The mathematics of forest products life cycle assessment (LCA)

• Environmental Management
• Environmental Management Systems
• Environmental Auditing
• Eco-Labelling
• Environmental Performance Evaluation
• Life Cycle Assessment
• Life Cycle Assessment - General Principles and Procedures
• Life Cycle Inventory Analysis
• Life Cycle Impact Assessment
• Life Cycle Improvement Assessment
• Classification
grouping of input/output factors into impact categories
- general categories human health, ecological impacts
- specific categories i.e. global warming, acidification, eutrophication
• Characterization
analysis and quantification of the impact in each of the selected
categories (“environmental load response-relationships”)
• Valuation
...determination of significance of the results of the impact
assessment..
In accordance with the working groups of ISO, LCA can be divided into
four elements:
1. Definition of goal and scope
2. Life Cycle Inventory (LCI)
3. Life Cycle Impact Assessment
4. Evaluation or Life Cycle Improvement Assessment
Methodological framework

General methodological framework of LCA, according to ISO 14040

Input:
• Raw material
• Ancillary material
• Recycled/downcycled material
• Product streams (from other modules) to be treated (incl. downstream
processing)
• Steam Electric power
Output:
• Products
• By-products
• Recycled/downcycled material
• Product streams to other modules (incl. those to be treated in downstream
processes)
• Emissions
• Steam
• Electric power
Inventory
4
Or fossil fuel depletion
Calculation and database
• The USDA database can be used to assess the environmental impacts associated
with the materials and energy used.
• OpenLCA software, version 1.10.3 created and developed by Green Delta since
2006 are useful as the accounting program to track all of the materials.
• The USDA database and OpenLCA software are imperative for the analysis of the
LCA of the wood industries.
Quantification of emissions
• USDA is a database created by U.S. Forest Service Resource Planning Assessment (U.S.FSRPA) of the U.S. to
help LCA practitioners. This database contains thousands of materials and their already determined air and
water emission due to producing and using of these materials for different purposes.
• For example, out of these materials, those which were identical with the inputs of Ethiopian plywood factory
were selected and the emissions because of the production and usage of those materials for different
plywood production activities were determined. The quantification was based on the amount of the inputs
which was determined during the data collection.
• The calculation process was complicated and highly vulnerable for errors. Because of this, it was important
to use LCA software which was designed for this purpose and Open LCA version 1.10.3 was chosen.
• OpenLCA is free professional LCA software, created and developed by Green Delta since 2006. It follows the
ISO 14040 standards for environmental management and documentation (Ciroth et al., 2014).
• Generally, the quantification of emissions to air and water due to the usage and production of different
inputs used in the plywood production process was performed by using quantified inputs during the data
collection as a row data and OpenLCA version 1.10.3 software and USDA database as a tool of analysis.
• The collected data (quantified inputs of the production process) was needed to be converted to a functional
unit base (amount per 1m3 of plywood) before it entered to the software.
• So that, the amount of all emission in compound level which were determined by the software were given as
per one meter cube of plywood, what we call it life cycle inventory.
Life Cycle Impact Assessment (LCIA)
• The Life Cycle Impact Assessment (LCIA) phase used to measure the
possible impacts of flows calculated in the LCI (Puettmann et al., 2013).
• Life Cycle Impact Assessment (LCIA) is begun with the identification of
relevant environmental impact categories; such as, global warming,
acidification and terrestrial toxicity. It is followed by classification, assigning
LCI results to the impact characterization; determining LCI impacts within
impact categories using science based conversion factors (e.g. determining
the potential impact of carbon dioxide and methane on global warming).
• Here, the software also played the role to categorize all emissions
according to their impact they were creating and quantify (characterize)
their contribution for the specific impact and summed up to express the
quantity of an impact happened. The following are selected impact
categories which were assessed and expressed figuratively.
Global Warming Potential (GWP)
• Global Warming Potential has been developed to characterize the change in the greenhouse gas effect due to
emissions. The unit for measurement is kilo grams equivalent of CO2 per functional unit of the product (USEPA,
2006).
Acidification Potential (AP)
• Acidifying compounds emitted in a gaseous state either dissolve in atmospheric water or fixed on solid particles.
They reach ecosystems through dissolution in rain. The two compounds principally involved in acidification are
sulfur and nitrogen compounds. The unit of measurement is kilo grams of hydrogen ions per functional unit of
product (Tukker, 2004).
Eutrophication Potential (EP)
• Eutrophication is the addition of undesired mineral nutrients to the soil or water. The addition of large quantities
of mineral nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorous results in undesirable shifts in the number of species in
ecosystems and reduction in ecological diversity. Excess nutrient in water leads to increased biological oxygen
demand from the dramatic increase in flora that feed on these nutrients, a following reduction in dissolved oxygen
levels, and the collapse of fish and other aquatic species. The unit of measurement is kilo grams of nitrogen per
functional unit of product (Tukker, 2004), categories (e.g., classifying carbon dioxide emissions to global warming)
and finally.
Terrestrial Eco-Toxicity (TE)
• The terrestrial eco-toxicity impact measures the potential of a chemical released into the environment to harm
terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. The unit of measurement is kilo grams of 2, 4-dichlorophenoxy-acetic acid per
functional unit of a product (Tukker, 2004).
Human Toxicity (HT)
• Exposure of humans to toxic substances causes health problems.
Exposure can take place through air, water, or soil, especially via the
food chain.
As an example of plywood industry
Process description
1.Transportation process
• Environmental impacts associated with the transportation of logs from forest to plywood
manufacturing were evaluated in this study.
2.Debarking and bucking
• The debarking and bucking process includes mechanically removing of the bark from the logs
and cutting them to the proper length to make peeler.
• Co-products generated include bark and some wood waste.
• Inputs include electricity to operate equipment and diesel fuel for the log haulers.
3. Log peeling
• After debarking the blocks, the next step for plywood production is peeling. Then, the
debarked blocks are gripped on veneer lathe.
The software Inputs and Outputs of final plywood product LCI using OpenLCA software
The software impact analysis of results using OpenLCA software
4. Log peeling
• To produce plywood, heat and steam were used for drying veneer, and pressing panels. For
the wood boiler, wood waste from various plywood operations was used for fuel. Inputs
include green and dry wood waste and trim waste while output includes steam, ash and
emissions.
5. Veneer Drying
• Veneer drying is an important stage in the manufacturing of plywood. The purpose of drying
veneer is to reduce its moisture content to a range suitable for gluing into plywood and other
veneer-based assembly. Dryers are used to take the moisture content of green veneer from
approximately 25-60% to 6-10% (oven-dry basis).
6. Lay-up and Pressing
• In the lay-up and pressing process, the veneers are coated with urea-formaldehyde adhesive
and stacked into panels for hot-pressing. After drying the veneers are taken to the lay-up
area. Adhesive (i.e. UF adhesive) is applied to the veneers. After coating with the adhesive on
both sides, the veneers are placed in alternating directions either by hand or machine. Once
assembled to the desired amount of veneers, panels are conveyed from the lay-up area to
the press.
7. Panel Trimming
• Panels that required further processing were sent to a finishing area for trimming and
sanding depending on their final use.
Unit process inputs/outputs for pressing veneers to
produce 1 m3 of plywood
Products Value
Plywood, pressed 1.00 m3
Materials/fuels Value
Veneer, dry 1.00 m3
Electricity, from national grid 30 kWh
Wood waste, combusted in industrial boiler 448.25 MJ
Lubricant 0.33 L
Oil 10.4275 L
Urea-formaldehyde adhesive 76.083 kg
Hardener 0.37 kg
Wheat flour (filler) 29.6 kg
Water 75 L
Emissions to air released per 1 m3 of plywood produced
S. No Air Emission1 Amount (%)
1 Carbon dioxide, fossil 3.12
2 Carbon dioxide, biogenic 49.81
3 Carbon monoxide, biogenic 2.08
4 Carbon monoxide, fossil 0.33
5 Nitrogen oxides 1.85
6 Acetaldehyde 0.12
7 Methane 0.03
8 Sulfur oxides 1.13
9 Particulates, < 10 um 2.28
10 Particulates, unspecified 15.68
11 Bicyclo [3.1.1] heptane, 6,6-dimethyl-2-methylene- 0.30
12 Formaldehyde 16.06
13 Phenol 0.10
14 D-limonene 0.09
15 VOC, volatile organic compounds 7.04
Total 100.00
Chapter-14-Life cycle costing, social life cycle assessment and eco-
efficiency of forest products life cycle assessment (LCA)
Numerical example

A company is planning a new product. Market research information suggests that the
product should sell 10,000 unit at Birr21/unit. The company seeks to make a mark up of
40% product costs. It is estimated that the lifetime costs of the product will costs of the
product will be as follows:
1. Design and development costs Birr 50,000
2. Manufacturing costs Birr 10/unit
3. End of life costs Birr 20,000

Required: What is the original lifecycle costs per unit?

Answer:
LCC/unit=
Birr 50,000+ (10,000 x Birr 10) + Birr 20,000 /10,000
= Birr 17
Social life cycle assessment (SLCA)
A social life cycle assessment (S-LCA) is a method that can be used to assess
the social and sociological aspects of products, their actual and potential
positive as well as negative impacts along the life cycle.
• Sustainable development: environmental, social and economic
• SLCA evaluates the positive and negative social and socioeconomic impacts
along the product life cycle
• SLCA vs. Other social impact assessment tools: objective, scope
• Milestone documents of SLCA – the Guidelines, Methodological Sheets
• SLCA is in line with ISO14040 and ISO14044, and it can be applied by itself
or combined with LCA
Goal and Scope Definition
The ultimate objective for conducting a SLCA is to promote improvement of
social conditions and of the overall socio-economic performance of a
product throughout its life cycle for all of its stakeholders.
• Functional Unit
- The conflicts between ´company perspective´ and FU; Difficulties of
expressing results in FU
• System Boundaries
- Upon ELCA (Environment Life Cycle Assessment). The parts that company
can influence directly.

• Area of Protection
- i.e. human well-being
Life Cycle Inventory Analysis
• Data type
-more use of qualitative and semi-quantitative data
• Objective data vs. Subjective data
-SLCA does not favor objective data
• Generic data and site-specific data
-hotspot assessment with generic data combined with site-specific
assessment
• Social Hotspot Database (SHDB)
-based on GTAP (the Global Trade Analysis Project) Global input-
output modeling; Social Theme Tables and Worker Hours Model
No specific SLCIA methods are recommended in the Guidelines. As
classified in the Guidelines, there are generally two types of SLCIA
methods in SLCA:
• Type 1 SLCIA methods
-Performance Reference Point: do not use causal-effect chains
• Type 2 SLCIA methods
-Inventory data are aggregated to a mid point or end point level
through causal-effect chain modelling.
Future Research Needs
• Development of database
• Guidance on collecting site-specific data
• Merging Type 1 and Type 2 LCIA methods
• Standardizing LCIA methods
• Integration of top-down and bottom-up approaches
• Which kind of outputs could SLCA generate, and how to use SLCA
results in decision support
Eco-efficiency of forest products life cycle assessment (LCA)
Eco-efficiency, which is defined in the ISO 14045 standard as the ratio between
the economic value created by a product system and the cost in terms of
environmental impact caused.

(Book)http://www.fao.org/sustainable-food-value-chains/library/details/en/c/266243/
Eco-efficiency of the products
Environment
Renewable
Re-use, recycle, reduce
Resilient
Sustainable

Social
Fair
Equitable

Economic
Competitive
Profitable