Evolution of land use environmental impact of eucalyptus globulus in the context of life cycle assessment

Introduction: The eucalyptus globulus forest area in Continental Portugal has shown a systematic increase over the last 50 years. In 20015 it was the species with the highest forest land occupation representing 26.2% of the total Portuguese forest area. Although between 2005 and 2015 the occupation of the soil by eucalyptus globulus had grown about 7.5%, the existing volume increased slightly 0.2%. The wildfires had a strong impact on this with a total burnt area of 1.1 million hectares during this period. Objective: Due to its economic value (national leader in exports of high added value) and social (contributes to the generation of thousands of jobs) this study aims to assess the evolution of the environmental impact of eucalyptus globulus on the land use between 2005 and 2015. Methods: The life cycle assessment methodology is followed and the ILCD 2011 Midpoint+ method available in the SimaPro software was chosen to assess the land use environmental impact. Results: Land use impact category of 1 m3 of eucalyptus globulus trees, standing, in forest, was 21832 Kg C deficit in 2005 and 23430 Kg c deficit in 2015 that means an increased about 7.3% during this period. Conclusion: Transformation to forest road (from natural forest) is the process that most contributes for the land use impact with approximately 78%. Forest occupation is the second most important process representing about 19.5% of the total impact category and forest road occupation represents only 3%.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

THERMALLY MODIFIED PINE BOARDS - AN ENVIRONMENTAL COMPARISON OF PORTUGUESE AND SPANISH CASE STUDIES

Thermal modification is a well-known process to improve some of the most important wood properties by using heat in a low oxygen environment. The main changes are the reduc-tion of equilibrium moisture content, increased dimensional stability and increased resistance against fungi [1]. As no chemical compounds or other extraneous constituents are added to wood in the process, it has a potential of being a green building material. At the moment, there are only two companies in Portugal [2] and one company in Spain producing modified wood by heat treatment [3]. The main aim of this study is to compare the environmental profile of thermally modified pine boards produced by a Portuguese and a Spanish company using the Life Cycle Assess-ment (LCA) methodology described in ISO 14040 [4] and ISO 14044 [5] standards and Product Category Rules for preparing an environmental product declaration (EPD) for Construction Products and Construction Services [6]. For an EPD that covers a “cradle to gate” the declared unit is applicable instead of func-tional unit and in this case is 1 m3 of thermally modified pine boards. The system boundary for the product system is represented in a simplified way in Fig.1. Fig. 1 The system boundaries of the study As the sawing and planning processes of the product system delivers the products (pine boards) and co-products (wood residues – bark, sawdust and chips), that can be used as raw material for other product system, the environmental burdens of this process are allocated to product and co-products based in its economic value. The datasets for the products and processes included in the system boundaries are compa-nies’ data and are related to the year 2014. The thermo-treatment used was Thermo I (intense treatment) to allow treated pine boards to be used in exterior decks or cladding. The inventory analysis and, subsequently, the impact analysis have been performed using the LCA software SimaPro 8.1.0.60 [7] and associated databases and methods. The method chosen for impact assessment was EPD-2013 V1.01 [8]. The impact categories considered were: acidification (AC), eutrophication (EU), global warming (GWP 100a), photochemical oxidation (PO), ozone layer depletion (ODP) and abiotic depletion (AD). Fig. 2 shows the result of comparative environmental profiles of the thermally modified pine boards produced by the companies in this study. Figure 1: Comparative profiles of the thermally modified pine boards. Acronyms: AC (acidification); EU (eu-trophication), GWP 100a (global warming), PO (photochemical oxidation), ODP (ozone layer depletion) and AD (abiotic depletion) The contribution of Portuguese and Spanish treated boards to climate change (CC), is al-most equal. The Spanish treated boards are better than Portuguese for acidification (65%), eutrophication (52%), ozone layer depletion (87%) and abiotic depletion (61%) and the oppo-site is true for photochemical oxidant formation (66%).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

The influence of hot pressing on high density fibreboards, when the panels are used for overlaying

Um conjunto de painéis de fibras de alta densidade, colados com uma resina de melamina/ureia-formaldeído, foi submetido a operações de prensagem a quente, de modo a estudar a influência desta operação nas propriedades do substrato. Usou-se uma prensa de pratos, a uma pressão que permitisse um contacto firme entre os painéis e os pratos da prensa. Foi desenvolvido um plano experimental para três temperaturas diferentes de 95, 180 e 210 º C e dois tempos de prensagem, de 22 e 35 segundos, para cada uma delas. Os painéis foram fabricados com fibras de pinho (Pinus pinaster) a uma densidade média de 930 kg/m3 e espessura média de 6,7 mm De acordo com os resultados obtidos, as operações de pós-fabrico dos painéis de alta densidade resultaram numa ligeira melhoria do módulo de elasticidade, da tensão de rotura à flexão estática e da resistência interna dos painéis usados como substrato. Observou-se também uma ligeira diminuição da humidade de equilíbrio e espessura dos painéis, bem como um aumento da densidade e do inchamento, com o aumento da temperatura e tempo de prensagem.ct A series of high density fiberboard (HDF) panels, bonded with melamine/urea-formaldehyde (MUF), were exposed to a post manufacture hot pressing at various temperatures and pressing durations using a hot press and just enough pressure to ensure firm contact between the panel and the press platens. The experimental plan was developed for three different temperatures of 95, 180 and 210ºC and two different pressing times, of 22 and 35 seconds. The panels were made with pine fibers (pinus pinaster) at a target density of 930 kg/m3 and target thickness of 6.7 mm. The results indicated that the pos-manufacture hot-pressing of the exterior HDF panels resulted in a slightly improvement of the modulus of elasticity (MOE), bending strength and internal bonding (IB) of the panels used as substrates. A reduction in moisture content and thickness as well as an increase in density and thickness swelling was also noticed with an increase in the temperature and pressing timeinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Environmental profile of the electricity supplied in Portugal by the main suppliers

The main aim of this study was to assess and compare the environmental profile of 1 KWh of electricity supplied during 2014 by the four main electricity selling companies in Continental Portugal. The study was elaborated based on Life Cycle Assessment methodology and the method chosen for environmental impact assessment was EPD2013. The results show that the ENDESA´s electricity was the worst in terms of acidification, eutrophication, global warming, photochemical oxidation and ozone layer depletion while IBERDROLA´s electricity was the best for those impact categories and the worst in terms of abiotic depletion. Including in the study, the net electricity fed into the Portuguese and UCTE grid at the high voltage level, the conclusion is that the electricity at Portuguese grid presents the worst performance in terms of acidification, global warming and photochemical oxidation while the electricity at UCTE grid presents the worst performance in terms of eutrophication and ozone layer depletion.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Influência da luz nos parâmetros químicos de qualidade em azeites monovarietais

O azeite é o principal componente da dieta mediterrânica. O seu consumo tem vindo a aumentar, como consequência dos seus efeitos benéficos para a saúde. A qualidade do azeite virgem pode diminuir ao longo do tempo devido à degradação oxidativa / hidrolítica, influenciadas pela luz e temperatura. A preocupação em garantir a qualidade do azeite durante o tempo que decorre desde a produção até ao engarrafamento e comercialização é cada vez mais importante. Assim, as condições de armazenamento são fatores determinantes para a qualidade do azeite. O objetivo do presente trabalho foi estudar como o armazenamento do azeite em presença de luz influencia os parâmetros químicos da qualidade. Analisaram-se três variedades de azeite, Arbequina, Cobrançosa e Picual, armazenadas por um período de oito meses em presença de luz e no escuro, e realizaram-se várias determinações analíticas tais como: acidez, índice de peróxidos, índice espectrofotométrico, polifenóis totais, tocoferóis e ácidos gordos; ABSTRACT: Olive oil is the main component of the Mediterranean diet. Its use has increased as a result of its beneficial effects on health. The quality of virgin olive oil decreases over time due to oxidative degradation / hydrolytic influenced by light and temperature. Thus, it is of great relevance to ensure the olive oil quality during the time from production to bottling and marketing. Therefore, the storage conditions are considered key factors for the olive oil quality. The aim of this work was to study how the storage of olive oil in the presence of light influences the chemical quality. We analyzed three different varieties of olive oil, Arbequina, Cobrançosa and Picual, stored for a period of eight months in the presence of light and dark, and several analytical determinations were performed, such as acidity, peroxide value, spectrophotometric index, total polyphenols , tocopherols, and fatty acids

Water-related properties of Pinus pinaster wood treated by different methods

A study was made of water-related properties of Pinus pinaster wood impregnated with paraffin or modified by heat treatment or furfurylation. Treated woods were submerged in water for periods ranging from 2 to 1680 hours. Water absorption, swelling, and dimensional stability in the radial and tangential directions – expressed as Anti-Shrinking Efficiency (ASE) – were determined. Water absorption increased with time, reaching approximately 140% after 1680 h for untreated and heat-treated wood, and 60% for paraffinated and furfurylated wood. The rate of swelling differed between the first hours of soaking and after prolonged immersion. The final swelling was approximately 9% and 6% for untreated pine, 8% and 4% for paraffinated pine, 5.5% and 3% for heat-treated pine and 2.5% and 1% for furfurylated pine (in the tangential and radial directions respectively). At the end of the soaking test, furfurylated pine had the best ASE of approximately 80% and 70% in the tangential and radial directions respectively, followed by heat-treated pine with 44% and 34%, and paraffinated wood with 35% and 13%. [info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Liquefaction and chemical composition of walnut shells

The cultivation of walnut (Juglans regia L.) for the exploitation of the fruit has been increasingly recognized worldwide; therefore, it is important to valorize a large amount of biomass from walnut shells (WS), where liquefaction may play an important role. This work intends to contribute to an improved understanding of the best uses for this material. The assays were made with a binary mixture of ethylene glycol and glycerol (1:1 v/v) as solvents, catalyzed by sulfuric acid. The tested parameters were as follows: particle size >0.420– 0.177mm, temperature 140–200°C, and reaction time between 15 and 60min. The initial dried material, the liquefied material, and the resulting solid residue were analyzed by FTIRATR for polyol characterization. The results showed that WS are mostly composed of lignin with 35.0% and polysaccharides, 30.0% cellulose and 24.9% hemicelluloses. High-lignin content indicated that WS might be used as a bio-fuel or adhesives. Extractives represent 10.2% with almost half (4.6%) of polar extractives. The best conditions to attain the optimal liquefaction yield were 160°C, 30min, and 0.420–0.250mm particle size, for the tested parameters. FTIR spectrum of the liquefied material is very different from the original material, and solid residue spectra seem to indicate that there is higher liquefaction of polysaccharides when compared with lignin since there is a higher absorption at 1,600 cm−1 and lower absorption at 1,040 cm−1 and that liquefied compounds are probably in smaller molecules.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Maritime pine land use environmental impact evolution in the context of life cycle assessment

Between 2005 and 2015, the forest area occupied by maritime pine trees in Continental Portugal decreased by about 10.6%, and the existing volume decreased by about 18.4%mainly due to fires and pests (e.g., nematode) that occurred during this period. The purpose of this study was to study the evolution of the land use environmental impact of 1m3 of maritime pine, standing in Portuguese forest, during that period using the model by Milà i Canals based on soil organic matter measured by soil organic carbon. Results show that the land use impact category increased from 16,812 kg C deficit in 2005 to 18,423kg C deficit in 2015. Land transformation to forest roads is the main contribution for land use impact representing 54%of the total value followed by land occupation as forest that represents about 40%.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio