Life Cycle Analysis of a Particleboard Based on Cardoon and Starch/Chitosan

Teresa Margarida Mata (), Clara Freitas, Gabriela Ventura Silva, Sandra Monteiro, Jorge Manuel Martins, Luísa Hora de Carvalho, Luís Manuel Silva and António Areosa Martins ()
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Teresa Margarida Mata: LAETA-INEGI, Associated Laboratory for Energy and Aeronautics, Institute of Science and Innovation in Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, 4200-465 Porto, Portugal
Clara Freitas: CIETI—Center for Innovation in Engineering and Industrial Technology, Polytechnic of Porto (IPP), School of Engineering (ISEP), 4249-015 Porto, Portugal
Gabriela Ventura Silva: LAETA-INEGI, Associated Laboratory for Energy and Aeronautics, Institute of Science and Innovation in Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, 4200-465 Porto, Portugal
Sandra Monteiro: ARCP—Associação Rede de Competência em Polímeros, 4200-355 Porto, Portugal
Jorge Manuel Martins: ARCP—Associação Rede de Competência em Polímeros, 4200-355 Porto, Portugal
Luísa Hora de Carvalho: ARCP—Associação Rede de Competência em Polímeros, 4200-355 Porto, Portugal
Luís Manuel Silva: CIETI—Center for Innovation in Engineering and Industrial Technology, Polytechnic of Porto (IPP), School of Engineering (ISEP), 4249-015 Porto, Portugal
António Areosa Martins: LEPABE—Laboratory for Process Engineering, Environment, Biotechnology and Energy, ALICE—Associate Laboratory in Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of Porto, 4200-465 Porto, Portugal

Sustainability, 2023, vol. 15, issue 23, 1-16

Abstract: This work analyzes the life cycle environmental impacts of producing a particleboard based on cardoon fibers and a starch/chitosan adhesive from a “cradle-to-gate” perspective, considering the following life cycle steps: raw material production, adhesive preparation (component mixing and heating), cardoon fiber preparation (crushing and sieving), adhesive and fiber mixing, hot-pressing and final processing. The functional unit is a particleboard with the dimensions of 220 × 220 × 16 mm 3 . For the life cycle inventory, experimental data obtained from the production of particleboard on a pilot scale were used. The Aspen Plus V9 software was used to simulate the heating process in the manufacture of the biological adhesive and obtain the data associated with this stage. Portuguese or European conditions were considered for the background processes, using data from the EcoInvent V3.5 LCI database. The environmental impacts were quantified using the RECIPE methodology. To complement the study, the VOCs present in the panel were analyzed using the “active headspace” technique. The results show that for most of the environmental impact categories, energy consumption is dominant, followed by starch and chitosan production. Using fully renewable electricity produced in photovoltaic panels, instead of the Portuguese electricity mix, significantly reduces the impacts in most of the environmental impact categories, for example, the carbon footprint is reduced by 34%. Future studies will analyze how the environmental impacts can be further reduced, and how process scale-up may influence them.

Keywords: bio-based materials; cardoon; circular economy; life cycle thinking; particleboards (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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