The nonprofit Consortium for Research on Renewable Industrial Materials (CORRIM) has been developing comprehensive environmental performance information on wood building materials consistent with life-cycle standards (http://www.corrim.org/). The articles published in this Special Issue of the Forest Products Journal extend the research by the CORRIM group on the environmental performance of wood products to include the impacts from the uses of wood as a source for bioenergy.

The earlier work, published in two special issues of Wood and Fiber Science (CORRIM 2005, 2010), developed the inputs and outputs for each stage

Abstract

The different uses of wood result in a hierarchy of carbon and energy impacts that can be characterized by their efficiency in displacing carbon emissions and/or in displacing fossil energy imports, both being current national objectives. When waste wood is used for biofuels (forest or mill residuals and thinnings) fossil fuels and their emissions are reduced without significant land use changes. Short rotation woody crops can increase yields and management efficiencies by using currently underused land. Wood products and biofuels are coproducts of sustainable forest management, along with the other values forests provide, such as clean air, water, and habitat. Producing multiple coproducts with different uses that result in different values complicates carbon mitigation accounting. It is important to understand how the life-cycle implications of managing our forests and using the wood coming from our forests impacts national energy and carbon emission objectives and other forest values. A series of articles published in this issue of the Forest Products Journal reports on the life-cycle implications of producing ethanol by gasification or fermentation and producing bio-oil by pyrolysis and feedstock collection from forest residuals, thinnings, and short rotation woody crops. These are evaluated and compared with other forest product uses. Background information is provided on existing life-cycle data and methods to evaluate prospective new processes and wood uses. Alternative management, processing, and collection methods are evaluated for their different efficiencies in contributing to national objectives.

Abstract

A deterministic spreadsheet model developed in an earlier Consortium for Research on Renewable Industrial Materials (CORRIM) project that calculates cost, fuel, and chemical outputs of forest management and harvesting activities was modified to include logic for systems used to recover forest residue. Two illustrative biomass recovery systems with variations were modeled. A system to recover residues after whole-tree harvesting operations was applied to a representative forest stand in the Inland West. Whole-tree chipping in an early thinning was applied to a representative forest stand in the Southeast United States. Emission factors and life-cycle outputs were developed for the systems through the SimaPro v7.3 model using one if its environmental impact methodologies called TRACI2. Most environmental outputs, including global warming potential, had a direct relationship to fuel consumption of the recovery systems. These outputs were subsequently used as inputs to life-cycle analysis in biofuel conversion facilities. Fuel consumption for recovery of residues from the log landing was 8.10, 12.0, and 16.0 liters per bone dry metric ton (BDmT) at haul distances of 48, 97, and 145 km, respectively. Corresponding fuel consumption for whole-tree chipping and hauling at these distances was 10.5, 16.0, and 21.5 liters/BDmT. Shuttling ground residue from the landing for reload and a subsequent long haul of 145 km increased fuel consumption 32 percent over the residue recovery base case. Shuttling loose residue for centralized processing with a long haul distance of 145 km increases fuel consumption by 86 percent over recovery directly from the landing.

Abstract

Using life-cycle inventory production data, the net global warming potential (GWP) of a typical inland Northwest softwood lumber mill was evaluated for a variety of fuel types used as boiler inputs and for electricity generation. Results focused on reductions in carbon emissions in terms of GWP relative to natural gas as the fossil alternative. Woody feedstocks included mill residues, forest residuals, and wood pellets. In all fuel-substitution scenarios, increasing the use of biomass for heat generation decreased GWP. Using woody biofuels for electricity production is somewhat less effective in lowering carbon emissions than when used for heat energy. Heat generation at the mill under the current practice of using about half self-generated mill residues and half natural gas resulted in a 35 percent reduction in GWP over 100 percent natural gas. The greatest reduction in GWP (66%) was from increased use of forest residuals for heat energy, eliminating the use of fossil fuels as a direct heating fuel at the mill. We summarize the results by documenting that greater use of woody biomass for heat energy will reduce carbon emissions over fossil-based fuels.

Effect of Decoration Complexity and Age on Aesthetic Evaluation, Purchase Intention, and Visual Attention in Wood Furniture

Tao Song,

Hemin Du,

Sifan Wu,

Wang Pohsun,

Jingran Lin,

Ziying Li, and

Liying Wen

Introduction to Special Issue: Evaluating the Environmental Performance of Wood-Based Biofuels

Comparing Life-Cycle Carbon and Energy Impacts for Biofuel, Wood Product, and Forest Management Alternatives *

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Modeling Biomass Collection and Woods Processing Life-Cycle Analysis *

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Woody Biomass Substitution for Thermal Energy at Softwood Lumber Mills in the US Inland Northwest *

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Cradle-to-Gate Life-Cycle Inventory and Impact Assessment of Wood Fuel Pellet Manufacturing from Hardwood Flooring Residues in the Southeastern United States *

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Life-Cycle Inventory of Wood Pellet Manufacturing and Utilization in Wisconsin *

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Carbon Emission Reduction Impacts from Alternative Biofuels *

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Life-Cycle Assessment for the Production of Bioethanol from Willow Biomass Crops via Biochemical Conversion *

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Life-Cycle Assessment of Bioethanol from Pine Residues via Indirect Biomass Gasification to Mixed Alcohols *

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Life-Cycle Assessment of Pyrolysis Bio-Oil Production *

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Effect of Decoration Complexity and Age on Aesthetic Evaluation, Purchase Intention, and Visual Attention in Wood Furniture

Shear and Bending Properties of Homogeneous and Hybrid CLT Panels Fabricated from Low-Value North American Hardwood Species

Regional Drivers of Primary Wood Processing Mills in the Western Southeast US

Impact of Market Price Fluctuations on the Break-Even Log in Hardwood Sawmills

Liquid Chromatography-Ultraviolet-Mass Spectrometry Analyses of Hydroethanolic Extracts of Three Wood Species and Their Antioxidant and Antifungal Activities

Moisture Content, Specific Gravity, and Percent Foliage Weight of Cottonwood Biomass

Using Life-Cycle Assessments to Demonstrate the Impact of Using Wood Waste as a Renewable Fuel in Urban Settings for District Heating

Decay Hazard (Scheffer) Index Values in Korea for Exterior Aboveground Wood

Framing Lumber from Building Removal: How Do We best Utilize this Untapped Structural Resource?

Effect of Setting during Construction on Properties of Douglas-Fir Plywood and Oriented Strandboard Flooring