Revista de Ciencias Ambientales
versión On-line ISSN 2215-3896versión impresa ISSN 1409-2158
Resumen
SOLANO SALMERON, John; FONSECA GONZALEZ, William; UGALDE ALFARO, Sebastián y GUIER, Federico Alice. Climate change impact of the life cycle of wooden pallets made in the Northern Huetar region in Costa Rica. Ciencias Ambientales [online]. 2021, vol.55, n.1, pp.32-48. ISSN 2215-3896. http://dx.doi.org/10.15359/rca.55-1.2.
(Introduction):
Life Cycle Analysis is a powerful and well-recognized methodology to determine a product’s environmental impact
(Objective):
The aim of this research was to evaluate the impact of wooden pallets on climate change.
(Methodology):
The scope of the system ranges from land preparation to establish the plantations to the arrival gate at the fruit packing house. Two functional units were assessed: a) a pallet with commercial dimensions for handling of agricultural products and b) a cubic meter of wood to produce pallets. The study included data from the 2014-2017 period, and life cycle results included a whole rotation equivalent to 12 years for the gmelina (Gmelina arborea Roxb) plantations. Two product systems were evaluated: using biomass in the heat treatment and using LP gas.
(Results):
The former presented a slightly smaller potential impact. In both cases, the diesel combustion associated with roundwood transport was the most emissions intense stage, releasing approximately 1.61 kg CO2-eq pallet-1 and 43.22 kg CO2-eq m-3. Diesel is the primary source of greenhouse gas emissions in all life cycle stages, releasing 2.31 kg CO2-eq pallet-1 and 86.57 kg CO2-eq m-3.
(Conclusions):
Opportunities to improve the product’s environmental performance include using more efficient loading vehicles and reducing the distance between forest plantations and the sawmill.
Palabras clave : Biogenic products; climate change; forest products; Harvested Wood Products (HWP); Life Cycle Impact Assessment (LCIA); Life Cycle Inventory (LCI); Product Carbon Footprint (PCF).