The Opportunities and Challenges for Re-use and Recycling of Timber and Wood Products Within the Construction Sector

This chapter addresses the many factors which have influenced the re-use and recycling of wood in the UK over approximately a 20 year period to 2015. Drawing on a wide range of reports and data for the sector, the main trends are described. These include early adoption of standards for the quality of recycled wood in the particleboard industry, clear segregation of waste wood by origin and level of expected contamination, and more recently, the development of the biomass energy market. The construction sector presents several challenges when reclaiming, re-using or recycling timber, however, significant progress has been made by the introduced legislation, and through initiatives, best practice and the development of waste transfer stations and businesses utilising waste wood. Further avenues of research and emerging technologies are also discussed.

[1]  Wim Turkenburg,et al.  Gasification of biomass wastes and residues for electricity production. , 1995 .

[2]  Paul Cooper,et al.  Pilot-scale investigation of the robustness and efficiency of a copper-based treated wood wastes recycling process. , 2013, Journal of hazardous materials.

[3]  Almudena Hospido,et al.  Life Cycle Inventory of Particleboard: A Case Study in the Wood Sector (8 pp) , 2006 .

[4]  Markus Antonietti,et al.  Thermally insulating and fire-retardant lightweight anisotropic foams based on nanocellulose and graphene oxide. , 2015, Nature nanotechnology.

[5]  Timothy G Townsend,et al.  Online sorting of recovered wood waste by automated XRF-technology. Part I: detection of preservative-treated wood waste. , 2011, Waste management.

[6]  Ignacio Zabalza Bribián,et al.  Life cycle assessment of building materials: Comparative analysis of energy and environmental impacts and evaluation of the eco-efficiency improvement potential , 2011 .

[7]  Luisa F. Cabeza,et al.  Service life of the dwelling stock in Spain , 2013, The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment.

[8]  Bo G Leckner,et al.  Ash Deposition on Heat Transfer Tubes during Combustion of Demolition Wood , 2006 .

[9]  Giana Almeida,et al.  Influence of torrefaction on some chemical and energy properties of maritime pine and pedunculate oak , 2011, BioResources.

[10]  Alfred Teischinger,et al.  Cement bonded composites - A mechanical review , 2008, BioResources.

[11]  C. Hill,et al.  Environmental impacts of wood composites and legislative obligations , 2015 .

[12]  Mehdi Tajvidi,et al.  Mechanical and Physical Properties of Wood-Plastic Composite Panels , 2010 .

[13]  Sara González-García,et al.  Environmental performance assessment of hardboard manufacture , 2009 .

[14]  Gerd Wegener,et al.  Life Cycle Assessment of Wood Floor Coverings - A Representative Study for the German Flooring Industry (11 pp) , 2006 .

[15]  N. Hanley,et al.  Combating climate change: a role for UK forests. An assessment of the potential of the UK's trees and woodlands to mitigate and adapt to climate change. , 2009 .

[16]  Melissa M. Bilec,et al.  Impact of lifetime on US residential building LCA results , 2012, The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment.

[17]  David W. Hahn,et al.  On-Line Sorting of Wood Treated with Chromated Copper Arsenate Using Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy , 2002 .

[18]  Sheldon Q. Shi,et al.  Timber production from reclaimed creosote-treated wood pilings: economic analysis and quality evaluation , 2001 .

[19]  Rakesh Gupta,et al.  Evaluation of dahurian larch in mechanical connections , 1996 .

[20]  Keith Weitz,et al.  CCA-treated wood disposed in landfills and life-cycle trade-offs with waste-to-energy and MSW landfill disposal. , 2007, Waste management.

[21]  Yongfeng Li,et al.  Wood-Polymer Composites , 2012 .

[22]  Parviz Soroushian,et al.  Durability and microstructure analysis of CO2-cured cement-bonded wood particleboard , 2013 .

[23]  Manfred Lenzen,et al.  Embodied energy in buildings : wood versus concrete - reply to Börjesson and Gustavsson , 2002 .

[24]  Frank Werner,et al.  Wooden building products in comparative LCA , 2007 .

[25]  S. R. Karade,et al.  Cement-bonded composites from lignocellulosic wastes , 2010 .

[26]  Xavier Gabarrell,et al.  Environmental assessment and improvement alternatives of a ventilated wooden wall from LCA and DfE perspective , 2012, The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment.

[27]  C. Hill,et al.  An Introduction to Sustainable Resource Use , 2011 .

[28]  Timothy G. Townsend,et al.  Disposal practices and management alternatives for CCA-treated wood waste , 1999 .

[29]  Roland Sauerbrey,et al.  Fast analysis of inorganic wood preservatives using laser-induced plasma emission spectrometry , 1999 .

[30]  C. Clausen,et al.  Removal of CCA from treated wood by oxalic acid extraction, steam explosion, and bacterial fermentation , 1998, Journal of Industrial Microbiology and Biotechnology.

[31]  Frank Werner,et al.  Wooden building products in comparative LCA: A literature review , 2007 .

[32]  Magdalena Svanström,et al.  Life cycle assessment of construction materials: the influence of assumptions in end-of-life modelling , 2014, The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment.

[33]  P. Cooper,et al.  Effect of carbon dioxide injection on production of wood cement composites from waste medium density fiberboard (MDF). , 2006, Waste management.

[34]  Morsyleide de Freitas Rosa,et al.  Cellulose nanowhiskers from coconut husk fibers: Effect of preparation conditions on their thermal and morphological behavior , 2010 .

[35]  Robert L. Smith,et al.  An industry evaluation of the reuse, recycling, and reduction of spent CCA wood products , 1998 .

[36]  Gyu‐Hyeok Kim,et al.  Improving the efficiency of metal removal from CCA‐treated wood using brown rot fungi , 2009, Environmental technology.

[37]  María D. Bovea,et al.  Increasing product value by integrating environmental impact, costs and customer valuation , 2004 .

[38]  Simon J. Bennett,et al.  From petrochemical complexes to biorefineries? The past and prospective co-evolution of liquid fuels and chemicals production in the UK , 2009 .

[39]  M. Hofrichter,et al.  Removal and mineralization of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons by litter-decomposing basidiomycetous fungi , 2002, Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology.

[40]  Annele Hatakka,et al.  Mycoremediation of wood and soil from an old sawmill area contaminated for decades. , 2013, Journal of hazardous materials.

[41]  T. Townsend,et al.  Leachate from Land Disposed Residential Construction Waste , 2002 .

[42]  Lieve Helsen,et al.  Review of disposal technologies for chromated copper arsenate (CCA) treated wood waste, with detailed analyses of thermochemical conversion processes. , 2005, Environmental pollution.

[43]  Shahab Sokhansanj,et al.  A Review on Biomass Torrefaction Process and Product Properties , 2011 .

[44]  Ludo Diels,et al.  Biowaste biorefinery in Europe: opportunities and research & development needs. , 2015, New biotechnology.

[45]  Alex K. Jones,et al.  Life cycle assessment use in the North American building community: summary of findings from a 2011/2012 survey , 2015, The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment.

[46]  Yuji Imamura,et al.  Bioremediation of CCA-treated wood by brown-rot fungi Fomitopsis palustris, Coniophora puteana, and Laetiporus sulphureus , 2005, Journal of Wood Science.

[47]  D. Kamdem,et al.  Effect of cement/wood ratio on the properties of cement-bonded particleboard using CCA-treated wood removed from service , 2002 .

[48]  Timothy G. Townsend,et al.  Control of Chromated Copper Arsenate Wood Incineration Air Emissions and Ash Leaching Using Sorbent Technology , 2004 .

[49]  Pacific Northwest,et al.  Cradle to Gate Life Cycle Assessment of Engineered I-Joists Production from the , 2013 .

[50]  A. Mandal,et al.  Isolation of nanocellulose from waste sugarcane bagasse (SCB) and its characterization , 2011 .

[51]  Kentaro Abe,et al.  Review: current international research into cellulose nanofibres and nanocomposites , 2010, Journal of Materials Science.

[52]  P. Börjesson,et al.  Greenhouse gas balances in building construction : wood versus concrete from life-cycle and forest land-use perspectives , 2000 .

[53]  L. Gustavsson,et al.  Variability in energy and carbon dioxide balances of wood and concrete building materials , 2006 .

[54]  Matthew J. Darr,et al.  Effects of torrefaction process parameters on biomass feedstock upgrading , 2012 .

[55]  P A Cooper,et al.  Factors affecting sodium hypochlorite extraction of CCA from treated wood. , 2009, Waste management.

[56]  Kj Krzysztof Ptasinski,et al.  Biomass upgrading by torrefaction for the production of biofuels: A review , 2011 .

[57]  G. W. Meindersma,et al.  Conceptual process design of an integrated bio-based acetic acid, glycolaldehyde, and acetol production in a pyrolysis oil-based biorefinery , 2015 .

[58]  Snehal Anilkumar Kumbhar,et al.  Recycling and Reuse of Construction and Demolition Waste for Sustainable Development , 2013 .

[59]  Morwenna Spear,et al.  Preservation, protection and modification of wood composites , 2015 .

[60]  Bunichiro Tomita,et al.  Hydration behavior of wood cement-based composite I: evaluation of wood species effects on compatibility and strength with ordinary portland cement , 2000, Journal of Wood Science.

[61]  Peter Knoef Harrie Stassen Hubert Quaak,et al.  Energy from Biomass: A Review of Combustion and Gasification Technologies , 1999 .

[62]  X. Xu,et al.  Life cycle assessment of wood-fibre-reinforced polypropylene composites , 2008 .

[63]  Paul Fowler,et al.  The biorefining opportunities in Wales: Understanding the scope for building a sustainable, biorenewable economy using plant biomass , 2009 .

[64]  Aysel T. Atimtay,et al.  Investigation of combustion kinetics of treated and untreated waste wood samples with thermogravimetric analysis , 2009 .

[65]  S. N. Kartal,et al.  Bioremediation of CCA-C treated wood by Aspergillus niger fermentation , 2004, Holz als Roh- und Werkstoff.

[66]  J Krook,et al.  Swedish recovered wood waste: linking regulation and contamination. , 2008, Waste management.

[67]  David Plackett,et al.  Microfibrillated cellulose and new nanocomposite materials: a review , 2010 .

[68]  K. Yasuda,et al.  Basic Evaluation Of Sorting Technologies ForCCA Treated Wood Waste. , 2006 .

[69]  Jun Li,et al.  Co-firing based on biomass torrefaction in a pulverized coal boiler with aim of 100% fuel switching , 2012 .

[70]  Aldo Roberto Ometto,et al.  Sustainable strategies analysis through Life Cycle Assessment: a case study in a furniture industry. , 2015 .

[71]  B. Kamm,et al.  Principles of biorefineries , 2004, Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology.

[72]  Yong Cai,et al.  Release of arsenic to the environment from CCA-treated wood. 1. Leaching and speciation during service. , 2006, Environmental science & technology.

[73]  W. de Jong,et al.  Pyrolysis of Miscanthus Giganteus and wood pellets: TG-FTIR analysis and reaction kinetics☆ , 2003 .

[74]  Marcelle C. McManus,et al.  Comparative cradle-to-gate life cycle assessment of wood pellet production with torrefaction , 2015 .

[75]  Karin Adalberth,et al.  Energy Use and Environmental Impact of New Residential Buildings , 2000 .

[76]  F. Rezaei,et al.  Mechanical and thermo-chemical properties of wood-flour/polypropylene blends , 2010 .

[77]  W Willeboer.  The Amer demolition wood gasification project , 1998 .

[78]  Akram N. Alshawabkeh,et al.  Electrokinetic Process for Removing Cu, Cr, and As from CCA-Treated Wood , 2005 .

[79]  P. A. Cooper,et al.  Increased wood-cement compatibility of chromate-treated wood , 1994 .

[80]  François Zaviska,et al.  Selective recovery of metals in leachate from chromated copper arsenate treated wastes using electrochemical technology and chemical precipitation , 2009 .

[81]  Hans-Jörg Althaus,et al.  Post-Consumer Waste Wood in Attributive Product LCA Context specific evaluation of allocation procedures in a functionalistic conception of LCA , 2007 .

[82]  K. Olie,et al.  Mechanisms of Formation and Destruction of Polychlorinated Dibenzo=p=dioxins and Dibenzofurans in Heterogeneous Systems , 1995 .

[83]  Rui Xiong,et al.  Comparing microcrystalline with spherical nanocrystalline cellulose from waste cotton fabrics , 2012, Cellulose.

[84]  Gumersindo Feijoo,et al.  Life cycle inventory of medium density fibreboard , 2006 .

[85]  Shintaro Kikuchi,et al.  Enhanced extraction of heavy metals in the two-step process with the mixed culture of Lactobacillus bulgaricus and Streptococcus thermophilus. , 2012, Bioresource technology.

[86]  Brajesh Dubey,et al.  Evaluation of methods for sorting CCA-treated wood. , 2007, Waste management.

[87]  Holger Wallbaum,et al.  Environmental product declarations entering the building sector: critical reflections based on 5 to 10 years experience in different European countries , 2015, The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment.

[88]  Behdad Moghtaderi,et al.  Application of Concrete and Demolition Waste as CO2 Sorbent in Chemical Looping Gasification of Biomass , 2012 .

[89]  T. Hjelt,et al.  Smooth and flexible filler-nanocellulose composite structure for printed electronics applications , 2012, Cellulose.

[90]  Hans-Jörg Althaus,et al.  Post-consumer waste wood in attributive product LCA , 2006 .

[91]  Lars-Erik Åmand,et al.  Fate of Zinc during Combustion of Demolition Wood in a Fluidized Bed Boiler , 2008 .

[92]  Tim Grant,et al.  Quantifying the greenhouse benefits of the use of wood products in two popular house designs in Sydney, Australia , 2013, The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment.

[93]  Antonios N. Papadopoulos,et al.  Mechanical and physical properties of cement-bonded OSB , 2006, Holz als Roh- und Werkstoff.

[94]  Panagiotis Grammelis,et al.  Evaluation of the environmental impact of waste wood co-utilisation for energy production , 2004 .

[95]  T. Nemecek,et al.  Overview and methodology: Data quality guideline for the ecoinvent database version 3 , 2013 .

[96]  Marta Herva,et al.  Assessing environmental sustainability of particleboard production process by ecological footprint , 2013 .

[97]  Leif Gustavsson,et al.  Life cycle primary energy use and carbon emission of an eight-storey wood-framed apartment building , 2010 .

[98]  Carlos Alberto Luengo,et al.  Wood briquette torrefaction , 2005 .

[99]  Ivor Davies.  Sustainable construction timber sourcing and specifying local timber. , 2016 .

[100]  Ann T. W. Yu,et al.  On-site sorting of construction and demolition waste in Hong Kong , 2001 .

[101]  Dieter Klemm,et al.  Nanocelluloses as Innovative Polymers in Research and Application , 2006 .

[102]  Henning Bockhorn,et al.  A comparative kinetic study on the pyrolysis of three different wood species , 2003 .

[103]  Laszlo Bejo,et al.  Development of Cement Bonded Composite Beams , 2005 .

[104]  Carlos Roberto Altafini,et al.  Pyrolysis of Medium Density Fiberboard (MDF) wastes in a screw reactor , 2015 .

[105]  H. Gibson,et al.  A structural design model for sofa seat frames equipped with sinusoidal-type springs. , 2000 .

[106]  Dieter Klemm,et al.  Nanocelluloses: a new family of nature-based materials. , 2011, Angewandte Chemie.

[107]  Carol A. Clausen,et al.  Leachability and decay resistance of particleboard made from acid extracted and bioremediated CCA-treated wood , 2001 .

[108]  Law,et al.  Waste Incineration Directive , 2011 .

[109]  P. A. Cooper,et al.  Cement-bonded particleboards using CCA-treated wood removed from service. , 2000 .