Greenhouse Gas and Energy Life Cycle Assessment of Pine Chemicals Derived from Crude Tall Oil and Their Substitutes

Abstract

SummaryPine chemicals are co-products of papermaking that are upgraded into diverse products from inks to adhesives. They can also be utilized for energy purposes. This research investigates the carbon and energy life cycle assessment (LCA) of pine chemicals derived from crude tall oil (CTO). The study goals are to determine the cradle-to-gate carbon and energy footprint for CTO-derived chemicals, compare CTO-derived chemicals to their likely substitutes, and calculate the carbon and energy effects of shifting CTO resources from current chemical production to biodiesel production. The data collected represent 100% of the U.S. and 90% of the European CTO distillation industry for 2011. This analysis is the first industry-level LCA of pine chemicals. The carbon footprint for CTO-derived pine chemical products is 50% lower than the likely mix of alternative products, including hydrocarbon resins for rubber, ink, and adhesive, alkyl succinic anhydride for paper size, and heavy fuel oil for heat. Current and proposed European policies could result in CTO being classified as renewable biomass for energy production, creating incentive to convert CTO into fuel rather than chemicals. The differences in the carbon and energy footprints of utilizing CTO for biodiesel versus chemicals are not meaningful when comparing European CTO biodiesel, which displaces conventional diesel, to European CTO-derived chemicals, which displace the previously discussed substitutes. Therefore, there is no additional carbon or energy benefit that accrues by diverting CTO from current chemical feedstock applications to use for biodiesel production in Europe.

Screening Life Cycle Assessment of Tall Oil-Based Polyols Suitable for Rigid Polyurethane Foams

“…As mentioned, TOFA is a product of crude tall oil distillation. Crude tall oil is co-product in the kraft pulping process where the pulp is produced from softwood renewable pine trees [36].…”

“…This would give a better representation. For example, Cashman et al reported that the nonrenewable energy demand for cradle-to-gate crude tall oil distillation products is higher in the United States than in Europe, and thus, also in GHG emissions [36].…”

“…Although tall oil is not vegetable oil, its chemical structure is similar to vegetable oil and it can be transformed into polyols. Crude tall oil distillation products, including tall oil fatty acids (TOFA), are a high-quality raw material used for various applications, from biofuels to chemical production [36]. Distilled TOFA are a mixture of unsaturated free fatty acids which mainly consists of oleic, linoleic and pinolenic acids [35].…”

Economics of forest bioeconomy: new results

“…Quantitative studies on the environmental impacts of cascading use of wood typically apply life cycle assessment (Jarre et al 2020, Thonemann andSchumann 2018). A still somewhat limited number of life cycle studies have focused on alternative uses of pulp mill's side streams, such as tall oil, lignin, and biosludge (Cashman et al 2015, Aryan et al 2019, Bajwa et al 2019, Culbertson et al 2016, Mohammadi et al 2019a, Secchi et al 2019, Hermansson et al 2019. Studies on the tall oil industry have compared the use of tall oil either in biodiesel or in the pine chemicals industry (Cashman et al 2015, Aryan et al 2019.…”

“…A still somewhat limited number of life cycle studies have focused on alternative uses of pulp mill's side streams, such as tall oil, lignin, and biosludge (Cashman et al 2015, Aryan et al 2019, Bajwa et al 2019, Culbertson et al 2016, Mohammadi et al 2019a, Secchi et al 2019, Hermansson et al 2019. Studies on the tall oil industry have compared the use of tall oil either in biodiesel or in the pine chemicals industry (Cashman et al 2015, Aryan et al 2019. Bajwa et al (2019) discuss the possibilities of 7 lignin-derived products to improve both the profitability of the pulp and paper companies and their environmental performance compared to fossil-based products.…”