Introduction to Life Cycle Engineering

The preservation of non-renewable natural resources is an issue that has assumed great importance in modern society. It is now widely recognized that continued economic development should be accompanied by more appropriate use of natural resources. Just how the economy should be organized to achieve such balanced growth is at present open to a great deal of debate. Industry is under great pressure to improve its practices. The polymer industry is particularly under fire, no doubt due to the short lifespan of many plastics based consumer products, the high visibility of polymers in municipal solid waste and the rapid increase of plastics consumption. Sustainable development has been widely accepted as a viable concept for ensuring long-term survival of humankind and of other species on the planet under acceptable conditions. Sustainable growth must therefore encompass environmental, social, and economic factors and maintain a balance between them. This implies consideration of a wide range of factors in determining solutions to environmental problems. Life cycle engineering (LCE) provides a methodology of how to design, manufacture, use, maintain and recover materials and products with the aim of optimizing resource use and minimizing environmental impact. The life cycle of a product made from a polymer or from a polymer-based composite is composed of a series of distinct steps. By monitoring the value of the polymer throughout its life cycle, from the “cradle” to the “grave”, it is possible to guide improvement, the aim being to maintain the performance value of the constituent materials at as high a level as possible throughout the life cycle.