Use of Energy Derived from Photovoltaic Panels in the Production of Polymer Flocculant

This study evaluates the environmental footprint of producing a polymer flocculant synthesised from phenol–formaldehyde resin waste (novolak T) at a quarter-technical scale, with electricity supply assumed from photovoltaic (PV) generation. A cradle-to-gate life cycle assessment was performed in SimaPro Developer v9.4 using the Environmental Footprint (EF) 3.0 method and ecoinvent datasets. The functional unit was 100 kg of the sodium salt of the sulfonic derivative of novolak T. The characterization results indicate a climate change impact of 170.1 kg CO2 eq and an acidification impact of 5.99 mol H+ eq per functional unit. Hotspot analysis shows that process chemicals dominate most impact categories: sulphuric acid production drives acidification and several air-emission-related categories, while sodium carbonate is a major contributor to toxicity- and eutrophication-related indicators. In contrast, electricity has a marginal contribution across categories. Recycling of novolak waste provides a strong compensatory credit, leading to net negative results in selected categories, including resource use and fossils (−5.02 × 103 MJ). Overall, the results indicate that improving the upstream supply chains and the consumption of process reagents are the primary levers for reducing the environmental footprint of this waste-derived flocculant.