Environmental advantage by choice: Ex-ante LCA for a new Kraft pulp fibre reinforced polypropylene composite in comparison to reference materials

Hesser, Franziska

doi:10.1016/j.compositesb.2015.04.038

Cited by 42 publications

(36 citation statements)

References 23 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…The tailoring of product properties, such as adjusting the modification to a required function, enables optimizing resource inputs in manufacturing by avoiding over engineering and therefore is a key payback option (Hesser 2015). This opportunity can be directly targeted in further research and development activities of the modification process.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Integration of LCA in R&D by applying the concept of payback period: case study of a modified multilayer wood parquet

Hesser

Wohner

Meints

et al. 2016

Int J Life Cycle Assess

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Purpose Improving technical properties and the durability of wood-based products by modification in various processing technologies is subject to recent research and development activities. This study aimed at integrating environmental considerations during the research and development phase of a novel modification process for a multilayer wood parquet. Due to expected challenges when applying Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) in this phase, the eco-profile of the modified multilayer wood parquet was referred to the original multilayer parquet by estimating payback period and identifying other payback options. Methods An LCA was conducted during the research and development phase of the modification process at laboratory scale and is characterized as ex ante environmental screening of a newly developed technology. The environmental assessment of new products and manufacturing processes during the research and development phase, however, faces multifarious challenges, such as the definition of a functional unit and the service life length. In order to overcome these challenges, the idea was to answer the question under which circumstances the modification process pays back from the perspective of non-renewable energy use and global-warming potential. Aside from investigation of payback period, the feasibility of other payback options was systematically searched. Results and discussion The extra resource input and the resulting increase in environmental burden of the modification of the multilayer parquet can be justified with the extension of service life length by 10 to 20 %, referring to global warming potential and non-renewable energy use, respectively. Other payback options found were adjusting chemical loading during modification, making renovations superfluous, or reducing transport effort. Other than transportation and renovation, which are user-dependent, only the modification lies within the scope of the parquet producer. Conclusions The payback concept is found suitable for comparative estimations on the magnitude of change in environmental performance of product variants during research and development. By investigating on multiple payback options, it was enabled to frame the change in environmental performance, which is essential in order to define the scope of further research and development in a target-oriented way. The possibility of using LCA for an environmental technology valuation at an early stage in product and process development is demonstrated in this study.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…According to Roes and Patel (2011), this reflects on the initial stage of LCA model building, where, e.g., material formulation, production, and application are still being studied. An ex ante LCA can be used to identify the scope for further R&D activities (Roes and Patel 2011;Hesser 2015).…”

Section: Introduction and Objectivementioning

confidence: 99%

Integration of LCA in R&D by applying the concept of payback period: case study of a modified multilayer wood parquet

Hesser

Wohner

Meints

et al. 2016

Int J Life Cycle Assess

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…In addition to the fossil energy use, the global warming potential (GWP) within a time horizon of 100 years is assessed. The GWP is seen as a key issue when assessing the environmental impact of wood products [52][53][54]. The assessment treats the biogenic carbon as neutral.…”

Section: Impact Assessmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

From Wood to Resin—Identifying Sustainability Levers through Hotspotting Lignin Valorisation Pathways

et al. 2018

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The concept of bioeconomy supports the diversification strategies of forest-based industries to create new value chains and contribute to economic growth and sustainability. The use of side streams or by-products of the pulp and paper industry (PPI) is seen as a promising approach. In line with this, the idea of substituting fossil-based materials and products is frequently discussed. One such example is the use of lignin as a bio-based alternative for fossil-based phenols. Lignin-based products not only have to fulfil identical technical requirements as their fossil-based counterparts, they are also expected to be more sustainable. This study conducts an integrated hotspot analysis of two lignin valorisation pathways during R&D. The analysis considers the provision of technical kraft lignin as a by-product of a state-of-the-art kraft pulp mill, followed by valorisation, either via solvent fractionation or via base-catalysed depolymerisation (BCD), and the final application of the valorised lignins in phenol formaldehyde resins. As a two-step approach, first of all, the environmental hotspots (e.g., energy-intensive process steps) along the valorisation pathways are identified. Secondly, a variation analysis is carried out, which involves the identification of sustainability levers (e.g., selection of solvents). Identifying those levers at an early research stage helps to support the R&D process towards sustainable product development.

show abstract

“…Similarly, potential future opinion leaders have certain expectations regarding wood-based innovations, which are translated into an information demand regarding the performance of the specific innovation. Many wood-based innovations intended to substitute conventional, fossil-based products are heavily scrutinized regarding their environmental impact (Hesser, 2015). In addition, previous studies found that society can be skeptical regarding the environmental responsibility of the forest-based sector in general (Ranacher and Stern, 2016;Ranacher et al, 2017), which may be considered a potential bottleneck for market diffusion of wood-based innovations.…”

Section: Conceptual Backgroundmentioning

confidence: 99%

What would potential future opinion leaders like to know? An explorative study on the perceptions of four wood-based innovations

Ranacher

Höfferer

Lettner

et al. 2018

Die Bodenkultur: Journal of Land Management, Food and Environment

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Summary Wood-based innovations can substantially contribute to bioeconomy and future competitiveness of the forest-based sector. However, the forest-based sector lacks consumer-related information that is essential to achieve societal acceptance and market diffusion of wood-based innovations. Therefore, this study investigates the perceptions and related information demands regarding the four selected innovations, that is, wooden multi-story timber construction (WMC), biorefinery (BR), natural fiber reinforced composites (NFC), and nanocellulose (NC). A focus group discussion with future-oriented individuals representing potential future opinion leaders and a subsequent qualitative content analysis was used as the research method. The results show that the perception and information demand of the focus group participants differs between the innovations as a result of their market maturity. It was observed that the participants discussed WMC, a well-established innovation, in detail compared to NC, a quite recent innovation. The results suggest that the forest-based sector should consider individual and societal benefits when communicating the benefits of wood-based innovations.

show abstract

Environmental advantage by choice: Ex-ante LCA for a new Kraft pulp fibre reinforced polypropylene composite in comparison to reference materials

Cited by 42 publications

References 23 publications

Integration of LCA in R&D by applying the concept of payback period: case study of a modified multilayer wood parquet

Integration of LCA in R&D by applying the concept of payback period: case study of a modified multilayer wood parquet

From Wood to Resin—Identifying Sustainability Levers through Hotspotting Lignin Valorisation Pathways

What would potential future opinion leaders like to know? An explorative study on the perceptions of four wood-based innovations

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About