1. Introduction
1.1. Background
The PCV group asked group 8 to come up with a more sustainable alternative to traditional single portion coffee. A reason for this is that the current coffee pods will become illegal within the European Union within some years. Reason for this is the waste that is indirectly produced by pods. The group came up with a biodegradable concept made from more innovative materials like mycelium and chitin. It is a coffee disk wrapped in a layer of cellulose, mycelium and chitin.
1.2. Purpose
Group 8's research aims to compare the innovative sustainable coffee capsule design with conventional coffee pods in order to assess and quantify the environmental benefits of the design. This study is especially significant because of the increasing environmental concerns and upcoming regulations in the European Union to gradually remove regular coffee pods out of the market due to their harmful effects on the environment. The two key points that are looked at are the following:
• To identify and quantify environmental impacts: Measurement is done on various environmental impacts such as carbon emissions, energy use, water consumption, and waste production. This holistic approach ensures that all significant environmental factors are considered.
• To compare with traditional pods: Directly comparing the environmental impacts of the sustainable coffee concept with those of traditional coffee pods. This comparison is essential to show the sustainability advantages of the concept.
In summary, our research aims to not only evaluate the sustainability of the coffee pod concept on its own but also to compare it with traditional options.
2. Goal Definition
2.1. Objective
The main goal of this life cycle analysis is to find the difference in environmental impact between traditional coffee pod capsules and Group 8’s concept.
This life cycle analysis is focused on European coffee consumer, and more specific European single serve coffee consumers.
The initiator of the research is indirectly the PCV Group. They did not directly initiate a life cycle analyses, however Group 8 thought of it as a valuable addition to the research effort.
2.2. Depth of study
To accurately determine the environmental effect of the coffee capsules the impact assessment method ReCiPe 1.08 midpoints method is used. This method includes eighteen environmental effects. With these effects the environmental impact of the coffee capsules is determined. In this analysis, the primary focus will be on a first-order inventory level when examining coffee capsules. This approach is adopted to simplify the process, which would otherwise become significantly more complex if analyses were to be engaged in second or third-order level. In doing so, the assumption is made that the factories and machinery involved in the manufacturing processes are similar across both designs under consideration. A look will be taken at the entire life cycle of the product. From the production of the coffee and pod materials to the end-of-life disposal and recycling of the pods.
2.2.1. Temporal validity
In terms of the time validity for this life cycle assessment, we assign a period of 10 years. Currently, within the realm of biodegradable materials, numerous companies are investing significant resources to develop more efficient and environmentally friendly options. This investment indicates a likely potential improvement in this field. Therefore with the current knowledge and materials a timespan of 10 years is deemed realistic. Next to that, laws on coffee pods will be subject of change within the European union in the upcoming years.
2.2.2. Geographical validity
Due to the European legislation and the fact that the project is related to European coffee consumers. The production of the product is also located in Europe. Therefore the geographical validity is set within Europe.
2.3. Subject of study
The analysis is done on pods of a single serve coffee machine made for the European coffee consumers. The size can be compared to Nespresso pods. The production is focused on mass production of the product.
The analysis will be done on the pods of the machine, thus not on the machine itself. The materials of the production of the pod will be taken into account, as well as the coffee itself and the necessary water supply. This will give a precise as possible result.
2.4. Functional unit
The functional unit of this life cycle assessment is "The preparation of three cups (3x250 ml) of coffee per day for one year by an average European coffee consumer." The pod use will be equal to the number of coffee consumptions used annually, thus 1,095 pods per year. The rival competitors that are also in the single serve coffee market use the same amount of pods/capsules per year, thus making it a convenient comparison.
3. Life Cycle Inventory
3.1. Process tree
With a process tree one can visualize a seemingly complicated process by showing the hierarchy of process elements and their respective relationships. The process tree of a LCA contains the process of the production, consumption and disposal of a product. In the case of group 8, a more sustainable coffee concept. The process trees of the concept and the traditional coffee pods can be found in the appendix under figure 1 and 2.2,3 The following link will also lead to the schemes in Miro:
LCA, Visual Workspace for Innovation (miro.com)
3.2. Raw materials
The process tree starts with the raw materials. These are the base materials used in the production of the product. In both the concept as well as in the traditional pod process the raw materials are:
- Active ingredient
- Cellulose
- Chitin
- Coal
- Coffee beans
- Crude oil
- Inert ingredient
- Mycelium
- Nitrogen
- Phosphorus
- Potassium
- Sunlight
- Water
- Wind
Next to that, the concept uses the following raw materials
- Cellulose, Chitin and Mycelium
In the traditional production process the following raw material is used:
- Aluminum
3.3. Production
The production phase can be divided in two categories, refining and assembly
3.3.1. Refining
In the refining stage the raw materials are made in a directly useful form for the production. An example of this is the making of plastic from crude oil with the help of a refinery. The plastic can be directly used in the production process.
3.3.2. Assembly
With the refined materials the assembly can begin of the final product. This is not limited to assembly itself, it encompasses a wide range of production techniques. An example of this is the process of turning plastic into packaging material.
3.4. Consumption
In the consumption phase the coffee is consumed. This is done by the consumer of the coffee.
3.5. Disposal
The concept coffee disposal is significantly different than that of the traditional pods. Where the traditional pods get incinerated or brought to a landfill, the concept pods travel on another route. Because of the organic nature of the concept pods, they can be thrown into the organic waste. The pods are then converted into compost. Compost has numerous applications, and composting makes the production process more circular. This is different to the linear process of the traditional pods
3.6. Transportation
For the transport aspect, a variety of transportation modes is included. A list is composed of the transportation modes together with their respective fuel types
o Barge (Diesel)
o Garbage truck (Electricity)
o Ocean freighter (Bunker fuel)
o Train (Electricity/Diesel)
o Truck Last mile (Electricity)
o Truck Long distance (Diesel)
o Van (Electricity)
An assumption is made that garbage trucks, vans and last mile delivery trucks are driven by electricity. This assumption is grounded by the fact that within European cities vehicles that produce emissions will not be permitted in the upcoming years.
Ocean freighters run on a so called bunker fuel. This fuel type is a rest product of refining crude oil, and thus very hazardous for the environment.
4. Impact assessment
In the impact assessment a look is taken at the effects of the materials in the process on the world. A scheme is made and divided in four stages: Inventory, Impact, Endpoint and Point of protection.
In the Inventory part all materials are listed. Output materials as wells as input materials are listed here.
The Impact part contains categories that are caused by the Inventory items. Examples of this are Global warming, Air pollution and Water depletion.
Clear causations of the Impact categories are described in the Endpoint list. Air pollution in the Impact category is linked to Headache, Respiratory effects and Cancer in the Endpoint category.
All endpoints are distilled in three main focus points in the Points of protection list. These are Human health, Ecosystem and Economy.4 The visualization can be found in the appendix under figure 4.
Due to some unexpected personal issues with a member of group 8, the LCA could not be finished in time. There was no option for others to finish it either, because the implementation of the Gabi software was on this group members computer. Combined with the short period of time that was left, it was deemed not feasible to finish the LCA in the way that Group 8 had anticipated.
5. Interpretation
6. Discussion
7. Conclusion
8. Recommendations
9. References
1) Quist, Z. (n.d.). A Beginner's Guide to Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). EcoChain Blog.
https://ecochain.com/blog/life-cycle-assessment-lca-guide/
2) National Coffee Association. (n.d.). 10 Steps from Seed to Cup. National Coffee Association. https://www.ncausa.org/about-coffee/10-steps-from-seed-to-cup/
3) Goedkoop, M.J. (n.d.). Process tree of a simplified coffee machine model with amounts and assumptions. ResearchGate.
https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Process-tree-of-a-simplified-coffee-machine-model-with-amounts-and-assumptions_fig1_226244665
4) ScienceDirect. (n.d.). Life Cycle Impact Assessment. ScienceDirect.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/agricultural-and-biological-sciences/life-cycle-impact-assessment