Natural rubber: a renewable industrial raw material with negative carbon footprint

Abstract

Using the lifecycle assessment method, we estimated the carbon footprint of natural rubber (NR) produced from 1 ha NR plantation with an economic lifecycle of 27 years and productivity of 1.5 MT dry rubber per ha per year. Lifecycle emissions due to farming operations added up to 26.5 MT of carbon dioxide per ha, most of which resulted from chemical fertilizers. Processing latex into ribbed smoked sheet (RSS) rubber and technically specified rubber (TSR) emitted more CO2 due to higher energy requirements for drying compared to making concentrated latex (cenex). Thus, lifecycle emissions were the highest for processing RSS (27.8–41.6 MT CO2) and TSR (13.3–22.9 MT CO2) and the lowest for cenex (2.7–3.9 MT CO2). However, the total amount of CO2 sequestered during the entire lifecycle of the plantation was as high as 500 MT CO2. This resulted in a negative carbon footprint of approximately –15, irrespective of the type of processed NR. This should make NR a much more preferred raw material for the rubber industry than synthetic rubber which has a much higher carbon footprint. Promoting production and consumption of NR will help decarbonize the global rubber industry and benefit millions of small and marginal NR growers around the world.