Assessment of Potential Environmental Impact: Synthetic and Natural Binders

Binders are important construction materials, especially with plant-based granulates and fibers. A binder is chosen for its physical and chemical properties to be compatible with some construction requirements. New market trends show that green binders meet global sustainability targets, which is a step towards greener buildings and a greener environment. This study presents a cradle-to-gate comparative life cycle assessment (LCA) of synthetic binders (Polyvinyl Acetate (PVA) and Carboxymethyl Cellulose (CMC)) and agriculture starch-based binders made from cassava, wheat, and corn. The LCA was conducted using SimaPro software based on ISO 14040/14044 standards using the ReCiPe Midpoint and CML IA Baseline method. The assessment is cradle-to-gate with a binder production function unit of 1 kg. Key environmental sustainability metrics like Global Warming Potential (GWP) and Acidification Potential (AP) are assessed to rank the binder sustainability against each other. The results show that synthetic binder PVA has the highest environmental impact in almost all impact categories, especially GWP (6.55 kg CO₂ eq in ReCiPe and 6.37 kg CO₂ eq in CML) and AP (0.012 kg SO₂ eq in ReCiPe and 0.015 kg SO₂ eq in CML). Among natural binders, Corn Starch shows the lowest environmental impact with GWP values of 0.930 kg CO₂ eq (ReCiPe) and 0.896 kg CO₂ eq (CML) and AP values of 0.010 kg SO₂ eq (ReCiPe) and 0.016 kg SO₂ eq (CML). The agricultural binders (Cassava Starch, Wheat Starch, and Corn Starch) are environmentally friendlier than the synthetic binders (PVA and CMC). Although agricultural binders carry environmental costs associated with farming operations, they have lower environmental impacts than synthetic alternatives, demonstrating their sustainability potential in binder applications.