The development and commercialization of nanomaterials offers promising benefits for many industrial sectors. However, questions have been asked pertaining to environmentally-responsible development of these materials. Unfortunately, to date very few studies have been conducted to analyze aspects associated with the life cycle surrounding the production processes of nanomaterials. An LCI (life cycle inventory) is a study that begins this analysis. LCI's are environmental tools that determine the cradle-to-grave energy and material flows of a product.

This presentation discusses an LCI that was conducted on four types of juice containers, including three container systems made from conventional materials (polypropylene, PET, and glass) and a new type of container made from a composite of polypropylene and nanoclay. The LCI results include energy requirements, solid waste generation, and environmental emissions to air and water; the environmental emissions include process-related emissions as well as fuel combustion emissions. The LCI boundaries encompass the extraction of raw materials through the postconsumer disposal of containers.