Environmental impact analysis of plant fibers and their composites relative to their synthetic counterparts based on life cycle assessment approach

摘要: In this chapter, the environmental performance of natural reinforcements is evaluated relative to their synthetic counterparts based on the recently published studies in the field. Most of the reviewed studies depend on the life cycle assessment approach to compare natural and synthetic reinforcements in terms of environmental impact (EI). The improvements achieved on the environmental performance of eco-friendly fibers reinforced composites should be linked with the developed composites’ mechanical properties along with costs of materials and end-of-life (EoL) treatment methods. The EI of synthetic fibers reinforced composites can be alleviated if the man-made fibers are recycled and reused to substitute fresh fibers in the synthetic composites. The substitution process’s economic feasibility is governed by the type of substituted fibers and the recycled fibers’ recovery rate. The incineration and landfilling …