Cradle-to-Grave Life-Cycle Assessment of Cellulosic Fiberboard

2021 ◽  
Vol 3 (4) ◽  
pp. 1-1
Author(s):  
Kamalakanta Sahoo ◽  
◽  
Richard Bergman ◽  
Poonam Khatri ◽  
◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Impacts ◽  
Construction Material ◽  
Wood Products ◽  
United Nations Environment Programme ◽  
Construction Sector ◽  
Low Carbon ◽  
Wood Panel ◽  
Transport Distance ◽  
Engineered Wood ◽  
Cradle To Gate

According to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the construction and operation of buildings accounted for nearly 38% of total global energy-related CO₂ emissions in 2019. The construction sector has been striving to use more low-carbon footprint building products to mitigate climate change and enhance environmentally preferable purchasing. Over the last several decades, there has been substantial growth in engineered wood products for the construction industry. To assess these products used in construction for their environmental profile, lifecycle assessments (LCAs) are performed. This study performed an LCA to estimate environmental impacts (cradle-to-gate and gate-to-grave) of cellulosic fiberboard (CFB) per m³ functional unit basis. The lifecycle inventory data developed were representative of CFB production in North America. Overall, the cradle-to-grave LCA results per m3 of CFB were estimated at 305 kg CO₂ e global warming (GW), 19.3 kg O₃ e photochemical smog formation, 1.03 kg SO₂ e acidification, 0.33 kg N e eutrophication, and 415 MJ fossil-fuel depletion. Except for smog formation, most environmental impacts of CFB were from cradle-to-gate. For example, 71% and 29% of total GW impacts were from cradle-to-gate and gate-to-grave lifecycle stages, respectively. The sensitivity analysis showed that reducing transport distance, on-site electricity use, natural gas for drying, and starch additives in the manufacturing phase had the most influence. Around 353 kg CO₂ e/m³ of CFB is stored as long-term carbon during CFB’s life which is higher than the total cradle-to-grave greenhouse gases (CO₂ e) emissions. Thus, the net negative GW impact of CFB (-47 kg CO₂ e/m³ of CFB) asserted its environmental advantages as an engineered wood panel construction material. Overall, the findings of the presented study would prove useful for improving the decision-making in the construction sector.

scholarly journals Architect Familiarity and Perceptions Surrounding Sustainable Design, LEED, and Engineered Wood Products in Arkansas

2020 ◽  
Vol 27 (2) ◽  
pp. 16-31
Author(s):  
Matthew Pelkki ◽  
Gabrielle Sherman ◽  
Tamara Walkingstick ◽  
Kenneth Wallen
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Design ◽  
Construction Material ◽  
Green Building ◽  
Building Design ◽  
Well Being ◽  
The United States ◽  
Wood Products ◽  
Leed Certification ◽  
Engineered Wood Products ◽  
Engineered Wood

The sustainable building design movement has gained momentum within the United States in recent years. This has led to a proliferation of green building certification programs like Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) and the development of engineered wood products (EWP) like cross laminated timber (CLT). Often, architects serve as the conduit between green building construction material and their use in construction. There is need to investigate the perceptions and practices of architects on the topic of green building certification and EWPs. In partnership with the American Institute of Architects (AIA), this study surveyed registered architects practicing in Arkansas to a) examine interest in and application of LEED certification and b) beliefs related to sustainability, affordability, and availability of EWPs. Results suggest a majority of architects surveyed have interest in the LEED program and have previously earned LEED-certification for a building design. Respondents rated the importance of improving human health and well-being as especially high but appear to doubt the ability of EWP to contribute to sustainable design. Analysis revealed that CLT use is significantly lower than that of more typical EWPs such as plywood panels and glue laminated timber. Architects also indicated that the affordability and availability of modern EWP represent significant barriers to their utilization within the state. To increase the rate of sustainable development, it will be necessary to highlight benefits to human and environmental health and generate interest amongst architectural clientele.

scholarly journals Perceptions, Attitudes, and Interests of Architects in the Use of Engineered Wood Products for Construction: A Review

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hüseyin Emre Ilgın ◽  
Markku Karjalainen
Keyword(s):  
Energy Use ◽  
Material Selection ◽  
Construction Material ◽  
Primary Energy ◽  
Wood Products ◽  
Biobased Materials ◽  
Wood Construction ◽  
Engineered Wood Products ◽  
Engineered Wood ◽  
The Impact

Increased use of engineered wood products (EWPs) and thus decreasing share of non-biobased materials such as concrete reduces the impact of buildings on the climate by mitigating the primary energy use and greenhouse gas emissions in construction. A construction project includes many parameters, where the selection of construction material is one of the crucial decisions with its numerous criteria e.g. cost, strength, environmental impact. Furthermore, this complicated process includes different parties such as architects, engineers, contractors. Architects are among the key decision-makers in material selection, and their perceptions influence what they propose and hence an increase in wood construction. In literature, many studies have been conducted on the technological, ecological, economic aspects of EWPs, while limited studies are focusing on EWPs for construction from stakeholders’ perspective. In this chapter, architects’ attitudes towards the use of EWPs in buildings were scrutinized.

scholarly journals Seismic Design of Timber Buildings: Highlighted Challenges and Future Trends

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 1380
Author(s):  
Mislav Stepinac ◽  
Iztok Šušteršič ◽  
Igor Gavrić ◽  
Vlatka Rajčić
Keyword(s):  
Seismic Design ◽  
Construction Material ◽  
Wood Products ◽  
Building Codes ◽  
Seismic Retrofitting ◽  
Substantial Contribution ◽  
Sustainable Solutions ◽  
Engineered Wood Products ◽  
Engineered Wood ◽  
Timber Engineering

Use of timber as a construction material has entered a period of renaissance since the development of high-performance engineered wood products, enabling larger and taller buildings to be built. In addition, due to substantial contribution of the building sector to global energy use, greenhouse gas emissions and waste production, sustainable solutions are needed, for which timber has shown a great potential as a sustainable, resilient and renewable building alternative, not only for single family homes but also for mid-rise and high-rise buildings. Both recent technological developments in timber engineering and exponentially increased use of engineered wood products and wood composites reflect in deficiency of current timber codes and standards. This paper presents an overview of some of the current challenges and emerging trends in the field of seismic design of timber buildings. Currently existing building codes and the development of new generation of European building codes are presented. Ongoing studies on a variety topics within seismic timber engineering are presented, including tall timber and hybrid buildings, composites with timber and seismic retrofitting with timber. Crucial challenges, key research needs and opportunities are addressed and critically discussed.

scholarly journals Life Cycle Assessment of North American Laminated Strand Lumber (LSL) Production

2021 ◽  
Vol 3 (4) ◽  
pp. 1-1
Author(s):  
Poonam Khatri ◽  
◽  
Kamalakanta Sahoo ◽  
Richard Bergman ◽  
Maureen Puettmann ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Environmental Impacts ◽  
North American ◽  
Wood Products ◽  
Resource Extraction ◽  
Study Results ◽  
Cradle To Gate ◽  
Whole Life Cycle ◽  
Lca Results

Raw materials for buildings and construction account for more than 35% of global primary energy use and nearly 40% of energy-related CO2 emissions. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) emphasized the drastic reduction in GHG emissions and thus, wood products with very low or negative carbon footprint materials can play an important role. In this study, a cradle-to-grave life cycle assessment (LCA) approach was followed to quantify the environmental impacts of laminated strand lumber (LSL). The inventory data represented North American LSL production in terms of input materials, including wood and resin, electricity and fuel use, and production facility emissions for the 2019 production year. The contribution of cradle-to-gate life cycle stages was substantial (>70%) towards the total (cradle-to-grave) environmental impacts of LSL. The cradle-to-gate LCA results per m³ LSL were estimated to be 275 kg CO2 eq global warming, 39.5 kg O3eq smog formation, 1.7 kg SO2 eq acidification, 0.2 kg N eq eutrophication, and 598 MJ fossil fuel depletion. Resin production as a part of resource extraction contributed 124 kg CO2 eq (45%). The most relevant unit processes in their decreasing contribution to their cradle-to-grave GW impacts were resource extraction, end-of-life (EoL), transportation (resources and product), and LSL manufacturing. Results of sensitivity analysis showed that the use of adhesive, consumption of electricity, and transport distance had the greatest influences on the LCA results. Considering the whole life cycle of the LSL, the final product stored 1,010 kg CO2 eq/m³ of LSL, roughly two times more greenhouse gas emissions over than what was released (493 kg CO2 eq/m³ of LSL) from cradle-to-grave. Overall, LSL has a negative GW impact and acts as a carbon sink if used in the construction sector. The study results are intended to be important for future studies, including waste disposal and recycling strategies to optimize environmental trade-offs.

scholarly journals Concrete Canvas: A Multifaceted Construction Material

2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 1898-1901
Keyword(s):  
Construction Material ◽  
Construction Materials ◽  
Self Healing ◽  
Construction Sector ◽  
Low Carbon ◽  
Revolutionary Change ◽  
Conventional Concrete ◽  
Concrete Layer ◽  
Healing Property ◽  
Water Proofing

Cement concrete is a most used construction material, due to its enormous demand worldwide in the construction sector. Concrete serves many purposes in different adverse conditions, there are many advantages but there is one limitation that is concrete is not flexible. Concrete Canvas brought a revolutionary change in the construction materials called Geosynthetic Cementitious Composite Mats (GCCMs) which as many applications and used as an alternative to conventional concrete. It is a flexible, concrete canvas that gets hardens on hydration to form a thin, durable, waterproof and low-carbon concrete layer. Concrete Canvas may find its tremendous scope in the Construction sector as fire resistance and water proofing material. The concrete canvas has a self healing property thereby adds good benefit to the life of material and economically because of its zero percent repairs maintenance. Even though if the concrete canvas gets damaged after a period of time, it gets self healed with the contact of water which helps in the hydration process. This paper mainly focuses on the case study done on the applicability of concrete canvas for fire resistant, Water proof and bulletproofing with the help of AP State Police and to explore different applications in Construction sector as well as Defense sector.

scholarly journals Interlocking Modular Insulation Panels Manufactured with Mediterranean Pinewood and Cork

2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 86
Author(s):  
Pau Brunet-Navarro ◽  
Salvador Gilabert Sanz ◽  
Melchor Monleón Doménech ◽  
Miguel Redón Santafé ◽  
Eva Hermoso ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Energy Efficiency ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Construction Material ◽  
Added Value ◽  
Special Focus ◽  
Construction Sector ◽  
Low Carbon ◽  
Low Carbon Economy ◽  
Improve Energy Efficiency ◽  
Construction System

Economic profitability of harvested softwood in Southwestern Europe is limited for low quality logs. Some social and environmental consequences of low incomes of rural activities are rural depopulation and accumulation of biomass in unmanaged forests. The energy efficiency of buildings could be improved as construction material employing local bioresources that are currently used to manufacture products of low added value. Here, the IMIP project (Innovative Eco-Construction System Based on Interlocking Modular Insulation Wood & Cork-Based Panels) aimed to support the change towards a low carbon economy using bioproducts (pinewood and cork) for smart, sustainable, and inclusive growth with a special focus on the public construction sector is presented. The main objective of the IMIP project is to design, validate and implement an innovative ecological construction system based on natural biological materials to improve energy efficiency in public buildings from the construction, use and demolition phases. The project also develops a tool to professionals from the construction sector (architects and engineers) and researchers to assess the carbon footprint of buildings. The products of the project have the ambition to improve the economic, social and environmental situation of rural areas of Southwestern Europe.

scholarly journals Carbon Impacts of Engineered Wood Products in Construction

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hongmei Gu ◽  
Prakash Nepal ◽  
Matthew Arvanitis ◽  
Delton Alderman
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Wood Products ◽  
Construction Sector ◽  
Topic Area ◽  
Engineered Wood Products ◽  
Engineered Wood ◽  
Timber Products ◽  
Mitigate Climate Change ◽  
Mass Timber ◽  
Building Designs

Buildings and the construction sector together account for about 39% of the global energy-related CO2 emissions. Recent building designs are introducing promising new mass timber products that have the capacity to partially replace concrete and steel in traditional buildings. The inherently lower environmental impacts of engineered wood products for construction are seen as one of the key strategies to mitigate climate change through their increased use in the construction sector. This chapter synthesizes the estimated carbon benefits of using engineered wood products and mass timber in the construction sector based on insights obtained from recent Life Cycle Assessment studies in the topic area of reduced carbon emissions and carbon sequestration/storage.

scholarly journals Engineered Wood Products as a Sustainable Construction Material: A Review

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ranjana Yadav ◽  
Jitendra Kumar
Keyword(s):  
Building Materials ◽  
Construction Material ◽  
High Strength ◽  
Wood Products ◽  
Sustainable Construction ◽  
Environmental Aspects ◽  
Laminated Veneer Lumber ◽  
Glued Laminated Timber ◽  
Engineered Wood Products ◽  
Engineered Wood

Engineered wood products are considered as best building materials due to environmentally friendly. Huge change to the way in which wood has been utilized in primary application of construction in the course of the most recent 25 years are in light of decreased admittance to high strength timber from growth forests, and the turn of events and creation of various new design of manufactured wood products. Engineered wood products are available in different variety of sizes and measurements like laminated veneer lumber, glued laminated timber, finger jointed lumber, oriental strand board etc. It is utilized for rooftop and floor sheathing, solid structure, beams and the hull of boats. This review objectively explores not only the environmental aspects of the use of different engineered wood composites as a building material, but also their economic aspects, to understand their effect on sustainability.

Geopolymer as a Construction Material in Low-carbon and Resource Recycling Society

2019 ◽  
Vol 57 (1) ◽  
pp. 91-93
Author(s):  
K. Minami ◽  
K. Ohta ◽  
M. Funahashi ◽  
H. Kajita
Keyword(s):  
Construction Material ◽  
Low Carbon ◽  
Resource Recycling ◽  
Recycling Society
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