Emerging technologies hold the potential to drive large-scale, bio-based industries, delivering competitive materials with a lower environmental footprint and transforming the future of sustainable construction.
In the interview, Damien Arbault explained that INSAT plays a key role in the ALIGNED project by helping to use life-cycle assessments (LCAs) and sustainable methods to evaluate and improve the environmental impact of bio-based construction materials.
Why is it important to improve the bio-based industry in the construction sector and what are the main challenges to analyze it?
Today, the construction sector is one of the largest resource consumers in the EU: according to the European Commission, about 50% of the materials extracted in Europe are used for construction. Some bio-based products are already efficient, reliable and competitive: structural wood, engineered wood products and some insulating materials are produced and used at a large scale. However, they cannot substitute fossil-based materials in every situation. For example, it is difficult to find commercially-available, bio-based products for several plastics, rubbers, adhesives or water-proof putties at a competitive price and large volumes. But emerging technologies could pave the way towards large-scale, bio-based industries able to deliver similar chemicals at competitive costs and lower environmental footprint.
The case study selected for the construction sector in ALIGNED focuses on the possible options to deliver a bio-based material, which could directly be used by a multinational manufacturer of polymer-based insulating boards.
What specific tools and methodologies do you utilize to perform LCAs in the construction industry?
A methodological approach starts with the definition of a set of key questions of interest. In this study, we want to investigate what would happen to biotic resources if we go serious about large-scale, bio-based organic chemistry. What are the current streams of residual biomass from other industries, and are they fit to this usage? And what would be the consequences of cultivating biomass specifically dedicated to producing chemicals? Which kind of land would be directly and indirectly affected, and how?
In addition, so-called ‘lignin-first’ technologies might rely on more or less specific feedstock and would also deliver more or less significant streams of coproducts, hence affecting the overall economic and environmental performance of these biorefineries. What would be then the direct and indirect environmental consequences of a potential large-scale development of such production system?
Consequential LCA is the most suitable methodological approach to address this set of questions. Another important issue is the role of short-term cycle of biogenic carbon in climate change, which is currently poorly covered by operational methods for environmental accounting. Our case study also offers the opportunity to investigate the influence of storing biogenic carbon within the product for several decades. To these ends, a more dynamic approach is necessary.
Could you tell us how you prepare the case study, the data collection process and the modelling in order to identify and demonstrate solutions?
We collect specific data from our industrial partner with the active support of the company’s representative in ALIGNED. We organize very regular meetings to refine data collection and better understand factory processes and well as solutions to handle used products at their end-of-life stage.
But Life-Cycle Thinking also requires external documentation, from raw material resources to the end of life of used products. We need to gather a wide variety of information. The most important factor in data collection is to keep track of information sources, as well as the complementary assumptions being formulated. We must be able to exhibit every bit of the reasoning process, so that it can be constantly challenged and improved. Transparency is a cornerstone of premium-quality LCA.
Potential solutions are then discussed amongst expert stakeholders. Thanks to their comments, we design models accordingly and assess the environmental performance of these potential solutions.
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