Life Cycle Inventory (LCI)

of ‘processed kaolinitic clay’

product from
Kaolin and Plastic Clay-Europe
(KPC-Europe)

20 March 2019
Version 01
External Communication
Summary of assumptions + outcome

Audience: Authorities, Customers, LCA practitioners, Associations

 Outline
Content Slide No

KPC-Europe – In a nutshell 4-6

Goal & Scope 7
Scope 8
System boundaries 9-10
Assumptions 11 - 12
Impact categories 13
Critical review 14
Links 15
 KPC-Europe: in a nutshell
The Kaolin & Plastic Clay Association (KPC-Europe) established their
own representation at EU level through KPC-Europe 1999, as the
official body representing the European Kaolin and Plastic Clay
producers.

KPC-Europe is a non-profit association, which ensures member

companies cooperation on scientific and legislative issues of common
interest related to Kaolin & plastic clay products.

As a member of IMA Europe, the KPC-Europe members benefit from

a wide representation and strong voice at EU level and a synergy of
issues common to the kaolin & clay sector as a whole.
 Representative membership

KPC membership comprises:

29 companies
Regional coverage:
EU-28 + Turkey
 Processed Kaolinitic Clay uses

More information
http://www.ima-europe.eu/sites/ima-europe.eu/files/minerals/Kaolin_An-WEB-2011.pdf
http://www.ima-europe.eu/sites/ima-europe.eu/files/minerals/Plastic_Clays_An-WEB-2011.pdf
 Goal & Scope
Goal:
To calculate the European average Life Cycle Inventory (LCI) data for Processed Kaolinitic Clay product
manufactured by the European industry using the ISO 14040 – 14044 standards.

Scope:
Cover Processed Kaolinitic Clay product as manufactured in Europe(28) + Turkey + Ukraine from
cradle to gate (cradle = extraction; gate of the kaolin/clay manufacturer) for the reference year 2015.

Disclaimer:
Estimation of the environmental footprint of the investigated Processed kaolinitic clay product is
based on data coming from the European manufacturers, and provides European average data which
can be used as such in global LCI/LCA analysis and estimates.

The data provided hereafter are provided by multiple industrial sites in the scope of the project and,
to the best knowledge of KPC-Europe, are considered as accurate for the time and date they were
collected. Should the facts and/or assumptions be different the conclusions might differ.
 In Scope
Objective of the LCI: Develop Life Cycle Inventories according to:
- ISO 14040/44 standard;
- International Life Cycle Data guidelines (entry level);
- Product Environmental Footprint (PEF) quality datasets.

Products in LCI scope & their specifications:

Product Particle size Moisture Form of Kaolinite

content delivery content
Kaolinitic Clay- D80 <2µm <14% Granular or >30%
processed D60 <6 µm powder
Legend

Standard
System Boundaries (1)
Non-standard Cradle (extraction) to Gate (Kaolinitic Clay Plant)
Legend

Standard
System Boundaries (2)
Non-standard

IMA Board meeting 10

to Gate (Kaolinitic Clay Plant)
 Assumptions (1)
Data format & ISO 14040-14044 compliant
Compliance ILCD entry-level requirements
Product Environmental Footprint data quality requirements
Data quality Kaolinitic Clay results: Very good
Coverage Europe(28) + Turkey + Ukraine
Reference year 2015
Data validity 2025
Energy EU(28) + Turkey + Ukraine energy fuel mix
Reference flow 1 ton of dry mineral product
Cut-off criteria Cut-off ratio >99. Inputs and outputs below 1% threshold were not
considered.
Main consultant Data collection, consolidation; modelling and averaging have been
conducted by EESAC based on data from KPC member companies.

Critical review Methodology report has passed successfully the review by the
independent LCA expert from Rina Consulting
Data flows 1. Consumption of natural resources
2. Emissions
3. Wastes
 Assumptions (2)
Data • The upstream data raw material, fuel production, electricity and transport
collection & were taken from the various available databases such as ELCD (European
aggregation Life Cycle Database); Ecoinvent, GaBi as well as other sources deemed
relevant for the project;
• (Pre)Questionnaire sent to all KPC members manufacturing Kaolin/Clay
products within the scope of the KPC LCI project for all the non-standard
processes and statistical information;
• The input flows were collected by means of a final questionnaire for the
representative EU sites;
• To generate European average values, the horizontal aggregation per
process stages was applied;
• Input data were collected in full reference to the ISO 14040-14044
standards and ILCD entry level requirements and PEF data quality
requirements.
Omission • Production of refractories used in the thermal dryers / calciners. As shown
from the life in Appendix 3, a conservative assessment leads to the conclusion that this
cycle stages flow is negligible.
• Land use because of the absence of a validated robust methodology for
assessing the land use footprint and/or biodiversity of quarries.
• Emissions to soil from the kaolin plants that are not considered as relevant
for this type of industry.
 Impact categories
Impact category Unit Reference
flow
1000 kg
Processed Kaolinitc clay

Primary energy consumption MJ 1396

Water consumption* Litre 101
Abiotic depletion - elements kg Sb eq. 0.00023
Abiotic depletion – Fossil fuels MJ 1140
Global warming potential (GWP) kg CO2 eq. 72.3
Acidification kg SO2 eq. 0.162
Photo-oxidant formation kg C2H4 eq. 0.0165
Eutrophication kg PO4 eq. 0.0257
Waste disposal:
• Hazardous waste kg 0.004
• Non hazardous waste kg 0.26
• Mining waste kg 425

* Data from water balance reported from companies

 KPC LCI: Critical review
KPC LCI study has passed successfully the independent external critical
review from Rina Consulting.

KPC LCI is:

➢ ISO 14040-14044 compliant;

➢ ILCD entry-level compliant;
➢ Meets PEF data quality compliant.
 Links
Questions on KPC LCI and/or LCI format (excel) requests send an e-mail:
secretariat@ima-europe.eu

The complete KPC life cycle inventories are published in the GaBi database

Kaolinitic clay:
http://gabi-documentation-2019.gabi-software.com/xml-data/processes/17d07838-4b8f-42ea-83b5-77283a8807a6.xml