Sustainability Assessment: Environmental Impacts and Economic Performance of Bio-Based and Mineral-Based Cutting Fluids

Abstract

Abstract Machining is an important manufacturing process that can cause significant environmental impacts, particularly in terms of energy consumption, waste generation, and emissions. This study evaluates the environmental performance of two types of cutting fluids, bio‐based and mineral‐based, using a comprehensive life cycle assessment (LCA). A comparative analysis is conducted to quantify emissions associated with each fluid, assess their contributions to selected environmental impact categories, and examine the related economic aspects. The aim of this study is to evaluate the potential environmental benefits and drawbacks of replacing conventional mineral‐based cutting fluids with bio‐based alternatives in machining processes. The results indicate that bio‐based oil exhibits higher environmental impacts than mineral‐based oil across most impact categories, particularly global warming potential (GWP), acidification potential (AP), and smog creation potential (SCP), which can be explained by sectoral contributions identified using the Economic Input–Output Life Cycle Assessment (EIO‐LCA) approach. External normalization using US normalization factors shows that human health non‐cancer potential (HHNCP) and human health cancer potential (HHCP) are the most significant relative impact categories for both fluids. In economic terms, mineral‐based cutting fluid shows higher economic output (2.05 million USD) than bio‐based cutting fluid (1.63 million USD), mainly due to the capital‐intensive nature of petroleum refining and extraction sectors and their extensive inter‐industry linkages.