Sustainable Design for Low Carbon Footprint

Fabiano Ximenes

Fabiano Ximenes

Sustainable Design

for Low Carbon Footprint

Weighing 15-year old Radiata tree

Presentation Outline

Basic carbon science

Carbon in wood products

Greenhouse footprint of wood products

LCA of wood products in buildings

Photosynthesis process

(www.butler.edu)

To produce 0.65 g C – 1 MJSolar power required (high quality sites)

Carbon Facts

Carbon makes up 50% of the tree dry weight

Younger forests sequester carbon at a higher rate

About 25% of the forest biomass is in roots and 20% in woody debris.

Carbon is released as tree components decay

Forests fires – contributor to GHG emissions

Carbon Facts – cont.

World’s forests and soils store more than one trillion tonnes of carbon – twice as much as in the atmosphere

Plantations, commercial native forests and conservation forests cover 14% of Australia

Australian forests store 6.6 billion tonnes of carbon (excluding soil carbon)

In 2007: plantations and managed hardwood forests removed a net 18.9 million tonnes of carbon from the atmosphere

Australia’s forest coverTotal Forested Area: 149.4 M ha

900

340

90

45

40.5

Tonnes per hectare of carbon in above-ground biomass

15Poster prepared by Kate Düttmer, 2003Cooperative Research Centre for Greenhouse AccountingBased at State Forests of NSW Research & Development DivisionPO Box 100 Beecroft NSW 2119 AUSTRALIA

Carbon Stocks in Native Vegetation

Open Woodland

Shrubland

Grassland

Open Forest

Woodland

Image sources: (1) Christopher Dean; (2) State Forests of NSW; (3) State Forests of NSW; (4) Kelvin Montagu; (5) Kelvin Montagu; (6) Ben Harms; (7) Silje Eikrem; (8) Stephen Roxburgh; (9) Modified from Dr J.A. Carnahan’s ‘Natural Vegetation of Australia’ map, in Australia: A Geography, ed. D.N. Jeans, Sydney University Press, 1977.

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Distribution of vegetation types

in Australia

Tall Open Forest

Weighing messmate stem on trailer

Wood products and Native Forests

Native forests managed for conservation: 23 M ha

Native forests managed for prodution: 9.4 M ha

Production from native forests (09/10): 2.5 M m3 of saw and veneer logs

In 2005: managed hardwood forests removed a net 11.9 million tonnes of carbon from the atmosphere

0

50

100

150

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80

Time (years)

Car

bo

n i

n t

ree

bio

mas

s (t

/ha)

Harvest Cycle – Radiata Pine Plantations

Weighing 15-year old Radiata tree

Forest Residues

Sawlogs

Other commercial

logs 8% C

Board products

Pulp / Mulch

Bioenergy

Burnt – waste

Life Cycle of Wood Products

Wood – environmental benefits Renewable resource

Carbon storage

Low energy-intensity in manufacture

Processing residues used to generate energy

Substitution benefits

Softwoods

(M m3)

Hardwoods

(M m3)

Softwoods

(M m3)

Hardwoods

(M m3)Detached Houses 1.6 0.21 2.3 0.28Other dwellings 0.14 0.04 0.2 0.04Alt. and additions 1.1 0.48 1.5 0.46Total 2.84 0.73 4 0.78

2007 2018-22

Dwelling type

Consumption of wood in dwellings in Australia

Source: BIS Shrapnel; Sawn Timber in Australia 2008-2022

Wood products in houses

Roof frames and trusses: 90% Softwood

Wall frames: 75% Softwood; 9% Steel

Flooring: 78% Particleboard; 6% Hardwood

Decking: 40% Hardwood, 45% Softwood

Window frames: 48% Aluminium; 27% Softwood; 12% Hardwood

Wood products in houses: from 0.2 m3/m2 in 1945 to 0.06 m3/m2 in 2008 (Kapambwe et al 2008):

- Loss of markets

- More open planning

- Better usage of timber members

Wood products in houses

Average service life of houses: 45 years

Wood products in landfills

In 2006/07: 20.8 Mt of waste landfilled in Australia

Wood waste disposal: 2 Mt / year

Decomposition in landfills

• Modern landfills: large, deep, compaction, anaerobic

• Decay of organics: 50:50 CO2 and CH4

• Best-practice landfills: 75 - 90% CH4 recovery

• Methane generation: 0-30 years

Excavation at Lucas Heights

Excavation at Sydney Park

Excavation at Meadowbank

Western Sydney (C&D)

46 years in landfill

44 years in landfill

Plywood

PlywoodMDF

Particleboard

Carbon loss from forest products in landfills:field and experimental results

Wood product Carbon loss (%)

Solid wood (Field)

0-18

Radiata pine, Blackbutt (Lab)

0

Composite materials (Field and Lab)

0-15

Newspapers, magazines

0-21

Carbon Storage in Australia's Forest Plantations, Wood Products in Service and in Landfill

8 8 M t C

9 4 .6 M t C

1 3 7 .5 M t C

P la n t a t io n s

W o o d in s e r v ic e

W o o d in la n d f i l ls

Buildings and GHG Emissions Construction, operation, maintenance and

demolition of buildings: 40% of global GHG emissions

Building sector: 23% of Australia’s GHG emissions

GHG emissions from buildings: double by 2050 if energy usage is not addressed

Energy savings alone: 30% across the building sector by 2030 (IPCC)

Greenhouse and energy footprint of wood production - NSW

FacilityTonnes CO2-e/

tonne Tonnes CO2-e/

m3 GJ/m3 GJ/tonne

Particleboard 0.86 0.63 5.37 7.36

Plywood 0.81 0.58 4.52 6.27

MDF 0.76 0.38 4.61 9.22

Hardwoods 0.42 0.33 3.1 3.9

Softwoods 0.4 0.21 3.9 7.3

Truss and frame 0.18 0.093 1.2 2.32

Greenhouse emissions from wood production in NSW in 2009 (t CO2-e)

328120

15301

163393

184300

128278Softwoods

Hardwoods

Plywood

MDF

Particleboard

Long-term storage from wood production in NSW in 2009 (t CO2-e)

-511406

-112293

-276990

-134553

-14178

Softwoods

Hardwoods

Plywood

MDF

Particleboard

GHG emissions and long-term storage

Net GHG Footprint: - 0.2 Mt CO2-e

-1

-0.5

0

0.5

1

Em

issi

ons

LTS

Em

issi

ons

LTS

Em

issi

ons

LTS

SWDS HWDS EWPs

t C

O2-

e /

t o

f p

rod

uct

Life Cycle Assessment (LCA)“Internationally recognised scientific method of

examining the total environmental burden associated with a product and its use. It embraces all the activities

that go into making, transporting, using and disposing of that product.”

Inputs: raw material resources (petroleum, minerals, water, timber), energy in the form of fossil fuels and electricity, etc...

Outputs: Air and water emissions (CO2, CO, nitrogen oxides, hydrocarbons, chemicals), solid wastes, etc...

Impact categories: Global warming, biotic resources, land use,human health, acidification, etc...

Substitution effect

G r e e n h o u s e g a s e s e m it t e d in t h e m a n u f a c t u r e o f b u i ld in g m a t e r ia ls u s e d in a r a n g e o f c o n s t r u c t io n c o m p o n e n t s f o r a s in g le s t o r e y

h o u s e in S y d n e y , A u s t r a l ia

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1 0

1 2

1 4

F lo o r s t r u c t u r e F lo o r c o v e r in g W a ll f r a m e R o o f f r a m e W in d o w s

CO

2-e

(t)

S t e e l s u b - fr a m e

C o n c r e te

s l a b

T i m b e r

s u b - f r a m e

C e r a m i c t i l e s

H a r d w o o d

T & G

B r i c kS te e l

S o f tw o o d

S te e l

T i m b e r

A l u m i n i u mT i m b e r

Approach

Bill of quantities for popular house designs

Bill of quantities for alternative construction materials

LCA modelling (Simapro)

Greenhouse impact of building materials in houses

Forestry MiningOil and gas extraction

Farming

Wood processing

Polymers , fuels Fibre productsConcrete

ProductionSteel

production

Building products – sawn timber, plywood, particleboard, steel sheet, fixing, concrete, bricks, mortar, roof tiles, etc

Substructure Ceiling and roof StairsFloors and covering

Walls

Recycling Composting Landfill Energy recovery

House construction Maintenance Use of houseEnergy of

contruction

System boundary

Construction waste End of Life

Assumptions Site: The house is located in a flat area in Sydney.

Plumbing and electrical components are excluded

When wood strip floors are used, they are sanded and sealed. Concrete and particleboard floors are carpeted and the carpets are replaced every 15 years.

The house is repainted every 15 years.

The house has a service life of 50 years.

Decay of wood in landfills: 10%

House designs

Villina – Two-storey

Affinity – One-storey

AffinityAffinity

VillinaVillina

Alternative materials

Component Materials

Sub-floor Concrete slab Timber bearers and joists

Flooring Carpet / particleboard

Hardwood T& G Ceramic tiles

Linoleum

Wall structure Brick veneer; timber frame

Brick veneer; steel frame

Double brick

Windows Aluminium Timber

Stairs Timber Concrete

Roof frame Timber Steel

Simapro

Results – Sub-floor

-10.00-5.000.005.00

10.0015.0020.0025.0030.0035.00

t CO

2 e

Affinity Villina

Transport

Timber

Plastic

Reo

Steel

Brickwork

Concrete

Recycling

Landfill

Results – Floor covering

Results – Floor covering

Results – Wall frames

-20

-10

0

10

20

30

40

50

Double brick

Steel brick

veneer

Timber brick

veneer

Double brick

Steel brick

veneer

Timber brick

veneer

t CO

2 e

Affinity Villina

Transports

Timber

Plasterboard

Steel

Brickwork

Recycling

Landfill

Results – Windows

Results – Whole house

-10

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60

70

House as designed

House timber maximised

House as designed

House timber maximised

t CO

2 e

Affinity Villian

Upper floor

Stairs

Windows

Floor covering

Roof

Walls

Sub-Structure

Results – Operational energy

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100

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200

250

Affinity Villina

t CO

2e Typical heating and cooling

Based buiding elements

Impact on Markets

If major shift to “maximised wood design” in NSW

Potential GHG emission savings due to substitution effect: 1 Mt CO2-e / year

Summary Carbon in forests and in harvested wood products:

important component of the global carbon cycle

Carbon in HWP in service: significant potential to increase usage

Carbon in HWP: important role to play, physical storage and displacement benefits

Use of wood products in house design results in lower greenhouse footprint of house construction

Inspiring Sustainable Designs

Fabiano Ximenes

Questions?