions and whenever applicable, site specific conditions were applied, to reflect representative situations. Therefore, the study results are intended to be applicable within EU27+2 boundaries – in order to be applied in other regions, adjustments might be required. Formaldehyde imported into Europe was not considered in this Eco-profile.This EPD describes the production of the Polypoxymethylene (POM) polymer from cradle to gate (from crude oil extraction to granules or resin at plant).
PlasticsEurope Eco-profiles and EPDs represent European industry averages within the scope of PlasticsEurope as the issuing trade federation. Hence they are not attributed to any single producer, but rather to the European plastics industry as represented by PlasticsEurope’s membership and the production sites participating in the Eco-profile data collection.
The production processes were modelled using specific values from a primary data collection at site, representing the specific technologies in use with the two producers having participated in the project. Primary data were used for all foreground processes (under operational control), whereas secondary data was used for background processes (under indirect management control). In order to enhance representativeness and to protect confidentiality of producer data, a third dataset was put together by PwC from literature sources and specialist expertise and used in the vertical average.POM for any relevant applicationpom process.jpgLCI resultAttributionalNone.
It has been prepared according to PlasticsEurope’s Eco-profiles and Environmental Declarations – LCI Methodology and PCR for Uncompounded Polymer Resins and Reactive Polymer Precursors (PCR version 2.0, April 2011). Allocation - 100% to main functionNo allocation in foreground processUse of high heating valuenoneIn the foreground processes all relevant flows were considered, trying to avoid any cut-off of material and energy flows. At least 95 % of mass and energy of the input and output flows were covered and 98 % of their environmental relevance (according to expert judgment) was considered, hence an influence of cut-offs less than 2 % on the total is expected.NoneEco-profiles developed by PlasticsEurope use average data representative of the respective foreground production process, both in terms of technology and market share. The primary data are derived from site-specific information for processes under operational control supplied by the participating member companies of PlasticsEurope.
Relevant foreground data for the third dataset was taken from literature (patents and process descriptions) and specialist input on precursor properties, specifics of involved chemical reactions, and chemical engineering processes.
All relevant background data such as energy and auxiliary material are from the DEAM, PlasticsEurope and Ecoinvent 2.2 databases; formaldehyde as a background process is from the GaBi database. Most of the background data and the pertinent documentation are publicly available.NoneWhen there were no database on some chemicals, expertise and stoechiometric equation was used in order to model all raw material in the system boundary.NoneDEAM DatabaseEcoinvent v2.0GaBi databases21.02010-20112013EcoprofileAll relevant flows quantifiedThe project included regular milestone meetings with representatives of all participating producers and PlasticsEurope as system operator. The reviewer participated in these meetings. In addition, a review meeting between the LCA practitioner and the reviewer was held, including a model and database review, and spot checks of data and calculations.
This project presented a particular challenge because, contrary to goal and scope, the inclusion of a third major producer with a primary dataset became impossible at a late stage. Consequently, the practitioner had to develop a literature dataset to enable the preparation of this Eco-profile at all. Limitations on data quality arising from this decision are thus not attributable to the practitioner nor to the quality of the primary data provided by the two remaining companies; they are rather an upshot of the amalgamated life cycle model.
Specific comments on the results include:
- Proxy datasets needed to be developed to represent auxiliaries of trioxane and co-monomer production. The impact of these proxy data was assessed and, also due to their mass contributions of less than 1%, found to be negligible.
- The differentiation of the water inventory by source and destination (allowing for a water balance and supporting water footprints) should be included in future updates.
DEKRAThe main data source was a primary data collection from European producers, providing site-specific gate-to-gate production data for processes under operational control of the participating companies. Data for the upstream supply chain until the precursors are taken from several databases (DEAM, PlasticsEurope, GaBi, ecoinvent).
Variation of single data was not recorded. Variation of the model/dataset not applicable due to vertical average of production lines and technologies. The critical aspect within this model is the inclusion of literature data as a proxy for a third original dataset. Hence, Precision above was rated “n/a”.
This Eco-profile has a noticeably lower representativeness than other reports from the PlasticsEurope programme: this is because only two primary datasets were available. Through inclusion of literature data, the resulting dataset is still considered reliable and good quality representation of POM production in Europe. Once a third original dataset, with a substantial contribution to the European production volume, becomes available an expansion and recalculation is highly recommended to improve the achievable data quality ratings. The critical review confirms that this Eco-profile adheres to the rules set forth in the PlasticsEurope’s Eco-profiles and Environmental Declarations – LCI Methodology and PCR for Uncompounded Polymer Resins and Reactive Polymer Precursors (PCR version 2.0, April 2011).
PlasticsEurope Review POM 2014-03ILCD Data Network - Entry-levelFully compliantFully compliantFully compliantFully compliantFully compliantFully compliantPlastics EuropeEcoprofileEcoprofileEcobilan2021-02-01T00:00:00.000ILCD format 1.1EcobilanPlastics Europe2021-02-01T00:00:00.00001.00.000Data set finalised; entirely publishedPlastics EuropetruePlastics EuropeOtherFrom PlasticsEuropePolyoxymethylene granulate (POM)Output1.01.00.000Mixed primary / secondaryUnknown derivationvaluable