Life cycle assessment of biobased polymers for skin-contact applications

International audienceBiobased polymers are currently developed to replace petro-sourced ones in a wide range of applications. During the European project Polybioskin, prototypes of biopolymers for skin-contact products were studied. The aim was to developed a diaper, a wound dressing and a beauty mask, made of biobased polymers with biodegradability properties. The main biopolymers used were polylactic acid (PLA), polybutylene succinate (PBS), Polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB), chitosan, pullulan for supports and a microcapsule-like systems based on a complex chitin-nanofibril/nanolignin (C-N/NL), suitable for entrapping active molecules as glycyrrhetinic acid (GA) [1]. Environmental impacts of the life cycle of the developed products were studied thanks to life cycle assessment (LCA). LCA is a method designed to assess the impacts of a product or process on the environment, more and more applied to recent materials, as biopolymer