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Environmental impact of 1,2 Propanediol vs. 1,3 Propanediol
For simplicity sake (for MY typing) let’s just call
1,2 Propanediol from petroleum feedstocks PROPYLENE GLYCOL, or just PG
1,3 Propanediol from corn feedstocks, by its trade name ZEMEAThink of ALL the steps that go into making diesel fuel from crude oil, including the environmental alteration and degradation. The diesel is used by trucks to move both PG and ZEMEA to whomever is buying it. So this environmental cost should be taken into consideration for BOTH PG and ZEMEA.
Now let’s say some of the diesel is converted into methane from the crude goes and then through many, many steps into PG. I don’t know how many steps, it’s LOTS I’m sure.
The petroleum industry is NOT there to create feedstocks for cosmetic & pharmaceutical ingredients, but it just so happens that petroleum CAN be a feedstock (through MANY steps I’m sure) for SOME pharmaceutical & cosmetic ingredients, like PG, in this example.
NOW, think of all of the steps it takes to grow corn. This would include clearing land of all the flora & fauna that lived there, plus making synthetic fertilizer & pesticides using petroleum feedstocks for the ammonia, plus planting the corn, harvesting, maybe irrigating, taking it to the facility where smart chemically-trained people turn it into ZEMEA. PLUS, to this, you need to add all of the steps it took to make diesel from the raw crude so the trucks & tractors & combines, etc. can move the corn after harvest to the facility to make the ZEMEA.
From all of this, and yes, MANY more steps I am ignorant about, here is my question:
Is ZEMEA less environmentally damaging (including the loss of life from the corn fields that had to be created) than just making PG from petroleum feedstocks?
Again, let’s not forget that the petroleum fields will exist whether or not we use ZEMEA or PG in our cosmetics and pharmaceuticals. BOTH products have some of this “embedded cost” in their manufacturing.
I hope I’ve explained my question well, and yes I know I have not outlined all the steps in making PG and ZEMEA, because I am not a chemist, just a hobbyist.
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4 Replies
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Life cycle analysis - ask Dupont.
Think you’ll get lost in the weeds in comparison. -
Your question isn’t just about two nearly identical and fully
biodegradable ingredients, it’s about most cosmetic ingredients with
that property, it’s about petroleum vs. renewable feedstock. I did the
maths ‘over the thumb’ in another thread: if 1 barrel of crude oil could
replace one barrel of canola or hemp oil, we wouldn’t have enough space
(not just agricultural but simply ‘land’ in the broadest sense) on our
planet to grow enough plants to replace all the oil we drill.Solution 1: Use lessSolution 2: Reuse (not the best idea with cosmetics)Solution 3: Realise that recycling doesn’t work and go with 1 and 2Solution 4: Create/synthesise/assemble stuff which can be recycled/upcycledSolution 5: Don’t use stuff which isn’t necessary, such as most cosmeticsSolution
6: Use the traditional approach = let the next generation worry about
it… Besides, what’s 1 person (usually me, not the other one) amongst 8
billions? So, don’t you worry, someone else will find a solution with
technology which hasn’t been invented yet. It always worked (for humans,
not nature)… -
Pharma said:Your question isn’t just about two nearly identical and fully
biodegradable ingredients, it’s about most cosmetic ingredients with
that property, it’s about petroleum vs. renewable feedstock. I did the
maths ‘over the thumb’ in another thread: if 1 barrel of crude oil could
replace one barrel of canola or hemp oil, we wouldn’t have enough space
(not just agricultural but simply ‘land’ in the broadest sense) on our
planet to grow enough plants to replace all the oil we drill.Solution 1: Use lessSolution 2: Reuse (not the best idea with cosmetics)Solution 3: Realise that recycling doesn’t work and go with 1 and 2Solution 4: Create/synthesise/assemble stuff which can be recycled/upcycledSolution 5: Don’t use stuff which isn’t necessary, such as most cosmeticsSolution
6: Use the traditional approach = let the next generation worry about
it… Besides, what’s 1 person (usually me, not the other one) amongst 8
billions? So, don’t you worry, someone else will find a solution with
technology which hasn’t been invented yet. It always worked (for humans,
not nature)…I am begging to research solution 5 with wash off products like shampoo and body wash. Is my hair and skin absorbing protein and vitamins if the product is washing off quickly?
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@blueberry
I’d not count on rinse-off products offering much benefit in that regard.
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