Life Cycle Assessment of Ball Bladder Production With and Without Recycled Rubbers

Background: Environmental issues such as global warming and ozone depletion are one of the most controversial concerns of scientists due to their several potential impacts on the earth as a result of long-term emission of greenhouse gases, mainly CH4 and CO2. Evidence of greenhouse gas emissions during rubber production provides important and useful data for Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). The present study aimed to reduce the emission rate of greenhouse gases in the ball bladder production process using natural rubber in combination with recycled rubber. Methods: In this regard, a LCA in SimaPro 8.0.1 software using CML2001 method was conducted on data related to the resources, chemicals, raw materials and energy consumption during ball manufacturing in Tanin Peak Sabalan Factory, Ardabil, Iran. Results: Our findings revealed that the ball bladder with natural rubber had the largest contribution to the ozone layer depletion (39.2%) and global warming (41.1%), while the bladder with both recycled and natural rubbers had an impact of 27.9% and 29.5%, respectively. Conclusion: In conclusion, the ball bladder with both recycled and natural rubbers is less ecodestructive than that the bladder with only natural rubber.