Title: Carbon footprint of sawn timber products of Castanea sativa Mill. in the north of Spain
Abstract: Sweet chestnut is the most abundant native tree species in Asturias (Northern Spain). This hardwood timber is used in construction for both structural and non-structural purposes, and is processed into a wide variety of products, those based on sawn timber being the most common and having better national and international markets. The study presents the carbon footprint of sawn timber products of chestnut forests in Asturias calculated according to PAS 2050, and evaluates the potential for its reduction and options for achieving this. System boundaries were established according to a cradle-to-gate approach, based on primary data from the largest representative of the sawn timber industry in the region, over a one-year period. A sensitivity analysis was carried out taking into account the influence of the origin of the wood (distribution routes of the raw material) and the efficiency of the sawmill as calculated by the Lumber Recovery Factor. The distribution of emissions in the life cycle stages showed that the total emissions of 1 m3 of air dried sawn timber products was significantly lower (95.2 kg CO2e per 1 m3) than 1 m3 of kiln dried sawn timber product (383.7 kg CO2e per 1 m3), as a result of the lower energy consumption of the former process. The hotspots in the life cycles of these wood products were identified. The greater emissions from kiln dried sawn timber were made in the sawmill processing and in the case of air dried sawn timber the important contribution to overall emissions was made by the haulage from forest to sawmill. The greatest opportunities for improvements in terms of emission reduction were located in the sawmill stage of the process, where emissions can be reduced significantly depending on the choice of drying system, and through the use of local suppliers. Other actions that could influence the reduction of emissions are: decreasing the reliance on the co-generation motor system; increasing the percentage of biomass burned during the drying process; and using the waste wood currently left in the forest in the biomass boiler. A great positive of this study is that the methodology presented can serve as a blueprint for determining the carbon footprint of other types of sawn timber products, and the information generated can be used in future studies related to the carbon footprint of other wood-based products. Future work will enhance the model to incorporate the carbon footprint of the end of life emissions of these sawn timber products in order to establish the full cradle-to-grave life cycle.
Publication Year: 2015
Publication Date: 2015-05-09
Language: en
Type: article
Indexed In: ['crossref']
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Cited By Count: 35
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