Sustainability indicators for accelerating the production of man-made cellulosic fibers

Man-made cellulosic fibers (MMCF) are a renewable alternative to fossil-based synthetic fibers due to potentially reduced environmental impacts and competitive properties in comparison to other fibers commercially available such as cotton. Although significant research is done on enhancing the technical properties and production of MMCF, the successful commercial implementation relies on sustainable (economic, environmental and social) upscaling of MMCF production. Therefore, this study examines publications focusing on techno-economic, environmental and social assessments of MMCF to identify potential sustainability indicators to support the upscaling of MMCF. There are a limited number of peer-reviewed studies entailing the economic and social domains of MMCF sustainability. Environmental impacts have been evaluated more frequently. The economic barriers were reported to be the price of dissolving pulp, solvent recovery, capital expenditure, and energy consumption. 19 papers were found covering environmental sustainability, most of them applying LCA from cradle to gate for fiber production. Environmental impact assessments show that the most significant potential impacts were greenhouse gas emissions, water use, abiotic resource use, eutrophication, acidification and change in land use. It was possible to identify the indicators that occur in more than one domain of sustainability such as energy and water consumption, resource use and chemicals recyclability. However, none of the studies identified has focused on indicators that include all three domains. Further studies on economic and social sustainability coupled with environmental sustainability could support the identification of robust indicators, tradeoffs and support paving the way to sustainable upscaling of MMCF.