Environmental Footprint Calculator (EFC)

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Environmental Footprint Calculator (EFC)
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What is the Best Choice for My Business?
Thermal Processing?
Solvent Processing?
Liquid Processing?
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One Size Fits All?

• A printers choice of plate processing technology
  depends upon several factors
• Graphic Requirements
• Ink Compatibility
• Available Equipment Footprint
• Most Important Environmental Impacts
• No one solution works for everyone

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Variables

• How do the following variables affect the
  environmental impact of various plate processing
  technologies?

• Geographic location?
• Plate gauge?
• Plate size?

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• UT Center for Clean Products
• Established in 1992
• A multi-disciplinary research center housed
  within UT
• Dedicated to the development, evaluation, and
  adoption of clean products and materials
• Conducted several projects within the printing
  industry, including a pollution prevention
  project for the Gravure Association of America
• Conducted a number of corporate endeavors where
  they have developed environmental impact
  calculators that evaluate the overall
  environmental impacts associated with the
  manufacture, use and disposal of various products
• ecoform
• Founded in 2006
• Practitioners working through a variety of
  corporate and university organizations, including
  the University of Tennessees Center for Clean
  Products
• Has worked with organizations such as Rubbermaid
  Commercial Products, Evercare, and the Natural
  Stone Council

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Definition Life Cycle Assessment

• The investigation and evaluation of the
  environmental impacts of a given product or
  service caused or necessitated by its existence.

Source www.epa.gov
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The LCA Process

• Goal Definition Scoping
• Inventory Analysis
• Impact Assessment
• Interpretation

Life Cycle Assessment Framework
Goal Definition Scope
Inventory Analysis
Interpretation
Impact Assessment
Source Lifecycle Assessment Principles and
Practice, EPA
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The LCA Process

• Goal Definition Scoping
• Inventory Analysis
• Impact Assessment
• Interpretation

Life Cycle Assessment Framework
Goal Definition Scope
Inventory Analysis
Interpretation
Impact Assessment
Source Lifecycle Assessment Principles and
Practice, EPA
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Goal and Scope

• Goal
• To develop an interactive sustainability tool
  that will enable users to determine the relative
  environmental impacts of digital solvent, digital
  thermal and liquid plate processing while
  incorporating customer-specific variables such as
  geographic location, plate gauge, plate size and
  number of plates.
• Scope
• Raw material production and processing
• Production of the photopolymer material
• Processing of the photopolymer plate
• .

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Scope
Plate manufacture
Plate Mounting
Imaging
Printing
Converting
Within Scope
Outside Scope
Waste Recycled
Waste
Waste
Waste
Note Transportation of raw materials was not
included within the scope of this study
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The LCA Process

• Goal Definition Scoping
• Inventory Analysis
• Impact Assessment
• Interpretation

Life Cycle Assessment Framework
Goal Definition Scope
Inventory Analysis
Interpretation
Impact Assessment
Source Lifecycle Assessment Principles and
Practice, EPA
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Inventory Analysis

• Data Collection and Modeling of the Product
  System
• Description and Verification of Data
• Inputs
• Materials
• Energy
• Chemicals
• Outputs
• Air emissions
• Water emissions
• Solid Waste
• Final product

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Assumptions

• A steady state of production
• A production rate of 80 maximum capacity at
  largest format available for each processing
  method
• A 50 image area
• 50 relief

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Photopolymer Manufacturer Workflow
Energy
Raw materials
Inputs
Manufacturing Process
Waste
Photopolymer
Outputs
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Sheet Photopolymer Digital Solvent Processing
DigitalPlate
Electrical Power
Inputs
Clean Solvent
LaserImager
UV Exposure
PX/DT
Dryer
Washout
Dust(negligible)
Dirty solvent (Solvent dissolvedphotopolymer)
PET coversheet
SolventVapor
Outputs
Still bottoms(haz waste)
Distillation
90 recovery
FinishedPlate
Clean Solvent
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Sheet Photopolymer Digital Thermal Processing
DigitalPlate
Electrical Power
Inputs
Blottermaterial
LaserImager
UV Exposure
PX/DT
LAVASystem
Carbondust(negligible)
Organic vapors
PET coversheet
Used blotter
Usedfilter w/ captured organics
Outputs
C Filter
FinishedPlate
Clean air
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Liquid Photopolymer
Liquidphotopolymer
Electrical Power
Inputs
1. Film negative 2. Coverlay3. PET substrate
Water Detergent
Water salts
Casting Exposure
Reclaim
DT
PX
Washout
Dryer
Rinse water
Rinse water
Soluble Photopolymer In water
Water Salts
Water vapor
Outputs
FinishedPlate
Disposal
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The LCA Process

• Goal Definition Scoping
• Inventory Analysis
• Impact Assessment
• Interpretation

Life Cycle Assessment Framework
Goal Definition Scope
Inventory Analysis
Interpretation
Impact Assessment
Source Lifecycle Assessment Principles and
Practice, EPA
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Impact Categories

• Energy Consumption The total quantity of energy
  consumed within the life cycle of the product.
• Water Consumption The total quantity of water
  consumed within the life cycle of the product
• Acidification of Water The process by which the
  pH of a body of water is decreased due to the
  entry of acidifying compounds, particularly
  nitric acid (HNO3) and sulfuric acid (H2SO4).
• Eutrophication of Water The process of nutrient
  enrichment namely phosphorous (P) and nitrogen
  (N). The increased food supply results in
  extensive growth of algae, in turn causing highly
  turbid water.
• Global Warming An increase in the planets
  average tropospheric temperature. To some extent,
  this occurs naturally on earth, but is
  exacerbated by the excess of heat trapping
  compunds known as greenhouse gases in the
  earths atmosphere.
• Ozone Depletion Refers to the destruction of the
  stratospheric ozone layer which filters out the
  most intense ultraviolet light from the suns
  radiant energy.
• Smog Generation The formation of photochemical
  smog in the troposphere. Smog forms from the
  reaction of nitric oxide (NO), oxygen (O2), and
  volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in the
  presence of sunlight.

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Environmental Footprint Calculator (EFC)
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Energy Grids
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The LCA Process

• Goal Definition Scoping
• Inventory Analysis
• Impact Assessment
• Interpretation

Life Cycle Assessment Framework
Goal Definition Scope
Inventory Analysis
Interpretation
Impact Assessment
Source Lifecycle Assessment Principles and
Practice, EPA
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Interpretation Key Findings

• In terms of environmental impacts, generally
  speaking . .
• Solvent gt Thermal gt Liquid

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Interpretation

• Compared to Solvent Processing
• Liquid processing results in higher water
  consumption and smog generation, but has
  significantly lower impacts in all other
  categories.
• Thermal processing has a slightly higher impact
  on eutrophication of water but has significantly
  lower impacts in all other categories.
• Compared to Thermal Processing
• Both liquid and solvent processing use much more
  water
• Liquid processing consumes less energy and
  contributes fewer CO2 emissions to the atmosphere
  (Global Warming Impact).
• Compared to Liquid Processing
• Both solvent and thermal processing use much more
  energy than liquid processing
• Thermal processing produces fewer kgs of CFC
  equivalents (ozone depletion) than liquid
  platemaking.

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Reasons Why

• Liquid Platemaking generally has a smaller
  environmental footprint than solvent and thermal
  processing because
• No solvents are used
• Un-imaged photopolymer can be reclaimed
• Thermal Processing generally has a smaller
  environmental footprint than solvent because
• Energy usage required by the still

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Reasons Why Energy Use
Solvent Processing Workflow
Thermal Processing Workflow
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
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Looking Forward

• First Iteration of the EFC
• Will continue to refine data as we move forward
• Collection of raw material LCA input data growing
  more complete
• EFC creates areas for improvement (i.e., water
  usage in Liquid)
• Recycling photopolymer materials at end-of-life

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• Thank You!
• Heather P. Barrett
• MacDermid Printing Solutions
• hbarrett_at_macdermid.com
• 404.699.3338