Cradle-to-gate life cycle assessment of hemp utilization for biocomposite pellet production: A case study with data quality assurance process
Natural fiber biomass pre-processing practices, including collection and particle size reduction, are crucial for sustainable manufacturing. This industrial case study evaluates the environmental impact of producing fully hemp-derived biocomposite pellets using different biomass collection and pre-p...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2025-07-01
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| Series: | Cleaner Engineering and Technology |
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| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666790825001508 |
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| author | Niloofar Akbarian-Saravi Taraneh Sowlati Abbas S. Milani |
| author_facet | Niloofar Akbarian-Saravi Taraneh Sowlati Abbas S. Milani |
| author_sort | Niloofar Akbarian-Saravi |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Natural fiber biomass pre-processing practices, including collection and particle size reduction, are crucial for sustainable manufacturing. This industrial case study evaluates the environmental impact of producing fully hemp-derived biocomposite pellets using different biomass collection and pre-processing equipment configurations, in order to identify the most efficient and eco-friendly operational option. The system boundary follows a cradle-to-gate approach, covering upstream activities such as cultivation, harvesting, size reduction, transportation, and pellet manufacturing. Namely, an attributional Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is performed using a functional unit of 1 tonne of biocomposite, comparing four Supply Chain (SC) design alternatives involving different baler (round/square) and size reduction equipment (full/half screen hammer mill) options. We specifically delve into the relative difference of the combination of a full-screen hammer mill and a square baler (called ''full-square'' as a best-case/reference alternative), as compared to the half-screen hammer mill and round baler (''half-round'' as a worst-case alternative). Results indicated that the half-round alternative exhibited 30–44 % higher environmental impacts due to 30 % higher harvested biomass and 9 % higher diesel usage per tonne of produced biocomposite, but resulted in higher product quality compared to the full-square alternative. The harvesting stage, linked to the use of biomass, fertilizers, and diesel fuels, was identified as a critical contributor to the environmental impact in all the important impact categories. Sensitivity analysis revealed that a 10–30 % increase in biomass yield could reduce impacts across all categories by approximately 7–20 %. Further exploring the potential for environmental impact mitigation, a scenario-based improvement model integrating substitution of nitrogen fertilizer with compost, diesel-to-natural gas switching, ethanol recycling, and increased hemp yield, was conducted and it demonstrated up to 85 % GWP reduction compared to the baseline. Also, the improved biocomposite scenario achieved 57 % lower GWP and 43 % lower smog formation than a virgin PET, while outperforming it in fossil fuel depletion. These findings support the viability of hemp-based biocomposites under improved conditions and emphasize the importance of strategic SC decisions for sustainable material development. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-7a39395621454a809c9bdfd583b38295 |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2666-7908 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-07-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Cleaner Engineering and Technology |
| spelling | doaj-art-7a39395621454a809c9bdfd583b382952025-08-20T02:35:21ZengElsevierCleaner Engineering and Technology2666-79082025-07-012710102710.1016/j.clet.2025.101027Cradle-to-gate life cycle assessment of hemp utilization for biocomposite pellet production: A case study with data quality assurance processNiloofar Akbarian-Saravi0Taraneh Sowlati1Abbas S. Milani2Composites Research Network-Okanagan Laboratory, School of Engineering, University of British Columbia, Kelowna, British Columbia V1V 1V7, CanadaIndustrial Engineering Research Group, Department of Wood Science, University of British Columbia, 2931-2424 Main Mall, Vancouver, British Columbia V6T 1Z4, Canada; Corresponding author.Composites Research Network-Okanagan Laboratory, School of Engineering, University of British Columbia, Kelowna, British Columbia V1V 1V7, Canada; Corresponding author.Natural fiber biomass pre-processing practices, including collection and particle size reduction, are crucial for sustainable manufacturing. This industrial case study evaluates the environmental impact of producing fully hemp-derived biocomposite pellets using different biomass collection and pre-processing equipment configurations, in order to identify the most efficient and eco-friendly operational option. The system boundary follows a cradle-to-gate approach, covering upstream activities such as cultivation, harvesting, size reduction, transportation, and pellet manufacturing. Namely, an attributional Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is performed using a functional unit of 1 tonne of biocomposite, comparing four Supply Chain (SC) design alternatives involving different baler (round/square) and size reduction equipment (full/half screen hammer mill) options. We specifically delve into the relative difference of the combination of a full-screen hammer mill and a square baler (called ''full-square'' as a best-case/reference alternative), as compared to the half-screen hammer mill and round baler (''half-round'' as a worst-case alternative). Results indicated that the half-round alternative exhibited 30–44 % higher environmental impacts due to 30 % higher harvested biomass and 9 % higher diesel usage per tonne of produced biocomposite, but resulted in higher product quality compared to the full-square alternative. The harvesting stage, linked to the use of biomass, fertilizers, and diesel fuels, was identified as a critical contributor to the environmental impact in all the important impact categories. Sensitivity analysis revealed that a 10–30 % increase in biomass yield could reduce impacts across all categories by approximately 7–20 %. Further exploring the potential for environmental impact mitigation, a scenario-based improvement model integrating substitution of nitrogen fertilizer with compost, diesel-to-natural gas switching, ethanol recycling, and increased hemp yield, was conducted and it demonstrated up to 85 % GWP reduction compared to the baseline. Also, the improved biocomposite scenario achieved 57 % lower GWP and 43 % lower smog formation than a virgin PET, while outperforming it in fossil fuel depletion. These findings support the viability of hemp-based biocomposites under improved conditions and emphasize the importance of strategic SC decisions for sustainable material development.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666790825001508Hemp-based bioplasticsEnvironmental impactsSupply chainSustainable manufacturingNatural fibersSustainability |
| spellingShingle | Niloofar Akbarian-Saravi Taraneh Sowlati Abbas S. Milani Cradle-to-gate life cycle assessment of hemp utilization for biocomposite pellet production: A case study with data quality assurance process Cleaner Engineering and Technology Hemp-based bioplastics Environmental impacts Supply chain Sustainable manufacturing Natural fibers Sustainability |
| title | Cradle-to-gate life cycle assessment of hemp utilization for biocomposite pellet production: A case study with data quality assurance process |
| title_full | Cradle-to-gate life cycle assessment of hemp utilization for biocomposite pellet production: A case study with data quality assurance process |
| title_fullStr | Cradle-to-gate life cycle assessment of hemp utilization for biocomposite pellet production: A case study with data quality assurance process |
| title_full_unstemmed | Cradle-to-gate life cycle assessment of hemp utilization for biocomposite pellet production: A case study with data quality assurance process |
| title_short | Cradle-to-gate life cycle assessment of hemp utilization for biocomposite pellet production: A case study with data quality assurance process |
| title_sort | cradle to gate life cycle assessment of hemp utilization for biocomposite pellet production a case study with data quality assurance process |
| topic | Hemp-based bioplastics Environmental impacts Supply chain Sustainable manufacturing Natural fibers Sustainability |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666790825001508 |
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