A new generation of ultralight particleboards (ULPB) with an expanded foam core layer produced in an in-line foaming step is under development. The environmental impacts of three types of ULPB containing foam based on 100% polylactic acid (PLA), 100% expanded polystyrene, and 50% PLA/50% polymethyl methacrylate, as well as a conventional particleboard (PB), have been compared in an LCA. Two approaches were chosen for the assessment: first, the “EPD-approach” in accordance with EN 15804 for EPD of building materials and second, a holistic-approach which allows an expansion of the system boundaries in order to forecast the consequences of a broader replacement of PB with ULPB. The results show that most of the environmental impacts are related to raw materials and end-of-life stages. Both approaches show that the exchange of PB with ULPB with a foam core based on PLA leads to a reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. On the other hand, the PLA is responsible for higher ecotoxicity results in comparison to non-bio-based polymers mainly due to agricultural processes. Both approaches allowed the drafting of complementary advisories for environmental impact reduction addressed to the developers.

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Life Cycle Assessment of Wooden Interior Doors in Germany: A Sector‐Representative Approach for a Complex Wooden Product According to EN 15804 MethodologyBased on the standards, International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 14040/44 and EN 15804, a cradle‐to‐gate analysis with an end‐of‐life scenario was carried out to provide a sector‐representative environmental product declaration (EPD) for wooden interior doors according to the new standard, EN 15804. Methodological challenges caused by the complexity of the product system and the objective of representativeness are discussed. Primary inventory data were collected at 19 door production sites and covers 87% of the total German door production. The life cycle assessment was conducted using generic data for wooden materials, which is in line with EN 15804 derived from the ÖkoHolzBauDat project. Additionally, generic data from GaBi Professional and ecoinvent databases were used. Besides the estimation of fossil carbon dioxide emissions, the biogenic carbon content of the wooden biomass was taken into account. The highest environmental impacts originate from manufacturing the semifinished wood products and fittings in the prechains. A sensitivity analysis reveals uncertainties up to 17% in the EPD results. These can be attributed to the use of the partly inadequate linear scaling of the life cycle inventory by a factor of 1.57 to fit the required size of the functional unit given by the relevant product category rules. The consideration of biogenic carbon embodied in the wooden biomass leads to very high manufacturer‐specific deviations to the averaged global warming potential results when cradle‐to‐gate stages are considered only.

The forest wood chain is affected by the current policy framework in context with environmental and energy related issues in many ways. But since policy instruments interfere with certain parts of the forest-wood chain separately, there is no holistic monitoring installed which follows the development of the complete chain. Especially the development of environmental aspects of the production of wood products is a rather black spot. To include the environmental impact of the woodworking industry in long term evaluations of political decisions taken today, the monitoring of its changes is indispensable. The article presents a monitoring approach which combines comprehensive life cycle inventory data on product level with historical data on sector level. The approach is confirmed to be feasible for monitoring greenhouse gas emissions and the consumption of fossil fuels. The results show that from 2003 until 2012 the sawmill industry increased its average greenhouse gas emissions from 35 to 43 kg CO 2 -eq./m 3 and the wood based panels industry decreased the emissions from 353 to 325 kg CO 2 -eq./m 3 . In both cases, a change in the product mix of the two sectors was identified to be responsible. However, the results also indicate that both sectors gravely reduced their greenhouse gas efficiency due to a decreasing capacity utilization, which means that the environmental impacts for a specific type of wood product have changed distinctly over time. A comparison of the findings with displacement factors for wood products substitution was conducted to understand the relevance of the results. It showed that the development of environmental aspects of the woodworking industry needs to be taken into account for long term evaluations of political decisions affecting the forest wood chain. AbbreviationsCHP Combined heat and power EGHG Energy related greenhouse gas EPD Environmental product declarations FEC Final energy consumption GHG Greenhouse gas IOLCI Input-output life cycle inventory LCA Life cycle assessment LCI Life cycle inventory LULUCF Land use, land use change and forestry PEC Primary energy consumption PRODCOM Production communautaire SMI Sawmill industry WBPI Wood based panels industry