The bioeconomy can be integral to transforming the current economic system into one with reduced environmental and social impacts of material consumption. This work describes a bio-based multi-layer panel that is based on residual coniferous bark. To ensure that the presented bio-based panel positively contributes to environmental protection while remaining competitive with conventional products and meeting high social standards, the development of the panel is accompanied by a life cycle sustainability assessment. This study performs a comparative LCA and LCC of the developed panel to conventional benchmark panels, as well as a qualitative social life cycle assessment. While the panel performs only economically marginally weaker than the benchmarks, the results are more heterogeneous for the environmental dimension with benefits of the bio-based panel in categories such as climate change, acidification, and ozone formation and detriments in categories including eutrophication. The S-LCA analysis shows that all of the involved companies apply social principles in direct proximity; however, social responsibility along the supply chain could be further promoted. All results need to be viewed with the caveat that the manufacturing processes for the new panel have been implemented, to date, on a pilot scale and further improvements need to be achieved in terms of upscaling and optimisation cycles. ; The research leading to these results has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under grant agreement number 723670, with the title "Systemic approach to reduce energy demand and CO2 emissions of processes that transform agroforestry waste into high added value products (REHAP)".
International audience ; As a part of a larger research project that examined bio-based building materials that are underutilized in the construction of non-residential buildings, the presented mail survey was conducted in France and Gabon to determine how architects specify selected bio-based building materials. This study provides a preliminary assessment of the potential segments of architects in practice based on their attitudes to the use of wood in non-residential construction. France Among the most wooded countries, Russia ranks first (809 million hectares), then, Brazil (478 million hectares), Canada (310 million hectares), the United States (303 million hectares) . In Europe, France occupies the fourth place-behind Sweden, Finland and Spain-with its 18 million hectares. It is a little less than 30% of the French territory. The French forest is very diverse, with 136 different species of trees. The area of French hardwood forests is 11.2 million hectares, or 71.2% of the forest. Private forest is dominated mainly by oaks, which occupy about 5 million hectares. Chestnut and poplar are specific species of the private forest. A little more than 4.4 million hectares are made up of coniferous forests with a great diversity of species: maritime pine, Scots pine, fir, spruce, Douglas-fir. The French forest employs 440,000 people, more than the automobile industry. It has a turnover of 60 billion euros per year, or nearly 3% of PIB (Produit Interieur Brut or GDP I think). The sector includes operators, sawmills, pulp mills, panel and furniture manufacturers, and firewood. A large part of the French forest is private: 3.3 million owners share it. Gabon In Central Africa and particularly in equatorial region, the forest plays a key role in this regulation. In the year 2000, Gabon produced more than 4 million m3 timber, of which 72% was Aucoumea Klaineana Pierre (AKP). However, in 2004, only 1.6 million m3 was produced, of which 61% was AKP. This decrease in lumber production was due to a new regulations of exploitation of trees. In 2009, after the prohibition by the Gabonese government of the exportation of logs, more structures focalised on the study and the exploitation of wood were born. Since then, a particular attention is done on the mechanical characterization of some species which are usually used in timber structures. One of more those species is AKP which is an endemic specie in central Africa's forest which is a long time, associated at the life of locals. In the recent past, AKP represents 80% of annual wood's production in this country and 90% of this specie is exported all over the world and particularly in Europa and Asia. It is used largely for plywood in building, in veneer, finished or semi-finished products and in the design of the paper. Using the information obtained in this study will contribute to an understanding of the probability that bio-based building materials are chosen in residential and non-residential buildings and to an understanding of the drivers and barriers for increased use. Change is difficult – the barriers to wood are complex and the building industry is both averse to risk and slowed by inertia – but with the right focus, the wood industry can make a difference. The study is extended to selected European countries and the US, as well as to Central Africa. The study is extended to selected European countries and the US, as well as to Central Africa. The first results show that several architects in Gabon have not given response the survey due to the difficulty to have computer and excellent web connection. However, the obtained results are very interesting and promised. These results will help the architects to choose efficiently the wood product for civil engineering constructions.
This study aims at investigating the potential use of a bio-based phase change material, i.e. expired palm oil from the food industry, as a more sustainable alternative to petrochemical-based organic PCMs. To this purpose, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and isoconversional methods (Starink and Miura-Maki methods) are applied and the main thermo-physical properties of the blend are investigated by means of differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and extensive thermal monitoring in a controlled realistic environment. Finally, a life cycle assessment is used to evaluate the environmental impact of the bio-based material in comparison to the more common petrochemical-based application. Kinetic analysis results indicate the two dimensional phase boundary reaction model as the most reliable scheme for describing the oxidation of palm oil, with an activation energy of about 73 kJ · mol−1. The DSC and the thermal monitoring procedure, showed two separate melting peaks in the ambient temperature range, which globally guarantee a melting enthalpy of about 50 kJ · kg−1, i.e. of the same order of magnitude of the first developed PCMs. Results from the life cycle analysis reveal that the expired palm oil can be considered a promising material for bio-based latent applications. Globally, the palm oil has proved itself as a promising, low cost, and environmentally friendly alternative for passive thermal storage solutions (e.g. building envelope applications) where stability across multiple thermal cycles, low health risks, and low leakage are crucial parameters to be addressed. ; This work was partially funded by the Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades de España (RTI2018-093849-B-C31). Dr. Cabeza would like to thank the Catalan Government for the quality accreditation given to her research group GREiA (2017 SGR 1537). GREiA is a certified agent TECNIO in the category of technology developers from the Government of Catalonia. This work is partially supported by ICREA under the ICREA Academia programme. Authors from University of Perugia thank Fondazione cassa di Risparmio di Perugia for supporting the investigation about biomaterials within the project SOS CITTÁ 2018.0499.026.
New developments in the field of wood protection, coupled with the European political determination to lower the environmental impact of the building sector, designates wood and bio-based materials as an excellent option for building façades. Despite that, the share of wood in the European wood construction market is low, with the exception of some North European countries. For that reason, it is necessary to increase a confidence in bio-based façades by demonstrating their environmental performances during and after the service life by means of solid scientific tools and experimental evidences. As a pilot study, we investigated the interactive LCA in two maintenance scenarios (high and low intensity), assuming two diverse cladding bio-materials (untreated sawn wood and chemically modified wood). A dedicated software tool was developed for the needs of these analysis allowing dynamic simulation of environmental impact and immediate visualization of the LCA contributions. The end-of-life options were assessed with a different approach. Firstly, several alternative scenarios for re-use that are available on the market were identified and listed. Secondly, we established a weightbased expert system expressing importance/advantage of each scenario in order to classify each end-of-life option according to its provision of environmental benefit. Finally, we assessed the suitability of each defined end-of-life option for all evaluated bio-based materials.
This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Elsevier via the DOI in this record ; Bio-based building materials are composites of vegetal particles embedded in an organic or mineral matrix. Their multi-scale porous structure confers to them interesting thermal, hygroscopic and acoustic properties. These performance properties have spurred research on these materials as alternative building materials with low embodied energy. This review contains a comprehensive critical analysis of mechanical, thermal, and acoustic properties of bio-based building materials with a particular focus on the interactions of various constituents and manufacturing parameters. Alkali-activated binders are reviewed for their potential use in high strength bio-based composites. A detailed physico-chemical characterisation of the aggregates and compatibility analysis allow a comprehensive understanding of fundamental phenomena affecting mechanical, thermal, and acoustic properties of bio-based building materials. A wide range of biomass materials is available for building composites, and hemp shives remain the most prevalent bio-aggregate. In the context of England, the farming of industrial hemp remains limited, due in part to the long, costly licencing process and the abandonment of processing subsidy as part of the EU common agricultural policy in 2013. On the other hand, Miscanthus (elephant grass) is a perennial, low-energy, and well-established crop in the England which is gaining interest from farmers in the South West region. Its development aligns with actual agricultural, land management and environmental policies with potential to fuel innovative industrial applications. This review performs a critical assessment of the performance of bio-based materials in an attempt to identify potential frameworks and opportunities to develop building insulating materials from miscanthus. ; Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) ; Miscanthus Nursery Ltd ; Agrikinetics Ltd
The challenge of developing a sustainable production system includes the reduction of emissions, the efficient use of resources, and the transition to renewable energy. The bioeconomy proposes a development model aimed at reducing impacts and risks associated with the use of non-renewable resources considering the life cycle of products. The European Union is promoting products from renewable sources focused on biochemicals and bio-based plastics, which are high added value products when compared to biofuels. The aim of this paper is to consider sustainability in terms of the environmental, economic, and social aspects of use of bio-based plastics in the fruit chain, considering the case study of raspberry supply chains in northwestern Italy. Different analyses (life-cycle assessment (LCA), life-cycle costing (LCC), and externality assessment (ExA)) were used to assess the impacts along the whole chain by means of an integrated approach. The results show that the bio-based plastic scenario has lower environmental and social impacts than the conventional one, whereas the latter is the best choice according to a classic economic approach. The introduction of bio-based plastics as a replacement for traditional plastics in agri-food chains is the first step toward the use of renewable resources with a low impact on society.
Buildings have a significant impact on climate change. The building industry in Latin America is shifting slowly towards a more resilient architecture; our planet needs a faster response. The time to act is NOW! Passivhaus design, construction and innovation offer a comprehensive range of solutions to mitigate climate change and positively impact the UN's Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Additionally, incorporating natural materials into Passivhaus buildings makes them more sustainable and healthier, with clear long-term advantages for occupants and the environment. The change to make Latin American buildings more resilient and resource-efficient needs to start now! We all can help from our different positions by engaging and actively participate in the discussion of sustainable buildings. Local and National governments should commit to exploring and developing different strategies which incorporate mitigation actions in the building industry. Academics should research and give informed advice for policymaking. Industry innovation and development is vital to make available the process and materials needed for the change.
In order to save natural resources, recycling necessarily becomes a top priority for all of us, to save exhaustible resources, produce green energy and preserve the environment.In this perspective, we are trying to valorize a waste of animal origin, largely neglected by the actors of materials, through an industrial transformation into a biological charge to make new sustainable bio-composite materials.Using a tensile test bench, we try to mechanically characterize this biomaterial of renewable resources that, unlike eco-composites, has been neglected by the material actors.Obtained from waste, with a high recycling potential and from renewable resources, the bio-charge to be analyzed will be injected, later in different polymer materials in order to support the evolution of their physicochemical properties: resistance to elongation, wear, heat, corrosion, etc.Consequently, we will be able to contribute to an eco-design of sustainable materials with safeguarding exhaustible resources and preserving our environment
Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) reduce indoor air quality. They are associated with negative effects on human health and wellbeing. In terms of legislation requirements and consumer pressure, VOCs from engineered wood materials are reduced due to use of water based additives and adhesives in their formulation. Therefore, the main source of VOCs remains the raw material&mdash ; the wood itself. Alternatives to wood strands, annual plant materials, are tested nowadays due to their advantages: The short cycle ; the raw material is sourced naturally and can be produced more sustainably ; and faster sequestering atmospheric carbon. The aim of this work was to investigate volatile organic compounds emitted from untreated and chemically treated hemp shive and compare the emission characteristics to soft wood strands. Simple, yet effective chemical treatments, like tartaric acid, citric acid and sodium bicarbonate were used in order to reduce VOC emissions. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) combined with headspace solid-phase microextraction (HS-SPME) was used to analyse the volatile compounds emissions. Specific VOCs like acetic acid ; Benzaldehyde ; hexanal, &alpha ; -, &beta ; -pinenes ; limonene and camphene were monitored before and after the treatments. Non-target screening was performed to identify the most responsible compound for differentiation of samples according to their treatments. Comparing untreated samples, spruce strands showed highest amounts of total VOCs, while untreated hemp shive showed the lowest. Further, due to the chemical modification of hemp woody core components, such as hemicelluloses, lignin, and extractives, the key VOCs showed significant changes leading to an increase in the amount of total emissions.
Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) reduce indoor air quality. They are associated with negative effects on human health and wellbeing. In terms of legislation requirements and consumer pressure, VOCs from engineered wood materials are reduced due to use of water based additives and adhesives in their formulation. Therefore, the main source of VOCs remains the raw material—the wood itself. Alternatives to wood strands, annual plant materials, are tested nowadays due to their advantages: The short cycle; the raw material is sourced naturally and can be produced more sustainably; and faster sequestering atmospheric carbon. The aim of this work was to investigate volatile organic compounds emitted from untreated and chemically treated hemp shive and compare the emission characteristics to soft wood strands. Simple, yet effective chemical treatments, like tartaric acid, citric acid and sodium bicarbonate were used in order to reduce VOC emissions. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) combined with headspace solid-phase microextraction (HS-SPME) was used to analyse the volatile compounds emissions. Specific VOCs like acetic acid; Benzaldehyde; hexanal, α-, β-pinenes; limonene and camphene were monitored before and after the treatments. Non-target screening was performed to identify the most responsible compound for differentiation of samples according to their treatments. Comparing untreated samples, spruce strands showed highest amounts of total VOCs, while untreated hemp shive showed the lowest. Further, due to the chemical modification of hemp woody core components, such as hemicelluloses, lignin, and extractives, the key VOCs showed significant changes leading to an increase in the amount of total emissions.
There is a clear overall consensus among international institutions and governments on the need to scale down the reliance of the global economy on fossil fuels. Yet, a sustainable transition from a long-established regime based on rooted production and consumption models, requires tackling a wide array of challenges. Indeed, the transition towards a bio-based economy is still characterized by a high degree of complexity and uncertainty. Managing complexity and accounting for uncertainty entails appropriate and multidisciplinary tools. In this regard, sustainability certifications, standards and labels can play a pivotal role in navigating this transition, creating the conditions to ensure a level playing field between bio-based and conventional products.
