Carbon footprint of an EUR-sized wooden and a plastic pallet

Deviatkin, Ivan; Horttanainen, Mika

doi:10.1051/e3sconf/202015803001

Cited by 8 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 5 publications

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“…Life cycle analysis (LCA) found wood to have a significant advantage over plastics in this application. Assuming incineration as the disposal method, the carbon footprint of a wood pallet was 0.34 kg of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO 2 -e) four times lower than that of a plastic unit [8]. A Finnish study [7] agreed with the finding, but found wood-plastic composites (WPC) to have even a lower carbon footprint relative to wood.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 87%

Effects of UV radiation on natural and synthetic materials

Andrady

Heikkilä

Pandey³

et al. 2023

Photochem Photobiol Sci

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The deleterious effects of solar ultraviolet (UV) radiation on construction materials, especially wood and plastics, and the consequent impacts on their useful lifetimes, are well documented in scientific literature. Any future increase in solar UV radiation and ambient temperature due to climate change will therefore shorten service lifetimes of materials, which will require higher levels of stabilisation or other interventions to maintain their lifetimes at the present levels. The implementation of the Montreal Protocol and its amendments on substances that deplete the ozone layer, controls the solar UV-B radiation received on Earth. This current quadrennial assessment provides a comprehensive update on the deleterious effects of solar UV radiation on the durability of natural and synthetic materials, as well as recent innovations in better stabilising of materials against solar UV radiation-induced damage. Pertinent emerging technologies for wood and plastics used in construction, composite materials used in construction, textile fibres, comfort fabric, and photovoltaic materials, are addressed in detail. Also addressed are the trends in technology designed to increase sustainability via replacing toxic, unsustainable, legacy additives with ‘greener’ benign substitutes that may indirectly affect the UV stability of the redesigned materials. An emerging class of efficient photostabilisers are the nanoscale particles that include oxide fillers and nanocarbons used in high-performance composites, which provide good UV stability to materials. They also allow the design of UV-shielding fabric materials with impressive UV protection factors. An emerging environmental issue related to the photodegradation of plastics is the generation of ubiquitous micro-scale particles from plastic litter exposed to solar UV radiation. Graphical abstract

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 87%

Effects of UV radiation on natural and synthetic materials

Andrady

Heikkilä

Pandey³

et al. 2023

Photochem Photobiol Sci

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“…Four works focus specifically on the impacts of packaging of different materials: [82] compares disposable wood pallets with reusable steel cradles through LCA, showing the advantages of this latter option. The comparison between plastic and wood pallets is performed in five LCA studies: [83,84] underline the lower environmental impacts related to wood pallets, while [85] points out that the results depend on the type of plastic and wood considered. The author of [1] focuses on the impacts during transportation and confirms the better performance of wood versus plastic.…”

Section: Supply Chainmentioning

confidence: 99%

Management and Logistics of Returnable Transport Items: A Review Analysis on the Pallet Supply Chain

et al. 2021

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Pallets are among the most used returnable transport items (RTIs), and they are critical assets for a supply chain as they have significant environmental and economic impacts during their whole life cycle. Differently from other packaging products, pallets are specifically designed to be repeatably repaired and reinjected for use. While this environmentally is beneficial as it reduces waste, it can create complex interactions between the stakeholder-involved manufacturers, pallet providers, users and recyclers. Further, the number of different actors is usually high, and the flow of materials among them needs to be coordinated. In addition, different business models can be implemented (such as internal management versus outsourcing) as well as logistics alternatives (closed- versus open-loop). Thus, the aims of this study are first to propose a systematization of design and management decisions regarding the pallet supply chain; next, to review the state of the art models and tools adopted to support each decision process relying on an analysis of the archival literature published between 1978 and 2021 on pallet management, to summarize the main decision problems addressed by the different stakeholders involved in the pallet life cycle and the adopted methods, and, finally, to highlight potential existing research gaps. This effort helps to outline potential contributions towards more sustainable pallet supply chains and can support pallet operators and companies in evaluating solutions to increase the economic and environmental sustainability of their pallet management. Results show that the perspectives of the pallet provider and of the supply chain are the most widely addressed in the existing literature, while those of pallet manufacturers and repairers should be further analyzed.

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“…However, in the case of wood, WDC production could also be beneficial owing to its specific properties, such as moisture and UV resistance, higher strength, lack of treatment needs, and production of complex geometrical forms. When considering the application of WDC in the production of wooden pallets, substantial benefits could be expected from the better durability of pallets made of WDC, assuming their performance is closer to that of plastic, rather than wooden, ones (Deviatkin and Horttanainen, 2020). However, use phase impacts are always case-specific, so making a PCF of WDC is beneficial to ensure the use of such data by LCA practitioners working on attributional or comparative LCAs of products made of WDC.…”

Section: Impact Of Usementioning

confidence: 99%