Cradle to Gate Life Cycle Assessment of U.S. Particleboard Production Maureen Puettmann, WoodLife Environmental Consultants, LLC

Abstract

CORRIM, the Consortium for Research on Renewable Industrial Materials, has derived life cycle inventory (LCI) data for major wood products and wood production regions in the United States (U.S.) The life cycle inventory data cover from forest regeneration through to final product at the mill gate. Research has covered nine major forest products including both structural and nonstructural uses and four major regions: in this report we focus on the average U.S. production of particleboard. Wood residue inputs for the U.S. average particleboard production are sourced from the Pacific Northwest (PNW) and Southeast (SE) regions and various wood manufacturing processes. This document updates the current particle board LCI from a gate to gate to a cradle to gate LCI. Updates include the addition of forestry operations, and boiler, and electrical grid data that have been updated since the original mill surveys were conducted in 2004. The updated LCI data were used to conduct a life cycle impact assessment (LCIA) using the North American impact method, TRACI 2.0 (Simapro version 4.0) (Tool for the Reduction and Assessment of Chemical and Other Environmental Impacts) (Bare et al. 2011). These updates are necessary for the development of environmental product declarations (EPD) which will be based on this document. This document originates from the CORRIM LCI reports by Wilson (2008) and Johnson et al. (2005). Updates to the original Wilson report include: wood combustion boiler updates, electricity grid updates (Goemans 2010), and a LCIA. Updates to the forestry operations report (Johnson et al. 2005) include electricity grid updates and a LCIA using the TRACI method. This report follows data and reporting requirements as outlined in the Product Category Rules (PCR) for North American Structural and Architectural Wood Products (PCR 2011) that will provide the guidance for preparation of North American wood product EPD’s. This report does not include comparative assertions.