US EPA

1964397 

Journal Article 

Life cycle assessment of medium density particleboard (MDP) produced in Brazil 

Lopes Silva, DA; Rocco Lahr, FA; Garcia, RP; Cereja Seixas Freire, FM; Ometto, AR 

2013 

Yes 

International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment
ISSN: 0948-3349
EISSN: 1614-7502 

18 

7 

1404-1411 

10.1007/s11367-013-0583-3 

WOS:000322373800012 

The wood panel industry is one of the most important forest-based industries in Brazil. The medium density particleboard (MDP) is currently produced and consumed worldwide and represents about 50 % of the wood panel industry in Brazil. Unlike other regions, Brazilian MDP is produced from dedicated eucalyptus plantations and heavy fuel oil is an important energy source in MDP manufacture, which may result in a different environmental profile. This paper presents a life cycle assessment of MDP panel produced in Brazil and suggests improvement opportunities by assessing alternative production scenarios.



The cradle-to-gate assessment of 1 m(3) of MDP produced in Brazil considered two main subsystems: forest and industrial production. Detailed inventories for Brazilian eucalyptus production and MDP industrial production were collected as a result of technical visits to Brazilian MDP producers (foreground systems) as well as literature review (mainly background systems). The potential environmental impacts of MDP were assessed in terms of seven impact categories using CML (abiotic depletion, acidification, global warming, eutrophication, and photochemical oxidation) and USEtox (ecotoxicity and human toxicity) impact assessment methods in order to identify the main hotspots.



The industrial production was responsible for most of the impacts in all impact categories, except ecotoxicity (EC). The main hotspots identified were the use of heavy fuel oil (HFO) as a thermal energy source in MDP manufacture and the production of urea-formaldehyde (UF) resin used as synthetic adhesive. Glyphosate herbicide application in soil in forestry operations was the main responsible for the impacts in EC. Scenarios for HFO substitution were assessed and results showed that substituting HFO for in-mill wood residues or diesel leads to reduced environmental impacts.



The identification of the main hotspots in the MDP life cycle can assist the wood panel industry to improve their environmental profile. Further research should focus on UF resin production in order to reduce its environmental impacts as well as the possibility of using alternatives resins. Other sources of wood for MDP production could also be investigated (e.g., pine wood and wood residues) to assess potential improvements. 

Environmental hotspots; Environmental management; Heavy fuel oil; Improvement opportunities; Medium density particleboard; Wood-based panels