Life cycle assessment of raw materials for non-wood pulp mills: Hemp and flax

Abstract At the present time, there is a remarkable increasing interest for using non-woody fibres as raw materials for pulp mills. The present study aims to identify and quantify the environmental impacts associated with the production of hemp and flax fibres for speciality paper pulp by using the Life Cycle Assessment (from now, LCA) methodology. One ton of fibre entering the pulp mill was used as functional unit in both systems. Inventory data for the foreground system (agricultural inputs and outputs) were obtained directly from growers (Spanish plantations and expert advisors) and combined, when necessary, with bibliographic sources. Data for the background system such as production of chemicals and pesticides, machinery or electricity were taken from the Ecoinvent database. The CML baseline 2000 methodology was selected to quantify the potential environmental impact associated to the crops. Specifically global warming (GWP), acidification (AP), eutrophication (EP) and photochemical oxidant formation (POP) were evaluated. In addition, two flow indicators were considered: energy (EU) and pesticide use (PU). Production of hemp fibre reported higher values for all the impact categories analyzed. On the contrary, flow indicators were more intensive in the flax scenario due to irrigation and pesticide consumption. LCA tool aided to identify the hot spots, so that a proposal for upgrading alternatives to reduce environmental impacts could be made. Production and use of fertilizers as well as the stage of scutching were identified as the hot spots in both crops; in addition, harvesting has also significant contribution in hemp production and irrigation regarding the flax scenario. Future work will be focused on the study of non-wood fibre processing in order to get a complete picture of the non-wood pulp life cycle.

[1]  H. M. G. Werf.  Life Cycle Analysis of field production of fibre hemp, the effect of production practices on environmental impacts , 2004, Euphytica.

[2]  Michel J M Ebskamp,et al.  Engineering flax and hemp for an alternative to cotton. , 2002, Trends in biotechnology.

[3]  S. Camarero,et al.  Optimization of a Laccase-Mediator Stage for TCF Bleaching of Flax Pulp , 2003 .

[4]  A. Gutiérrez,et al.  The biotechnological control of pitch in paper pulp manufacturing. , 2001, Trends in biotechnology.

[5]  Sarah J. Cowell,et al.  Evaluation of the environmental impacts of apple production using Life Cycle Assessment (LCA): Case study in New Zealand , 2006 .

[6]  A. Gustafson,et al.  A catchment-oriented and cost-effective policy for water protection. , 2000 .

[7]  E. Wintermantel,et al.  Influence of the growth stage of industrial hemp on chemical and physical properties of the fibres , 2001 .

[8]  Carles M. Gasol,et al.  Life cycle assessment of a Brassica carinata bioenergy cropping system in southern Europe. , 2007 .

[9]  C. Campbell,et al.  Effect of crop rotations and fertilization on energy balance in typical production systems on the Canadian Prairies , 1989 .

[10]  Tim Yates,et al.  The use of non-food crops in the UK construction industry , 2006 .

[11]  Sylvain Payraudeau,et al.  Environmental impact assessment for a farming region: a review of methods , 2005 .

[12]  P. Barraclough,et al.  Environmental impact assessment of agricultural production systems using the life cycle assessment (LCA) methodology II. The application to N fertilizer use in winter wheat production systems , 2004 .

[13]  Joan Rieradevall,et al.  Contributions to LCA methodology for agricultural systems , 2004 .

[14]  T. Nemecek,et al.  Life Cycle Inventories of Agricultural Production Systems , 2007 .

[15]  S. Amaducci,et al.  Crop yield and quality parameters of four annual fibre crops (hemp, kenaf, maize and sorghum) in the North of Italy , 2000 .

[16]  Allan Astrup Jensen,et al.  A Comparative Life Cycle Assessment of Building Insulation Products made of Stone Wool, Paper Wool and Flax Part 1: Background, Goal and Scope, Life Cycle Inventory, Impact Assessment and Interpretation , 2004 .

[17]  Allan Astrup Jensen,et al.  A comparative Life Cycle assessment of building insulation products made of stone wool, paper wool and flax , 2004 .

[18]  John Tzilivakis,et al.  Developing an emissions inventory from farm data , 1999 .

[19]  Joan Rieradevall i Pons,et al.  Environmental analysis of the energy use of hemp – analysis of the comparative life cycle: diesel oil vs. hemp–diesel , 2005 .

[20]  David L. Wright,et al.  Effect of variety, seed rate and time of cutting on fibre yield of dew-retted hemp , 2006 .

[21]  U. Tschirner,et al.  ALKALINE SULFITE–ANTHRAQUINONE (AS/AQ) PULPING OF WHEAT STRAW AND TOTALLY CHLORINE FREE (TCF) BLEACHING OF PULPS , 2009 .

[22]  M. Hauschild,et al.  Estimation of pesticide emissions for LCA of agricultural products , 2002 .

[23]  Toolseeram Ramjeawon,et al.  Life cycle assessment of cane-sugar on the island of mauritius , 2004 .

[24]  John Tzilivakis,et al.  Environmental impacts of farm scenarios according to five assessment methods , 2007 .

[25]  Jian Zhao,et al.  Application of enzymes in producing bleached pulp from wheat straw. , 2006, Bioresource technology.

[26]  A. Pizzigallo,et al.  The joint use of LCA and emergy evaluation for the analysis of two Italian wine farms. , 2008, Journal of environmental management.

[27]  Llorenç Milà i Canals,et al.  Contributions to LCA Methodology for Agricultural Systems. Site-dependency and soil degradation impact assessment , 2003 .

[28]  J. Lloveras,et al.  Hemp and Flax Biomass and Fiber Production and Linseed Yield in Irrigated Mediterranean Conditions , 2006 .

[29]  B. Honermeier,et al.  Effect of sowing date and plant density on the cell morphology of hemp (Cannabis sativa L.) , 2006 .

[30]  O. Jolliet,et al.  Environmental analysis of intensity level in wheat crop production using life cycle assessment , 2006 .

[31]  Rainer Zah,et al.  Curauá fibers in the automobile industry - a sustainability assessment , 2007 .

[32]  Xavier Farriol,et al.  Preparation and characterization of methylcelluloses from some annual plant pulps , 2007 .

[33]  Hans-Jürgen Dr. Klüppel,et al.  The Revision of ISO Standards 14040-3 - ISO 14040: Environmental management – Life cycle assessment – Principles and framework - ISO 14044: Environmental management – Life cycle assessment – Requirements and guidelines , 2005 .

[34]  B. Svennerstedt,et al.  Hemp (Cannabis sativa L.) Trials in Southern Sweden 1999-2001 , 2006 .

[35]  J. Lammel,et al.  Environmental impact assessment of agricultural production systems using the life cycle assessment methodology: I. Theoretical concept of a LCA method tailored to crop production , 2004 .

[36]  Charlene Forrest BSc,et al.  The Effects of Organic and Inorganic Nitrogen Fertilizer on the Morphology and Anatomy of Cannabis sativa “Fédrina” (Industrial Fibre Hemp) Grown in Northern British Columbia, Canada , 2006 .

[37]  Vittorio Rocco,et al.  Brassica carinata as an alternative oil crop for the production of biodiesel in Italy: agronomic evaluation, fuel production by transesterification and characterization , 2003 .

[38]  Roberto Dones,et al.  Life Cycle Inventories of Energy Systems: Results for Current Systems in Switzerland and other UCTE Countries , 2007 .

[39]  Maharaj Narain,et al.  Energy profile of a seed-processing plant , 1988 .

[40]  Jean Petit,et al.  Evaluation of the environmental impact of agriculture at the farm level: a comparison and analysis of 12 indicator-based methods , 2002 .

[41]  Raffaele Casa,et al.  Environmental effects on linseed (Linum usitatissimum L.) yield and growth of flax at different stand densities , 1999 .

[42]  R. Heijungs,et al.  Life cycle assessment An operational guide to the ISO standards , 2001 .

[43]  Niels Halberg,et al.  Indicators of resource use and environmental impact for use in a decision aid for Danish livestock farmers , 1999 .

[44]  M. Leupin,et al.  Influence of the growth stage of industrial hemp on the yield formation in relation to certain fibre quality traits , 2001 .

[45]  María Jesús Martínez,et al.  Efficient bleaching of non-wood high-quality paper pulp using laccase-mediator system , 2004 .

[46]  D. L. Easson,et al.  A study of the plant, fibre and seed development in flax and linseed (Linum usitatissimum) grown at a range of seed rates , 2000, The Journal of Agricultural Science.

[47]  O. Jolliet,et al.  Harmonisation of Environmental Life Cycle Assessment for Agriculture , 1997 .

[48]  Hayo M. G. van der Werf Inra,et al.  Hemp Production in France , 2002 .

[49]  Frank Brentrup,et al.  Application of the Life Cycle Assessment methodology to agricultural production: an example of sugar beet production with different forms of nitrogen fertilisers , 2001 .

[50]  María Jesús Martínez,et al.  Comparison of different fungal enzymes for bleaching high-quality paper pulps. , 2005, Journal of biotechnology.

[51]  Gil Gorchs,et al.  Current Status of Hemp Production and Transformation in Spain , 2003 .

[52]  O. Jolliet,et al.  Life cycle impact assessment of pesticides on human health and ecosystems , 2002 .

[53]  B. P. Weidema,et al.  Agricultural data for life cycle assessments , 2000 .

[54]  P. Struik,et al.  Agronomy of fibre hemp (Cannabis sativa L.) in Europe. , 2000 .

[55]  H. V. D. Werf,et al.  The environmental impacts of the production of hemp and flax textile yarn , 2008 .

[56]  Luis Jiménez.  Pastas celulósicas de materias primas alternativas a las convencionales , 2005 .