Environmental Impact Analysis of Natural Cork Stopper Manufacturing

Francisco Javier Flor-Montalvo, Eduardo Martínez-Cámara, Jorge Luis García-Alcaraz, Emilio Jiménez-Macías, Juan-Ignacio Latorre-Biel and Julio Blanco-Fernández
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Francisco Javier Flor-Montalvo: Higher School of Engineering and Technology, International University of La Rioja (UNIR), 26004 Logroño, La Rioja, Spain
Eduardo Martínez-Cámara: Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of La Rioja, 26004 Logroño, La Rioja, Spain
Jorge Luis García-Alcaraz: Department of Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering, Autonomous University of Ciudad Juarez, Ciudad Juárez 32315, Mexico
Emilio Jiménez-Macías: Department of Electrical Engineering, University of La Rioja, 26004 Logroño, La Rioja, Spain
Juan-Ignacio Latorre-Biel: Department of Mechanical Engineering, Public University of Navarra, Av de Tarazona s/n, 31500 Tudela, Navarra, Spain
Julio Blanco-Fernández: Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of La Rioja, 26004 Logroño, La Rioja, Spain

Agriculture, 2022, vol. 12, issue 5, 1-15

Abstract: For both wine makers and customers, natural cork stoppers are a symbol of quality. Moreover, they are essential for maintaining the organoleptic properties of bottled wines throughout their lifespan. This research relied on the life-cycle assessment (LCA) methodology to analyze the relationship between the efficient usage of cork planks and the environmental impact of the cork stopper manufacturing industry. The goals of this research were to analyze and determine the environmental impact of producing 1 kg of natural cork stoppers. The analysis considered cork stoppers of two sizes—24 × 44 mm and 26 × 44 mm—and two manufacturing methods—punching and turning. Our findings indicated that the 24 × 44 mm cork stoppers produced with the punching method had a slightly lower environmental impact (1.36 kg CO 2 eq/kg) across the ten analyzed impact categories. Conversely, 26 × 44 mm turned corks had the highest impact on the environment (1.49 kg CO 2 eq/kg). Additionally, a comparison of same-sized punched and turned cork stoppers showed that the former had a lower environmental impact. This phenomenon is directly related to plank usage. In conclusion, there is a clear relationship between environmental impact and the efficient usage of raw material. In turn, an efficient usage of raw material depends on both the manufacturing method and stopper size.

Keywords: environmental impact; natural cork stoppers; manufacturing process; LCA (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q1 Q10 Q11 Q12 Q13 Q14 Q15 Q16 Q17 Q18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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