Environmental profile analysis of MDF panels production: study in a brazilian technological condition

• Autor(a) principal: Piekarski, Cassiano Moro
• Data de Publicação: 2016
• Outros Autores: Francisco, Antonio Carlos de, Luz, Leila Mendes da, Alvarenga, Tiago Henrique de Paula, Bittencourt, Juliana Vitoria Messias
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: Repositório Institucional da UFLA
• Texto Completo: http://www.cerne.ufla.br/site/index.php/CERNE/article/view/1002; http://repositorio.ufla.br/jspui/handle/1/14438
• topic: Environmental performance; Production system technology; Sustainability; Wood based panel; Life cycle inventory; Desempenho ambiental; Inventário do ciclo de vida; Painel de madeira reconstituída; Sustentabilidade; Tecnologia de sistema de produção

 The main goal of this study was to analyze the environmental profile of MDF panel manufacturing in the Brazilian industry in terms of energy, emissions and dependence on renewable sources. The study was conducted by using the methodology of Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), specifically through the development of the first Life Cycle Inventory (LCI) of MDF in a Brazilian industry. The life cycle inventory and the production processes analysis were constructed using Umberto® v.5.6 software and following the ISO 14040 series. The study covers the life cycle of MDF production from gate-to-gate perspective, involving the on-site manufacturing system. The functional unit was defined in 1 m³ of MDF. About 76% of energy required to produce MDF is thermal (52.8% of thermal energy is required for the drying process of wood fiber). CO2 is a major emission during the MDF production, where natural gas contributes to 96.7% of total CO2 fossils. It was observed a low dependence of non-renewable source (19.2%) compared with the literature.