ASTM_D_6852_-_02.pdf

Designation:D 6852 02Standard Guide forDetermination of Biobased Content,ResourcesConsumption,and Environmental Profile of Materials andProducts1This standard is issued under the fixed designation D 6852;the number immediately following the designation indicates the year oforiginal adoption or,in the case of revision,the year of last revision.A number in parentheses indicates the year of last reapproval.Asuperscript epsilon(e)indicates an editorial change since the last revision or reapproval.INTRODUCTIONThere is an increasing desire in United States and other parts of the world to use materials andproducts derived from biobased or renewable resources as a means of reducing dependency on fossilbased resources and decreasing their environmental profile.Central to the determination of biobasedcontent,resource consumption and environmental profile of materials and products is the origin andfate of the carbon contained in or released during their production,use,and disposal.Both biobased and fossil materials have carbon as a common foundation.The amount of renewablyfixed carbon utilized is a measure of the biobased resource content of a product.Carbon alsorepresents a large part of a products environmental profile.It is thus reasonable to use carbon andcarbon equivalent to combine and track raw materials and energy consumption in the creation of aproduct.It is very useful to know the biobased content of a material or product.However,knowledge of allthe resources consumed and byproduct materials and energy released allows determination of itsenvironmental impact and thus materially raise the understanding of the consequences of the creationof the product.1.Scope1.1 This guide covers a process to determine(1)biobasedcontent of materials and products,(2)total resource consump-tion,both biobased and nonrenewable,in the form of rawmaterials and energy,and(3)an environmental profile,whichwould also include emissions and waste generated.1.2 Reference to the use of factors to convert materials andenergy to carbon equivalents are provided(1-6)2.In addition,the use of ISO standards to determine the material and energyinventories and an environmental profile of the products andmaterials is discussed.It is outside the scope of this guide toprovide a detailed description of the use and application of lifecycle assessment tools and conversion factors for the determi-nation of a biobased materials environmental profile.FutureASTM International standards are being prepared to coverthese subjects.1.3 In the application of this guide,the protection ofbusiness confidential information is an important consider-ation.In general,the level of detail required to evaluatematerial and energy inputs and outputs can be reported withoutrevealing proprietary unit process information.Unit processescan be treated as black boxes with inputs and outputs.Ifbusiness confidentiality is still a concern,unit processes can befurther combined or the final LCA(Life Cycle Assessment)results can be reviewed and certified by an external,indepen-dent expert with which the vendor will have the appropriatesecrecy agreement.2.Referenced Documents2.1ISO Standards:3ISO14040 EnvironmentalManagement-LifeCycleAssessment-Principles and frameworkISO14041 EnvironmentalManagement-LifeCycleAssessment-Goal and scope definition and inventoryanalysisISO14042 EnvironmentalManagement-LifeCycleAssessment-Life cycle impact assessmentISO14043 EnvironmentalManagement-LifeCycleAssessment-Life cycle interpretation1This guide is under the jurisdiction of ASTM Committee D20 on Plastics andis the direct responsibility of Subcommittee D20.96 on Environmentally DegradablePlastics.Current edition approved December 10,2002.Published February 2003.Origi-nally approved in 2002.2The boldface numbers in parentheses refer to the list of references appended tothis guide.3Available from American National Standards Institute(ANSI),25 W.43rd St.,4th Floor,New York,NY 10036.1Copyright ASTM International,100 Barr Harbor Drive,PO Box C700,West Conshohocken,PA 19428-2959,United States.2.2Presidential Orders:413101:9/16/1998 Greening the Government through WastePrevention,Recycling,and Federal Requisition13123:6/3/1999 Greening the Government through Effi-cient Energy Management2.3Legislative Act:4Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002(P.L.107-171),Title IX Energy,Section 9002.3.Terminology3.1 Definitions:3.1.1 biobased carbon equivalent,Btotal biobased carbonused in the creation of the materials,including raw materialsand biobased energy,where energy has been converted tocarbon equivalent using well documented methods and con-version factors.B is thus the total biobased resource equivalentused in creation of the material.3.1.1.1 DiscussionExamples of factors to convert a unitof energy into carbon equivalent are referenced in this guide.However,it is outside the scope of this guide to describe theiruse and application.This will be the subject of future ASTMInternational standards.3.1.2 biobas