Design Life-Cycle

Megan Rees

Prof. Christina Cogdell

Des40A

Raw Materials in the Adhesive Bandage

 The adhesive bandage itself is comprised of two main parts, the surgical tape, which can be viewed as a plastic strip and an adhesive layer covering one side, and the absorbent pad to cover the wound. In addition to these elements I will also be addressing the release sheets attached to the adhesive side of the surgical tape. The lifecycle of an adhesive bandage includes the energy input and the waste emissions from processing the following materials: polyethylene, acrylic acid, rayon fibers laminated with polyethylene and kraft paper coated in polyethylene.[1] In this paper I will follow these materials from the time they are acquired, manufactured and distributed, to their time of recycling and waste management.

The surgical tape portion of the adhesive bandage can be composed of many different plastics, such as polyethylene, PVC, latex and even woven fabric. For this paper we will focus on the adhesive bandage with a polyethylene strip as the back of the surgical tape. Polyethylene comes from the monomer ethylene which is a secondary material produced by steam cracking natural gasses such as ethane and propane.[2] The ethane is diluted with steam and put in a furnace without oxygen to react at a temperature of 850°C, the reaction is quickly stopped by quenching the gas with quench oil. Ethylene is a byproduct of this reaction which is then combined with co-monomers such as butene, extracted by catalytic cracking of chains of hydrocarbons left by the refining process of crude oils.[3] The combination reaction of ethylene and butene produces polyethylene. Petrochemical companies such as LyondellBasell, based in the US handles the production of ethylene and butene, among other chemicals, and the manufacturing of polyethylene.[4] This finished product is then sent off to the adhesive bandage manufacturer to form the basis of the surgical tape and, in another configuration, sent to companies such as FABCO, which make rayon fiber pads for medical use, to laminate their absorbent pads, and to the manufacturers of the kraft paper, which use the polyethylene to act as a non-stick property.

The layer added to the polyethylene strip to create a pressure-sensitive adhesive backing is contrived of acrylic acid plus an ester resin tackifier.[5] The acrylic acid comes from propene, which is a secondary material from the same cracking process of natural gasses that create ethylene, discussed earlier in the propylene section.[6] Ester resin, also known as Foral 85,[7] is acquired after the combination of glycerol and hydrogenated rosin. The process of creating glycerin is described in Ullmann’s Encyclopedia of Industrial Chemistry, “the chlorination of propylene to give allyl chloride, which is oxidized with hypochlorite to dichlorohydrins, which reacts with a strong base to give epichlorohydrin. Epichlorohydrin is then hydrolyzed to give glycerol.”[8] Rosin is the solid form resin discharged from pine, also known as crude turpentine. The rosin is separated from the oil by distillation, leaving fluid rosin which is run through a tap at the bottom of the still, and purified through a straining process.[9] The rosin is then hydrogenated, the addition of hydrogen molecules to make the rosin more stable. The combination of the glycerol and hydrogenated rosin creates the ester tackifier needed to complete the adhesive mixture. The pressure sensitive adhesive is manufactured in the US, from companies such as Henkel, and can thus ship the adhesive to manufactures by truck.

The natural-based raw materials acquired for the absorbent pad, which is made of laminated rayon fibers,[10] come from the processed cellulose of wood pulp coming from trees such as pines or cotton. The cellulose is then dissolved in sodium hydroxide and pressed through rollers to get rid of extra liquid. The sheets of fiber are crumbled and aged through oxidation then mixed with carbon disulfide to produce cellulose xanthate. The cellulose is again dissolved in sodium hydroxide to yield viscose, which is filtered to remove undissolved particles before pushing the liquid through a spinneret into sulfuric acid. Once in the sulfuric acid, the rayon fibers are created and the final step is rinsing away any chemicals left on the fibers.[11] The rayon fibers are, again sent by ground freight from companies such as FABCO, which produces rayon for medical use, to Johnson&Johnson. The absorbent pad is later laminated with polyethylene, the production process is described in detail in the next section, to keep the pad from sticking to any wounds.

Now looking to the release sheets, which are formed from coated kraft paper. This production process begins with the raw material of pine trees which are, usually, conveniently owned by packaging companies.[12] The thousands of acres are matured, harvested and replaced by new pines. The harvested pines are sent to a pulp mill once the trees are cut down to just their trunks. Again, the pulp mill is usually owned by the packaging company, such as Green Bay Packaging Inc., which sends their harvested pines to the Green Bay Mill. The wood then goes through the sulfate process, which converts the wood to wood pulp, “The kraft process entails treatment of wood chips with a hot mixture of, water, sodium hydroxide, and sodium sulfide that breaks the bonds that link lignin, hemicellulose, and cellulose.”[13] After pulping, the fibers are dried and pressed into large sheets, in this case they are coated with polyethylene which acts as a release agent. The product is then sent by truck to companies producing the adhesive bandages, such as Johnson&Johnson, who I will be referring to as the main adhesive bandage manufacturer in this paper.

The packaging of these materials, made in the United States, are shipped by ground freight to manufacturers such as Johnson&Johnson, where the materials are put together to create the adhesive bandage. As Johnson&Johnson have distribution centers worldwide, they ship products by means of land, sea and air. This step in the lifecycle includes packaging materials such as corrugated cardboard, also coming from layered kraft paper, and various forms of packaging tape. Tape has a similar life cycle as the surgical tape strip used for the bandage, as a form of a pressure sensitive adhesive, the tape’s adhesive side consists of acrylic acid and a resin tackifier. The difference between the surgical tape and the packaging tape is in the backing, packaging tape is made from cellulose acetate.[14] This can be derived from cellulose from wood pulp or cotton, later treated with acetic acid and coated with a release agent, such as polyethylene, so the tape can be wound without adhering to itself.

The fuel needed to ship these products may be the most important material in this step. Fuel for ships (bunker oil), ground freight (diesel fuel), and airplanes (aviation fuel), are all forms of petroleum based fuels. The differences between them are the quality or purity of the fuel. Aviation fuel has a low boiling point which causes it to be the first oil extracted from the distilling petroleum oil. Later, the diesel fuel withdrawal takes place after raising the temperature in the distillation process. Bunker oil, being the least pure, has a much higher boiling point than the other fuels which leads the dense oil to be left in the bunker after the distillation of petroleum.[15]

The separate materials of the adhesive bandage are recyclable but once they are formed together and used for simple medical treatment, all parts, except for the kraft paper release sheets, become contaminated and are no longer recyclable. However, the polyethylene coated kraft paper slips are able to be sent to standard recycled paper mills,[16] where they are combined with water, bleaching chemicals and other recycled fibers.[17] The bandages are made for a simple one time use before being disposed of.

Waste treatment of the contaminated materials begin with double bagging the used  bandage and sending the waste with one’s household garbage to a landfill or incineration plant[18], depending on your cities’ preferred garbage disposal plans. Double bagging the waste would usually involve using lockable plastic bags, looking at International Plastics as the source of the plastic bags, are polyethylene based. Within the landfill, there is a bottom liner made of high density polyethylene that acts as a layer between the waste and nutrient soils.[19] In addition to this, each day the waste must be covered by six inches of compact soil, keeping anything emitting from or getting into the pile.[20] If the waste is taken to an incineration plant to be combusted, the only materials added are oxygen and some fuel to make sure the incineration reaches the highest temperature needed, 400°C.[21] Again, the fuel is derived from petroleum distillation.

The beginning of the adhesive bandage lifecycle begins with the acquisition of the primary materials, which in this case mostly come from steam cracking natural gases and from pine trees. The steam cracking process is used for the polyethylene, which yields the coating for the absorbent pad and release sheets and the surgical tape strip, and the acrylic acid, for the adhesive layer. Pine trees are the primary source for the kraft paper slips, the rayon fiber absorbent pad, and later, for the packaging, as they all come from wood pulp. These primary materials go through processing, manufacturing, distribution, recycling (for the kraft paper slips) and waste management, consuming energy and leaving behind waste and emissions through each step, before ending in a landfill or incineration plant.

[1] Stenvall, Carl B. First Aid Bandage. Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company, assignee. Patent 3888247. 10 June 1975. Web.

[2] Kenneth S. Whiteley, T. Geoffrey Heggs, Hartmut Koch, Ralph L. Mawer, Wolfgang Immel, "Polyolefins" in Ullmann's Encyclopedia of Industrial Chemistry 2005, Wiley-VCH, Weinheim. doi:10.1002/14356007.a21_487.

[3] Kniel, Ludwig; Winter, Olaf; Stork, Karl (1980). Ethylene, keystone to the petrochemical industry. New York: M. Dekker. ISBN 0-8247-6914-7.

[4] “Polyethylene” GPS Safety Summary. LyondellBasell. 5 June 2015.

[5] Stenvall, Carl B. First Aid Bandage. Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company, assignee. Patent 3888247. 10 June 1975. Web.

[6] Takashi Ohara, Takahisa Sato, Noboru Shimizu, Günter Prescher Helmut Schwind, Otto Weiberg, Klaus Marten, Helmut Greim "Acrylic Acid and Derivatives" in Ullmann's Encyclopedia of Industrial Chemistry 2003, Wiley-VCH, Weinheim. doi: 10.1002/14356007.a01_161.pub2.

[7]   Stenvall, Carl B. First Aid Bandage. Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company, assignee. Patent 3888247. 10 June 1975. Web.

[8] Christoph, R., Schmidt, B., Steinberner, U., Dilla, W. and Karinen, R. 2006. Glycerol. Ullmann's Encyclopedia of Industrial Chemistry. Web.

[9] Beglinger, E. (May 1958). “Distillation of Resinous Wood,” No. 496, Revised May 1958. United States Department of Agriculture Forest Service.

[10] Stenvall, Carl B. First Aid Bandage. Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company, assignee. Patent 3888247. 10 June 1975. Web.

[11] "Rayon Fiber (Viscose)." n.p. afma.org. 6 April 2008. Web.

[12] “Corrugated Cardboard.” How Products are Made, Vol. 1. Advameg. 2016. Web.

[13] Rudolf Patt et al. "Paper and Pulp" in Ullmann's Encyclopedia of Industrial Chemistry 2002 Wiley-VCH, Weinheim. doi:10.1002/14356007.a18_545.pub4

[14] “Cellophane Tape.” How Products are Made, Vol. 1. Advameg. 2016. Web.                          

[15] The Macquarie Dictionary 3rd ed, The Macquarie Library 1997.

[16] Vonfelden, Robert Scott, and John Kokoszka. Release Coating. Eco-Friendly Solutions, LLC, assignee. Patent 8663743. 14 Mar. 2014. Web.

[17] “Pulp and Paper Mills.” Pollution Prevention and Abatement Handbook. World Bank Group. July 1998. Web.

[18] “Healthcare Questions.” Waste Management. Waste Management. N.d. Web. 12 March 2016.

[19] “Learn About Landfills.” Advanced Disposal. Advanced Disposal. N.d. Web. 12 March 2016.

[20] “Learn About Landfills.” Advanced Disposal. Advanced Disposal. N.d. Web. 12 March 2016.

[21] Knox, Andrew. "An Overview of Incineration and EFW Technology as Applied to the Management of Municipal Solid Waste (MSW)."University of Western Ontario. February 2005. Web.

Bibliography

1.      Beglinger, E. (May 1958). “Distillation of Resinous Wood,” No. 496, Revised May 1958. United States Department of Agriculture Forest Service.

2.      Carte, Theresa, Karen Spilizweski, James Bodwell, and Benjamin C. Wiegand. Adhesive Bandage or Tape. Avery Dennison Corporation, Johnson&Johnson Consumer Products, Inc., assignee. Patent 5947917. 7 Sept. 1999. Web.

3.      “Cellophane Tape.” How Products are Made, Vol. 1. Advameg. 2016. Web

4.      Christoph, R., Schmidt, B., Steinberner, U., Dilla, W. and Karinen, R. 2006. Glycerol. Ullmann's Encyclopedia of Industrial Chemistry. Web.

5.      “Corrugated Cardboard.” How Products are Made, Vol. 1. Advameg. 2016. Web.

6.      Erickson, Richard C., and Robert C. Williams. Coated Release Paper. Albemarle Paper Company, assignee. Patent 3403045. 24 Sept. 1968. Web.

7.      “Healthcare Questions.” Waste Management. Waste Management. N.d. Web. 12 March 2016.

8.      Kenneth S. Whiteley, T. Geoffrey Heggs, Hartmut Koch, Ralph L. Mawer, Wolfgang Immel, "Polyolefins" in Ullmann's Encyclopedia of Industrial Chemistry 2005, Wiley-VCH, Weinheim. doi:10.1002/14356007.a21_487.

9.      Kniel, Ludwig; Winter, Olaf; Stork, Karl (1980). Ethylene, keystone to the petrochemical industry. New York: M. Dekker. ISBN 0-8247-6914-7.

10.  Knox, Andrew. "An Overview of Incineration and EFW Technology as Applied to the Management of Municipal Solid Waste (MSW)."University of Western Ontario. February 2005. Web.

11.  “Learn About Landfills.” Advanced Disposal. Advanced Disposal. N.d. Web. 12 March 2016.

12.  “Pulp and Paper Mills.” Pollution Prevention and Abatement Handbook. World Bank Group. July 1998. Web.

13.  "Rayon Fiber (Viscose)." n.p. afma.org. 6 April 2008. Web.

14.  Rudolf Patt et al. "Paper and Pulp" in Ullmann's Encyclopedia of Industrial Chemistry 2002 Wiley-VCH, Weinheim. doi:10.1002/14356007.a18_545.pub4

15.  Stenvall, Carl B. First Aid Bandage. Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company, assignee. Patent 3888247. 10 June 1975. Web.

16.  Takashi Ohara, Takahisa Sato, Noboru Shimizu, Günter Prescher Helmut Schwind, Otto Weiberg, Klaus Marten, Helmut Greim "Acrylic Acid and Derivatives" in Ullmann's Encyclopedia of Industrial Chemistry 2003, Wiley-VCH, Weinheim. doi: 10.1002/14356007.a01_161.pub2.nee. Patent 3888247. 10 June 1975. Web.

Andy Lin

DES40A

Christina Cogdell

2 March 2016

Adhesive Bandages: Embodied Energy

Everyone has used an adhesive bandage to cover up a wound to prevent friction, bacteria, or damage. Bandages have been around since ancient times to cover up wounds. It was essential to healing wounds without exposing it to the bacteria in the air. With the invention of Band-Aid adhesive bandages, people were able to apply the bandage themselves without any discomfort. In World War II, Band-Aid’s adhesive bandage was included in every first-aid kit and sales bloomed [1]. My group chose adhesive bandages because we wanted to discover the lifecycle of a product that is part of our daily lives. Many of us have taken bandages for granted The lifecycle of an adhesive bandage consists of the energy and waste of the pieces that make up an adhesive bandage: plastic strip, adhesive layer, absorbent pad, and release sheets. In this discussion, I will follow the raw materials from the production process all the way to the emissions and waste and explore the energy consumption throughout this life cycle.

Before any product is manufactured and produced, its raw materials need to be obtained. These primary raw materials include ethane, propane, glycerol, rosin, turpentine, rayon fiber, and wood pulp. Beginning with natural gases, ethane and propane are obtained through drilling. Natural gas drilling facilities are located world wide with about 200 trillion cubic meters total [2]. In 2014, there was 400 trillion cubic feet of natural gas reserves in North America [3]. Originally, natural gas was a by-product when producing oil and the unwanted gas was burned at oil fields. To provide energy for the drilling process, machines are powered by coal and mid-stream natural gases are also re-pressurized as another source of power. Once the natural gases are obtained, they are brought to plants so that ethane and propane can be extracted. Ethylene plants require steam turbines to provide power and high pressure steam to produce ethylene. Once the ethylene plant is running, it is self-sustained because it can reuse the steam produced from the furnaces. “A typical world scale ethylene plant (about 1.5 billion pounds of ethylene per year) uses a 45,000 horsepower (34,000 kW) cracked gas compressor, a 30,000 horsepower (22,000 kW) propylene compressor, and a 15,000 horsepower (11,000 kW) ethylene compressor” [8]. Natural gas processing plants require about 1000 kilojoules per cubit foot [4].

The plastic sheet on the opposite side of the adhesive can be made of polyethylene, PVC, latex, or woven fabric. For this paper I will focus on plastic sheets made with polyethylene. “Polyethylene is the most produced plastic in the world, with which everyone daily comes into contact” because it “can be processed into soft and flexible as well as into tough, hard and strong products.” Polyethylene is created through the process of steam cracking ethylene and propane [5]. “Cracking is the process whereby complex organic molecules such as kerogens or long chain hydrocarbons are broken down into simpler molecules such as light hydrocarbons, by the breaking of carbon-carbon bonds in the precursors” [6]. This method is called “cracking” because “the feedstock is heated to the point that the energy transfer from heat is enough to “crack” the molecules into several smaller molecules” [7]. Steam cracking is one of the two thermal methods for cracking [6]. To improve the end product yield, ethane and propane are mixed with diluted steam and “preheated using high pressure steam before entering the radiant section.” While the feedstock is in the radiant section, temperatures rise as high as 1560 degrees Fahrenheit so the cracking process can occur [7]. About 0.3 kilograms of steam per kilogram of hydrocarbon, 1300 kilojoules per kilogram of ethylene, and 1700 kilojoules per kilogram of propane is required during this process [11].

On the other side of the polyethylene plastic strip is the adhesive layer. The adhesive layer consists of acrylic acid and ester resin tackifier [9]. Acrylic acid comes from the same process of steam cracking propane as discussed in the previous section [10]. After propane is diluted with steam, it is briefly heated in the furnace without any oxygen to produce acrylic acid [7]. The ester resin is a combination of glycerol and hydrogenated rosin. Glycerol is obtained through the chlorination of propylene. “In this process a chlorination catalyst such as iron, ferric chloride, aluminum chloride, iodine, or sulfur may be used. The addition of chlorine to the propylene takes place directly in the cold when chlorine in the gaseous state is brought into contact with the hydrocarbon in the presence of a mutual solvent such as propylene dichloride” [13]. Also, chlorination of propylene requires about 331 kilojoules per kilogram of propylene [12]. After glycerol is produced through the chlorination of propylene, resin can be extracted from plants. Methods to perform this extraction include steam distillation, maceration, cold pressing, solvent extraction, or high pressure CO2 extraction [14]. Using steam distillation as an example, “plant material[s] [are] placed into a still where pressurized steam passes through the plant material[s]” [14]. During this process, temperatures can rise up to 300 degrees Celsius. Since charging and emptying the still is fast and consumes less energy, oils are less likely to be damaged which means more ester is saved [15].

The absorbent pad is the next piece of the adhesive bandage. Laminated rayon fibers make up the absorbent pad [16]. Rayon fibers are created from purified cellulose from wood pulp [17]. Out of the three methods, acetate, cuprammonium, and viscose, I will discus the viscose method for creating rayon fibers. During this process, “sheets of purified cellulose are steeped in sodium hydroxide” and once the “sheets are dried, [they’re] shredded into crumbs, and then aged in metal containers for 2 to 3 days.” Next, the solution is forced through a spinneret and then into an acid bath to turn it into strings of fiber. After completion it is rinsed of all chemicals [18]. I assume that rayon fibers are then transported to facilities, such as ones that belong to Johnson & Johnson, to be laminated with polyethylene and manufactured into products.

The last piece are the release sheets, which are made from kraft paper. Wood “is typically delivered to the mill in the form of logs or wood chips” and are usually delivered through trucks or rail cars. All logs are debarked and sent into a chipping machine and the oversized or undersized chips are removed [22]. Production of kraft paper is a “cyclical, self-sustaining process” which is why this process is used in 80% of today’s paper production [19]. This process is self-sustaining because when black liquor is formed it is concentrated through evaporation and then burned as fuel. First, the wood chips need to be impregnated with liquor at a temperature of 212 degrees Fahrenheit or below. These chips are then cooked in a digester for several hours at about 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Afterwards, the chips are washed, dried, and coated with polyethylene [20]. Kraft pulping requires about 14.3 gigajoules per ton whereas pulp production from recovered fibers require about 2 gigajoules per ton [21]. All materials are then sent to facilities, such as Johnson & Johnson’s, to be manufactured and shipped to stores.

Johnson & Johnson has facilities all over the world which means their supplies are delivered through land, air, and sea. All the fuel needed for these transportation methods are forms of petroleum based fuels. I was not able to find any specific details on the energy usage for Johnson & Johnson’s transportation of its materials, but I assume that trucks, ships, and planes are used to transport the product and materials. Also, Johnson & Johnson mentioned that they have over 28,500 owned or leased vehicles. Also, they have reduced CO2 emissions from 177 grams per kilometer in 2010 to 143 grams per kilometer in 2014. To deliver the products, they “work with asset and non-asset based providers to transport [their] goods” [23].

Adhesive bandages, once used, cannot be recycled and is delivered to the landfill. Though, the release sheets can be recycled as long as they do not make contact with the skin. The release sheets are sent to recycled paper mills where they are combined with water, chemicals, and other recycled materials [24].

In conclusion, throughout the life cycle of an adhesive bandage, from its raw material acquisition to production to delivering to stores, large amounts of energy are required. But throughout this process, by-products and waste are reused and recycled to produce energy as well. Adhesive bandages can be made from other materials so its lifecycle can be developed in further detail, but we chose to pick specific materials to guide our research. I read a lot of the reports and information released by Johnson & Johnson, but most of their reports are vary vague and focus on how they have improved and plan on improving their energy usage and sustainability as a company.

Bibliography

"Band-Aid." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 10 Mar. 2016. Cass, Oliver W., and Arthur A. Levine. Chlorination of Propylene Dichloride. 

Patent US 2119484 A. 31 May 1938. Print.

"Cracking and Related Refinery Processes." CIEC Promoting Science at the University of York,

York, UK. CIEC, 7 Sept. 2014. Web. 10 Mar. 2016.

"Cracking (chemistry)." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 10 Mar. 2016.

"Distillation of Essential Oils." EROWID - Distillation of Essential Oils. EROWID, n.d. Web. 10

Mar. 2016.

"Energy Balances, Numerical Methods Design Project - Production of Allyl Chloride." (n.d.): n. pag. West Virginia University - Chemical Engineer. 

West Virginia University. Web. 10 Mar. 2016.

"Ethylene." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 10 Mar. 2016.

"Extraction Methods of Essential Oils & Resins." Extraction Methods of Essential Oils & Resins.

PlantResins, n.d. Web. 10 Mar. 2016.

"Kraft Process." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 11 Mar. 2016.

"List of Countries by Natural Gas Proven Reserves." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d.

Web. 10 Mar. 2016.

Masanet, Eric, Ernst Worrell, Klaas Jan Kramer, and Tengfang Xu. "Energy Efficiency

Improvement and Cost Saving Opportunities for the Pulp and Paper Industry." ERNEST ORLANDO LAWRENCE BERKELEY NATIONAL 

LABORATORY (2012): n. pag. 2009. Web. 11 Mar. 2016.

"Natural Gas." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 10 Mar. 2016.

"Our Strategic Framework." Transportation. Johnson and Johnson, 2014. Web. 11 Mar. 2016.

"Pulp and Paper." Pulp and Paper. The Institute for Industrial Productivity, n.d. Web. 11 Mar.

2016.

“Pulp and Paper Mills.” Pollution Prevention and Abatement Handbook. World Bank Group. July

1998. Web.

"Rayon." How Rayon Is Made. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Mar. 2016.

"Rayon." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 10 Mar. 2016.

"Steam Cracking - Cracking Furnaces." 2722/01/08 EN (n.d.): n. pag. Metso. Metso Flow Control

Inc. Web. 10 Mar. 2016.

Stenvall, Carl B. First Aid Bandage. Patent US 3888247 A. 10 June 1975. Print.

"Understanding the Kraft Process in Paper Production." Paper Production: The Kraft Process in

the Paper and Pulp Industry. Paper Industry, n.d. Web. 11 Mar. 2016.

"U.S. Crude Oil and Natural Gas Proved Reserves." U.S. Crude Oil, Natural Gas, and Natural Gas

Liquids Proved Reserves. EIA, 23 Nov. 2015. Web. 10 Mar. 2016.

Fii Ma

Professor Cogdell

DES40A 02

13 March 2016

Wastes and Emissions of Adhesive Bandage

If one cut or scrape himself/herself, his/her first thought must be to find an adhesive bandage to cover the wound. Although adhesive bandages are quite small, they have already become one of our life necessities. Throw back to 1920, the first original “adhesive bandage” was made by Josephine Dickson and her husband Earle, simply by using adhesive tape and cotton gauze (BAND-AID® Brand Adhesive Bandages Beginnings). Through all these years, adhesive bandages have developed a lot and the most famous brand is Band-Aid, which is owned by Johnson & Johnson. The most common adhesive bandages we see and use today includes several parts: the kraft paper slips, the plastic strip, adhesive layer and absorbent pad. The kraft paper slips are generally made by Kraft paper; plastic strips are made by polyethylene and the adhesive layer is made by acrylic acid; finally, the absorbent pad can be made by rayon fibers laminated with a porous polyethylene film (Adhesive Bandage).

During the manufacturing and acquisition of these raw material, distribution of the product, some greenhouse gas like CO2 is released and some waterborne chemicals may “affects human health and environment” (Adhesive Bandages Sustainability Insight). In addition, the waste management part of adhesive bandage is necessary, because used adhesive bandage is also considered as medical/infectious waste. If it is not disposed properly, there will be many waterborne waste and solid waste which might cause the spread of infection.  However, some part of adhesive bandages, like kraft paper and polyethylene can be recycled. In this research paper, I will focus on the aspect I mentioned above to discuss the waste and emission during the life-cycle of the adhesive bandages.

Raw material manufacturing and acquisition

The paper slips are made from kraft paper. The first step of making kraft paper is “pulping the pine chips.” The alkaline liquor or solution made from strongly alkaline chemical, like sodium hydroxide (NaOH), sulfates, sulfites and sulfide, are used to dissolve the lignin (Corrugated cardboard). During this process, some airborne and waterborne waste is released, especially sulfur dioxide (SO2). Sulfur dioxide can not only go into the atmosphere, but also dissolve in the water and enter into the water circulating system, and then cause the aid-rain (Environmental Impact of Paper). Then, as the byproduct of pulping and milling process, water waste released while the milling and bleaching contains many solids, organic matters and nutrient matters, which will cause the eutrophication of fresh water system, such as fresh lakes or rivers. Furthermore, if people over consume pine wood as the raw materials of kraft paper, the deforestation will happen then then, as time pass, will change the global climate.

Then, the plastic strip is made from the most common used material, polyethylene. Also, the porous film on the absorbent pad is made from polyethylene. In order to make polyethylene, people have to extract ethylene from naphtha, another word of petroleum (The ABC of Polyethylene). While the naphtha is heating up at a very high temperature, ethylene is released. This reaction process is called “cracking”, and the reaction itself will not release other harmful gas or greenhouse gases, like carbon dioxide (CO2). However, the process of heating up the naphtha need to burn some fossil fuel, therefore, discharge the greenhouse gas - carbon dioxide, which is responsible for global climate change. Then, after people get the ethylene, polymerization reaction is required to convert ethylene to polyethylene. In general, the adhesive sheet is made from low density polyethylene (LDPE), which is formed at 80 – 100 centigrade and under 1000-3000 bar (The Manufacture of Polyethylene). In order to keep the high temperature and high pressure, lots of electricity will be used and thus, release some greenhouse gases. However, the polymerization reaction itself hardly release harmful gases or remain harmful solid waste, instead, it might form some other kinds of polyethylene with different length and weight, which is used to produce other things. Therefore, it is said that “the manufacturing process of polyethylene is relatively clean: the emission of harmful substance is minimal” (The ABC of Polyethylene).

Furthermore, the adhesive layer is made from acrylic acid, which is very widespread used. According to “Acrylic Acid Production and Manufacturing Process”, the modern method to produce acrylic acid is “based on the gas phase catalytic oxidation of propylene via acrolein” (Acrylic Acid Production). Except acrylic acid, other by-product like acetaldehyde and carbon oxides are produced during this process. Carbon dioxide is the greenhouse gas, and carbon monoxide is toxic. In order to reduce the releasing of such airborne waste, “Rohm and Haas” developed an acrylic acid production process based on propane. The monolithic catalyst they used can efficiently control the emission (Acrylic Acid Production). So, during the production of acrylic acid, the only useless emission is carbon dioxide (CO2) and it will cause the global warming and climate change.

The last part and the most important part of adhesive bandage is absorbent pad, which is now generally made by rayon fibers. The basic raw material for making rayon is cellulose, and cellulose is produced through wood pulp, such as pine or spruce (Rayon). As I mentioned above, same as in the process of making kraft paper, pulping process will release airborne waste, like sulfur oxides, which are harmful to the environment. Except these airborne emissions, many chemical by-products are released while making the rayon fibers. The most concern is the “emission of zinc and hydrogen sulfide” (Rayon). Hydrogen sulfide is a poisonous gas and can dissolve in water. Therefore, it will cause both air pollution and water pollution, and influence the health of aquatic life and other animals (Hydrogen Sulfide). At the same time, zine might enter the water circulation system or settle in the soil and then has the harmful effect on plants and animals. In order to reduce the unexpected emission of zinc and hydrogen sulfide, the producers of rayon “recover the zinc by ion-exchange, crystallization, and uses the more purified cellulose” (Rayon).

In general, the raw material manufacturing and acquisition process have a large amount of waste and emission, especially from the pulping process of kraft paper making and rayon fiber making. During this process, both airborne and waterborne waste is released, including sulfur oxides. Meanwhile, the production of acrylic acid and polyethylene mainly release the greenhouse gas – carbon dioxide. However, according to “2014 Citizenship & Sustainability Report” posted by Johnson & Johnson Company, Band-Aid Adhesive Bandage had reduced its raw material used by 29%, and therefore, reduced waste by 59% (2014 Citizenship & Sustainability Report). Facing these emission and pollution, the producers of these raw materials are keep renewing their producing technology and methods to reduce the emission and pollution.

Manufacturing process and distribution of adhesive bandage

For the manufacturing and distribution of adhesive bandage, it is very hard to exactly tell that how much waste and emissions will be released during this process. Therefore, it is preferred to use a specific company, and research its records regarding about waste and emission during the production and transportation of the adhesive bandages. Johnson & Johnson and Band-Aid can be a valuable example.

As I mentioned in the introduction, Johnson & Johnson owns Band-Aid company, and has the responsibility of the manufacture and distribution of the product. Johnson & Johnson has three part of production, including medical devices, pharmaceuticals and consumer health, which the Band-Aid adhesive bandage fell under the category of consumer health. According to “2014 Citizenship & Sustainability Report” released by Johnson & Johnson, in 2014, consumer health supply chain took 33% (about one third) on business unit (2014 Citizenship & Sustainability Report). And Band-Aid adhesive bandage is just one of the many other products in this 33%. According to the “air emission and waste” part of the “2014 Citizenship & Sustainability Report”, the manufacture process generally released several kind of green house gases, including nitrous oxides (NOX), sulfur oxides (SOX), volatile organic compounds (VOCs), hazardous air pollutants (HAPs), particulate matter (PM) and refrigerants. The estimated amount of sulfur dioxide (SO2) released was 134 tons in 2014, and the estimated amount of nitrous oxides released was 252 tons (2014 Citizenship & Sustainability Report). The amount of other kind of air emissions are all less than these two numbers. Except the air emissions, other kind of wastes, either hazardous or non-hazardous, were produced during the manufacturing process, and the total amount could reach 173.1 million kilograms in 2014. If we multiply these numbers by one third, we can get the amount of total air emissions and other wastes of consumer health part. Therefore, we can recognize that the emission and waste released during the production of Band-Aid adhesive bandage is far more less than those amounts. But still, the amount of waste is massive.

For the transportation and distribution of products, Johnson & Johnson send its product to every states in the USA and other regions out of the State. According to the “Greenhouse Gas Emissions/ Climate Change” part in the “2014 Citizenship & Sustainability Report”, at the end of 2014, average global CO2 emissions per vehicle were 142.8 g/km, representing a 19 percent reduction in CO2 from the 2010 baseline of 177g/km (2014 Citizenship & Sustainability Report). Although the emission of greenhouse gas, carbon dioxide, was decreasing over years, it is still a high amount of emission, because Band-Aid is a considerable international company and send its products to almost every corner of the world. We can imagine how much fossil fuel would be used and how much CO2 would be released for just one long trip.

Nevertheless, with the increasing of demand and production of medical devices, pharmaceuticals and consumer health products these years, Johnson & Johnson is keep renewing their technology and production strategy to reduce the emission and waste. For example, Band-Aid has reduced its packaging by 58% to increase the transportation efficiency to make the waste and emission for each pack of adhesive bandage be the minimum (2014 Citizenship & Sustainability Report). With these kinds of effort, compared to 2010, the Carbon dioxide (CO2) fleet emission, Mono-nitrogen oxides (NOx) emissions decreased quite a lot. However, the emission of sulfur oxides and other kinds of hazardous waste were still increasing (2014 Citizenship & Sustainability Report). Thus, Johnson & Johnson and Band-Aid still have a lot of efforts to do to reduce the waste emission as much as possible.

Recycle and waste management

Typically, the used adhesive bandages cannot be re-used or recycled, because the adhesive layer has already attached to the skin and the absorbent pad has contacted to the wounds or blood. However, the kraft paper slips and plastic strips made from polyethylene can be recycled, because they did not touch to the skins or wounds.

The used kraft paper can finally be recycled to other kinds of paper products. According to “The Craft of Recycling Kraft Paper”, the process of recycling kraft paper includes sorting and collection, baling and shipping, milling, which is similar to the process of recycling other paper products (The Craft of Recycling Kraft Paper). Workers, working with the machines, separate the kraft paper from the contaminations and other garbage, and then, pack them and transport them to the factories, which do the milling to waste kraft paper. During these processes, the machines and transportation vehicles would release many greenhouse gases, carbon dioxide. However, the most waste emission happens in the milling process. During the milling process, pulping and bleaching process “are the two major sources of highly polluted water. (Grag)” In the waste water, where are many kinds of chemicals like sulfides and chlorinated compounds. These chemical wastes cannot be easily biodegradable. Once the wastewater enters into the water circulation system, the living organism would be impacted heavily, and further cause the ecosystem imbalance.

The used polyethylene, in this case, low density polyethylene (LEDP), can be converted into other useful hydrocarbon products under the high temperature (about 450 centigrade), with the present of catalyst (Aguado). During this process, not only little amount of gas is produced, but also olefins and paraffin are produced, which have the “composition comparable to commercial transportation fuel” (Aguado). In this case, polyethylene is a quite high-efficiency material for recycling and supplying high-quality fuel. Therefore, except the greenhouse gases released by the machines used to covert polyethylene, there is almost no other waste released during the recycling process of polyethylene.

Once those used adhesive bandages are thrown away improperly or taken to the landfill, some solid wastes are formed. Only the kraft paper can be biodegraded easily, while polyethylene cannot. On the other hand, the acrylic acid is water soluble and the waste adhesive made from acrylic acid may enter into the water circulation system. Although the acrylic acid can be breakdown in a few days, its moderate toxicity can still be harmful to the aquatic lives (Acrylic Acid). In order to avoid these environmental damage, some waste management factories just simply bag these waste and take them to the incinerator. During this process, greenhouse gas, sulfur oxides and other kind of toxic gas is released.

Conclusion

In conclusion, in the life-cycle of adhesive bandages, from raw material acquisition to the final disposal, significant amount of waste is released, especially in the raw material production process and recycling process. The main wastes during this process are wastewater, containing organic and nutrient matters, and the toxic gases. Also, it is very obvious to see that almost every process releases carbon dioxide (CO2), the greenhouse gas. This is not a good signal, because carbon dioxide is the major cause of global climate change Still, the demand and production of adhesive bandages are expanding year by year. Indeed, it is very challenging to keep the waste emissions down while the production amount is increasing. However, it is good to know that in order to reduce the waste and emission during the adhesive bandage production process, many companies make the very detailed plans to achieve this target, including reduction of the material used and improvement of the technologies.

Works Cited

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