Life Cycle Analysis: 100% Acrylic Latex Paint | Jessica Johanson – Geography 101 (Environmental Geography) | This report focuses on the life cycle of acrylic latex paint, taking the reader through the various stages of production through to disposal. | |

Contents Introduction 2 Objectives & Structure 2 Product 2 Paint 3 Raw Material Stage 3 Titanium Dioxide 4 Chloride Process 5 Sulfate Process 5 Water 5 Plastic Acrylic Resin 6 Manufacturing Stage 6 Final Use 7 Disposal Stage 7 Product Care Association 7 Landfill Disposal 8 Conclusion 8 Bibliography 9 CIL Naturaliving Paint 11

Introduction

Objectives & Structure

This life cycle analysis report is going to acknowledge the environmental and health benefits of using CIL’s naturaliving VOC-free paint, while also shedding light on the effects that its production and distribution have had on the environment. Following the introduction will be a brief overview and history of latex paint. The remainder of the report will be comprised of the life cycle of latex paint, which will walk the reader through the stages of: raw material extraction, manufacturing/production, distribution, final use, and disposal.

Product The product chosen for this report is 100% acrylic latex paint, specifically, CIL’s naturaliving, VOC-free paint (for product ad, see Appendix: A). There are two main types of paint currently in production, oil-based (alkyd) and water-based (latex). This report is focusing on latex paint because of the environmental benefits that come from using latex over oil. Paint is thinned by use of a solvent; latex paint uses water as a solvent, whereas oil paint uses petrochemical distillate (Mario's Painting Services, 2010). When paint dries the solvent is evaporated into the atmosphere, which is the main reason latex paint is an environmentally friendly option to use over oil-based. The VOC-free component of CIL’s paint is also an important factor in the choice of this specific product for this report. Even though a latex paint uses water as a solvent, there are still other hazardous chemicals that are evaporated into the air when a latex paint dries; these hazardous chemicals are called volatile organic compounds or, VOC’s. The main VOC emissions that are released into the air with conventional latex paints are: propylene glycol, ethylene glycol, ethanol, and Texanol (Chang, et al., 1999). These emissions are carcinogenic and harmful to humans. When released into the air in an indoor setting, these emissions can immediately cause difficulty breathing, or allergic reactions in many individuals. CIL’s naturaliving 100% acrylic latex paint contains no VOC’s and therefor is a great option for consumers to use (Home Depot, 2011). The reasoning behind choosing paint as the focus of this report is due to the nature of the author’s employment. Being a certified paint specialist in a well-known local hardware store, the author has always had a genuine curiosity as to what the basic ingredients of paint are, and how they are derived from the environment. This curiosity and product knowledge will surely come forward throughout this report.

Paint

In essence, paint is an environmentally friendly product because of the services it provides (Sveff, 2002). By extending the life of the substrate that it is applied to, paint helps to keep raw materials in use longer, thus keeping those raw materials from entering landfills sooner than necessary. Paint has been used as a protective coating on raw materials, such as wood, since the time of the ancient Egyptians, around 1500 – 1000 B.C (Richard, et al., 2009). At those times, primarily oils and resins were used as protective coatings, while water-based paints were utilized in artwork (Advameg, 2011). Since then, technological advances and a better understanding of chemical properties have contributed to paint undergoing many changes and refinements to become what it is today. Water-based (latex) paint can now be used for the same purposes as oil-based (alkyd) paints have been in the past, and both are strong competitors in the consumer and industrial markets. Not only has the composition of paint evolved, but so has its uses; instead of paint only being used as a protective finish, that protective finish is now also being utilized as decoration. In some instances the only reason an individual may have for painting a surface will be to change the appearance of that surface, even if the surface is already fully protected from the elements. As stated above, there are two different classifications of paint, latex (water-based) and alkyd (oil-based). Both have the same three foundational properties: pigments, solvents, and binders. For both types of paint, pigments, which start in the form of powder or very small particles, are what give the paint colour and control the degree of opacity. Solvents are what the pigments and binders are suspended in; in oil-based paint the solvent is generally paint thinner, and in water-based paint, the solvent is water. Binders are what create adhesion to the substrate, and are what are left behind when the solvent evaporates. The binders for oil-based paints are typically oils such as, Tung, coconut, soybean or linseed, as well as other alkyd resins (Advameg, 2011). For water-based paints the binders are either vinyl acrylic, or 100% acrylic (Mario's Painting Services, 2010).

Raw Material Stage

* For the paint that is being featured throughout this report the ingredient list is as follows: * * Pigment(basic white): Titanium Dioxide * Solvent: Water * Binder: Plastic Acrylic Resin (when suspended in the solvent/water becomes acrylic polymer emulsion) *

Titanium Dioxide

Titanium dioxide is the product of combining titanium with oxygen (Mineral Information Institute, 2011). This process starts with the mining of minerals from sands which contain titanium, these minerals include: rutile, ilmenite, magnetite, and iron. Titanium is never found by itself in the mining process, it is always found in combination with another mineral (Oracle, 2010). The mining process used to collect titanium is strip mining. Strip mining is where heavy machinery is used to remove large amounts of soil and earth in horizontal strips to expose the minerals underneath to be mined (Withgott, et al., 2010). This process can be very hazardous to the environment and natural systems around the mine. The vegetation and land removed in the process can easily run off into streams and rivers in the surrounding areas during rainfall, subjecting those areas to negative effects such as blockages and flooding (Oracle, 2010). With the implementation of government regulations the mined site must be returned to its previous state after mining is complete (Withgott, et al., 2010). While this is a step in the right direction for positive environmental impacts, the initial upheaval of the land may be impossible to completely reverse in many situations. Another less used for of mining for titanium is dredge mining. This form of mining also has a negative impact on the environment around it. Through the damming of rivers the ecological base and topsoil may be compromised having negative effects for agricultural communities in the surrounding areas (Akiwumi, 2011). No matter which form of mining is utilized the problem still arises that companies are extracting unsustainable resources from the earth in less than environmentally friendly ways.
Once the titanium is mined from the earth, the next step is to convert it into titanium dioxide. Titanium dioxide is the most widely used pigment in paint because of its unique combination of powerful properties which include: high opacity, brilliant whiteness, excellent covering power, resistance to colour change, and a very high refractive index (Chemlink, 1997). In order to produce titanium dioxide, titanium must be combined with oxygen. There are two main processes that are in use today which accomplish the conversion: the chloride process and the sulfate process (Chemlink, 1997). The preferred method is the chloride method due to the fact that it produces much less waste, offers tighter control, is less labour intensive and overall environmentally safer than the sulfate process. Currently only about 60% of the pigment produced in the world is made using the chloride process, so the sulfate process is still very much in use (Chemlink, 1997).

”For the production of water-borne paint, titanium dioxide contributes the largest portion of environmental impact, often greater than all the other raw materials combined” (Anon., 2010).

Chloride Process

The chloride process for producing titanium dioxide relies heavily on fossil fuels and other forms of energy consumption. The basic process consists of taking the crude ore minerals containing the titanium, reducing them with carbon, oxidizing them with chlorine and then distilling and re-oxidizing the resulting product in order to create pure titanium dioxide (Chemlink, 1997). Throughout the chloride process there are many harmful emissions released into the atmosphere and the final product does create waste in the form of iron chloride which has to be disposed of, and this is not always done in an environmentally sound way (Chemlink, 1997).

Sulfate Process

The sulfate process, like the chloride process also relies heavily on the burning of fossil fuels to produce titanium dioxide. This process is more harmful to the environment mainly because it results in a larger amount of waste product at the end of production in the form of iron sulfate. This process take the ore minerals, digests them in sulfuric acids, filters off the waste product (iron sulfate), which leaves behind titanium salt which will be turned into pure titanium dioxide through further processing in the sulfuric acids (Chemlink, 1997). This process is still in use today primarily because it is a cheaper alternative to the chloride process, even though it is less efficient (Chemlink, 1997).

Water

Water is the solvent that is used in latex paint. The use of water contributes to the quality and ease of use of latex paints. Water allows the paint to be applied smoothly and evenly, gives the paint less odor than an alkyd paint, enables the consumer to clean up messes with soap and water rather than harmful solvents, and it gives the paint a very fast drying time. Other than the use of clean water in latex paint contributing to the world-wide shortage of drinking water, there is not very much to be said that is negative about the use of it in latex paint.

Plastic Acrylic Resin

Plastic acrylic resin gives paint its adhesive properties, sheen, binds the individual ingredients together, and gives the substrate, to which the paint has been applied, protection from the elements. The resin is composed of monomers, additives, activators, and catalysts in liquid or solid form (S. F. Engineering Works, 2010). Large scale manufacturing plants combine these elements together under high heat and pressure to create the resin. In order to generate the necessary energy required to heat and pressurize these elements, the plants would need to utilize large amounts of fossil fuels. The use of fossil fuels is an unsustainable practice of creating energy, but is what most industrial plants rely on. Also the burning of fossil fuels contributes to damaging our atmosphere through the release of harmful pollution. The manufacturing of plastic acrylic resin results in a considerable amount of waste material by the end of the process (S. F. Engineering Works, 2010). Some of these wastes are spilled throughout the process, during transportation of batches, batch spills, and from reactor clean-ups; the spilled wastes are rinsed into the waste water which the plant will treat through a waste water treatment system before disposing of it (S. F. Engineering Works, 2010).

Manufacturing Stage

Paint is manufactured in large plants through the utilization of heavy machinery. The heavy machinery used requires petroleum to run, thus creating the same environmental issues as stated previously. The first step in manufacturing paint is taking the raw titanium dioxide, currently fine sand, and forming it into a paste by adding a solvent, in the case of CIL’s naturaliving paint the solvent would be water. This paste then has to be agitated at a high speed in order to grind the sand down further into a very fine, thin paste (Advameg, 2011). Once the paste is filtered to remove any leftover sand particles, the binding agent is mixed in. In the case of 100% acrylic latex paint the binding agent is as stated above, plastic acrylic resin. These elements are thoroughly mixed together and finally thinned to the appropriate consistency with a solvent, in this case, water (Demand Media, 2011). All waste liquids that are generated by the manufacturing plants get treated by in-house wastewater treatment facilities (Advameg, 2011). These facilities are checked by the Environmental Protection Agency periodically and are monitored 24 hours a day to ensure smooth operation (Advameg, 2011).

Final Use

The transportation of paint to its final retail selling outlets contributes an insignificant proportion of the overall environmental impact (Anon., 2010). Once paint has been sold to the consumer by various retail outlets, the main concern for the environment is the emission of harmful VOC’s. With CIL’s VOC-free paint this potential environmental hazard is eliminated and the consumer can use the paint rest assured that they are not contaminating the air they breathe, or the atmosphere with harmful emissions. The case is different for the use of any other paint which is not VOC-free; in the case where these other paints are used, VOC’s will be released into the air.

Disposal Stage

The disposal of paint is and always has been a concern for the environment. Up until 1994, paint in British Columbia was disposed of the traditional way, by being taken to the landfill. It was in 1994 that paint stewardship was introduced to British Columbia (Product Care Association, 2006). The paint stewardship program commits organizations in British Columbia to develop or engineer sustainable life-cycle approaches to the disposal of paint (Anon., 2008). The stewardship also set up regulations for the safe disposal of paint to recycling centers by individuals (Product Care Association, 2006). In 2001, the Product Care Association was formed; it is a federal, not-for-profit corporation dedicated to the safe disposal of paint, flammable liquids, pesticides and gasoline (Product Care Association, 2006).

Product Care Association

The Product Care Association encourages consumers to safely dispose of their left over or unwanted paint by bringing it to a recycling center set up by Product Care—of which there are over 200 in British Columbia—where the paint will be recycled in an environmentally sound way, completely avoiding the landfills (Product Care Association, 2006). Product Care has three options to the safe recycling of paint, and there is no option four of sending anything to the landfill (Product Care Association, 2006). The first option is “Reuse”, where leftover paint is given away to individuals who are in need; the second option is to “Recycle” the left over paint, where several paints may be mixed together or re-formulated for use on other products, or used in concrete mixes and asphalt coatings; the third option is to take alkyd paints and use them for “Energy Recovery” (Product Care Association, 2006). The Product Care Association does not charge individuals when they bring in the paints to be recycled, instead, there are user fees associated with the purchasing of any paint product at the point of purchase that go directly to funding the program (Product Care Association, 2006). These fees are also charged to the manufacturer/distributor of paint products to the retailers, thus holding everyone who makes or purchases paints accountable for funding Product Care’s safe disposal of the waste. When paint is disposed of through a Product Care facility the consumer can be assured that they have done their part to be environmentally friendly in the disposal of their paint. However, there are still many instances where individuals or retailers do not utilize the recycling centers set up by Product Care and this is when the disposal of paint can become hazardous to the environment.

Landfill Disposal

Landfills are where all of our household hazardous waste gets dispersed when we throw it away in the trash; this also applies for unused paints which are not recycled. The two main hazards of unused paints getting into landfills are harmful VOC emissions and leachate contamination. Due to the nature of the paint that this report focuses on, there would not be any threat of VOC emissions polluting the atmosphere if CIL’s VOC-free paint were to end up in a land fill. However, CIL’s paint is still made with toxic elements, if allowed to sit in a landfill, these elements would contribute to a potentially harmful leachate contamination. Leachate is mainly harmful due to the fact that it can cause the contamination of groundwater (Slack, et al., 2005). While in modern landfills there is a less likely chance that this will occur due to the control measures taken to keep the underlying aquifers leachate-free, there are still many older landfills where control measures were not taken in the establishment of the landfill (Slack, et al., 2005). For these reasons it is environmentally advantageous to keep paint out of landfills and recycle it through centers like the ones set up by the Product Care Association. Conclusion

CIL`s naturaliving VOC-free paint is a fairly environmentally friendly product past the manufacturing stage. The initial raw-materials stage of paint definitely has the most harmful impacts on the environment. These environmental impacts come from the strip mining processes used to derive the titanium from the earth, the energy consumption of the plants producing the raw materials, and the waste produced by the same plants. The manufacturing stage of paint is less harmful to the environment than the raw materials stage, but still contributes to the over-use of petroleum products in its operations, and also generates waste products. The final use and disposal stages of CIL`s naturaliving VOC-free paint are actually quite environmentally friendly as long as the paint is disposed of at a designated recycling center. It is the author’s opinion after conducting the research on the raw material stage and manufacturing stage, that the use of paint as strictly a protective finish in order to prolong the life of other products may be an acceptable practice taking the environmental impacts and degradation into perspective. However, when paint is used to simply give decoration, it is a waste of our finite resources and is a practice that perhaps should be avoided in the future.

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Appendix A:
CIL Naturaliving Paint
Is a 100% acrylic latex paint that contains no volatile organic compounds (VOCs)* and so doesn't contribute to the creation of air pollution. Offering superior adhesion and effective coverage over previous colours, its minimal odour allows you to enjoy your painted room sooner.

CIL (2010) Brands [Internet] Available from: < http://www.cil.ca/products/brands/cil-naturaliving.html> [Accessed 6 November 2011]