Treesearch

Reducing the consumption of single-use plastics is becoming reality in today’s society. More than 300 million tons of plastic waste are generated annually globally, with a significant portion coming from disposable food packaging. The development of sustainable paper-based packaging coated with biopolymers has gained prominence in the packaging sector due to its biodegradability, non-toxicity and biocompatibility properties. These materials offer additional advantages, such as resistance to moisture and oxidation, which increases the durability of packaged food products. Improving the...

This study aimed to assess the technical feasibility and economic viability of cellulose nanocrystals produced from a marine animal, i.e., tunicate. An industrial-scale process simulation model was developed with a 50 tonne/day production capacity of tunicate-based cellulose nanocrystals, at 1% solid. The system boundary included preprocessing and pretreatment of raw tunicate, acid hydrolysis, filtration, and concentration. The minimum selling price of tunicate-based cellulose nanocrystals (1% solids) in the baseline scenario was estimated to be $1.16/kg, and it could be reduced to...

Traditional solution-state NMR experiments may either fail or yield unsatisfactory results when employing fully-13C-labeled biomass due to complications arising from 13C−13C coupling. Constant-time analogs of HSQC experiments mitigate such issues and deliver enhanced sensitivity. A rarely reported CTHSQC- TOCSY experiment allows the proton coupling network to deliver much of the same value as the parent experiment on unlabeled or 10−15%-13C-labeled biomass polymers but with enhanced sensitivity. In the absence of a viable HMBC analog for long-range correlations, a relayed C−C experiment,...

The building sector accounts for approximately 37% of global energy-related carbon emissions, and as operational efficiency improves, the share attributable to embodied carbon continues to grow. Mass timber has emerged as a promising structural alternative because of its lower embodied carbon, biogenic carbon storage, and potential to accelerate construction schedules. However, construction-stage energy use (A5) is often oversimplified in building life-cycle assessment, with previous studies frequently approximating it as a fixed percentage (∼3%) of total embodied energy rather than...

Cellulose nanofibrils (CNFs) offer a promising biodegradable packaging solution, yet their economic and environmental viability for large-scale fruit packaging applications remains under-explored. Based on lab-scale experimental data, this study presents a conceptualized industrial scale process for producing CNF-coated molded pulp (MP) trays with polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and polylactic acid (PLA) lidding for packaging of fresh fruits such as cherry tomatoes and berries. A comprehensive techno-economic analysis (TEA) and life cycle assessment (LCA) was conducted across five...

Protecting the world’s remaining forests is central to climate and biodiversity goals, but is often assumed to impose large opportunity costs on forest-land producers. These costs are typically estimated by summing local foregone production, without accounting for market feedback. Here, we applied partial-equilibrium models to three scenarios protecting an additional 471–863 million hectares of forest, assuming a global 30% protection target by 2030. Despite reductions in harvestable area and roundwood production, global net output value in the forestry sector increases modestly, driven by...

Wood anatomical information on 30 of the most common commercial species of wood in Colombia is presented as a set of edge-notched cards designed for field wood identification. Wood specimens from the xylaria in the Center for Wood Anatomy Research of the Forest Products Laboratory—the Madison Wood Collection (MADw) and the Samuel J. Record Memorial Wood Collection (SJRw)—were used as references for the descriptions and imaging. The cards present macroscopic anatomical characteristics—such as vessel distribution, parenchyma types, and ray size and arrangement—and images of similar or...

These standard bridge plans provide guidance to bridge engineers for replacement of timber bridges along historic U.S. highway routes. They utilize treated glued-laminated timber components for two superstructure design types: (1) longitudinal stringer with a panelized transverse deck and (2) longitudinal deck. Superstructure designs are in conformance with the AASHTO LRFD Bridge Design Specifications, 9th edition.

Cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) are renewable, high-value nanomaterials with broad industrial applications. Based on laboratory-scale experimental data, this study demonstrates the feasibility of utilizing sugar maple forest residues for 10 metric tons per day (MTPD) production of CNC through an integrated techno-economic analysis (TEA) and life cycle assessment (LCA). The minimum selling price (MSP) of CNC was estimated at $16.03/kg, with a global warming (GW) impact of 28.60 kg CO₂ eq/kg CNC. Sensitivity analysis identified CNC yield and pretreatment solids loading as key drivers for the...

Growing concerns about global warming from fossil fuel combustion underscore the need for sustainable hydrogen production. Catalytic methane decomposition (CMD) offers a CO2-free pathway by generating hydrogen and solid carbon. This study performs a cradle-to-gate life-cycle assessment of CMD using two catalytic systems, including Ni/Al2O3 (metal-based) and biochar (renewable carbon-based), for producing 1 kg H2 under physical and economic allocation approaches. The physical allocation results demonstrated biochar’s superior environmental performance, with 26% lower fossil fuel depletion...