Sustainability Attributes of Biobased Structural Building Products

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Sustainability Attributes of Biobased Structural
Building Products

• Kenneth E. Bland, P.E.
• American Forest Paper Association
• David S. Gromala, P.E.
• Weyerhaeuser
• Robert T. Brooks
• iLevel (Weyerhaeuser)

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Todays Roadmap

• The paper in the proceedings covers LCA
  advantages of biobased building products
• Embodied energy
• Global warming potential
• Air emissions
• Water emissions
• Solid Waste

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Todays Roadmap

• This presentation will focus on
• What are our real sustainability goals?
• Shamelessly touting the advantages of biobased
  materials
• Rating systems Help or Hindrance?
• Fact vs. fiction on the primary biobased product
  available -- wood fiber

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Personal commitment to sustainability
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Personal commitment to sustainability
Sustainability means something different to each
of us!
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Clarifications

• Biobased structural products are NOT optimal
  choices for many building applications (i.e.,
  high-rise construction, long-span bridges, some
  industrial facilities)
• Engineers must choose the right STRUCTURAL
  product first

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Clarifications

• Biobased structural products are NOT optimal
  choices for many building applications (i.e.,
  high-rise construction, long-span bridges, some
  industrial facilities)
• Engineers must choose the right STRUCTURAL
  product first

But when a biobased product works, we have a
compelling sustainability story to tell!
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More Clarifications

• Focus on plants
• For today, biobased ? sea shells or animal parts
• Focus on structural building products
• For today, ignore lubricants, insulation
  products, packaging, cleaning products

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Sustainability The Big Picture

• Google search yields 27 definitions for
  sustainability
• Common concepts
• indefinitely
• current needs vs. future generations
• Originally applied to natural resource
  situations, now a universal term
• Moving from environmental, ecological
• To cultural, social, economic

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Sustainability The Big Picture

• Google search yields 27 definitions for
  sustainability
• Common concepts
• indefinitely
• current needs vs. future generations
• Originally applied to natural resource
  situations, now a universal term
• Moving from environmental, ecological
• To cultural, social, economic

This shift creates conflicting technical goals.
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Common Sustainability Objectives

• Use less (i.e., reduce)
• Use it again (i.e., re-use recycle)

Measuring stick LCA
(to calculate
the environmental footprint of goods/services)
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Common Sustainability Objectives and Biobased
Matls

• Use less (i.e., reduce)
• Less must be defined more broadly
• Lower embodied energy, carbon emissions, air
  water emissions
• Use it again (i.e., re-use recycle)
• What if renew recycle?
• What if its better?

Comparison only makes sense in broad LCA context.
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Biobased Building Products

• Defined in the National Green Building Standard
  as
• A commercial or industrial product used in site
  development or building construction that is
  composed, in whole or in significant part, of
  biological products, renewable agricultural
  materials (including plant, animal, and marine
  materials), or forestry materials.

Note Virtually identical to the USDA
definition.
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Biobased Building Products

• Defined in Green Globes as
• Commercial or industrial product grown or
  harvested utilizing at least 50 (by weight)
  sustainable, biologically-generated substances,
  including but not limited to cellulosic materials
  (wood, straw, natural fibers) and products made
  from crops (soy-based, corn-based). Forest
  products (including wood) must also comply with
  E.2.4 (certified wood) to obtain credit for
  E.2.3.

Note added burden on forest products not
applied to any other building material!
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Biofibers (from Drzal, et al)
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Biobased Polymers (from Drzal, et al)
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Other Biobased Structural Building Products

• Straw Bale Houses
• Advantages Locally available, diverted from
  waste stream, insulation, sound
• Disadvantages Specialized construction
  techniques, integration with other systems
  (plumbing, electrical, HVAC)

Sorry, but this is not my idea of a solution
building system.
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Other Biobased Structural Building Products

• Wood and Natural Fiber Composites
• Advantages
• Potentially from 100 recycled materials
• Excellent for outdoor use
• Nontoxic
• Potential end-of-life recyclability
• Disadvantages
• Lower structural properties than alternatives
• May require specialized chemicals during
  manufacture (lubricants, UV stabilizers, etc)

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Biobased Products areCarbon Neutral (or better!)
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Biobased Products areCarbon Neutral (or better!)
Or better because carbon is STORED for the life
of the structure!
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Biobased Products areCarbon Neutral (or better!)
Long-term ( gt building service life) view
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Carbon footprint comparison

• Biobased products
• Store carbon during useful service life
• Low embodied energy (manufacturing)
• Steel concrete
• High embodied energy (extraction manufacturing)
• Plastics
• Primary ingredient fossil fuel
• Additional mfg energy required

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Biobased Products haveLow Embodied Energy
A wood house has 10 to 15 less embodied energy
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Biobased Products haveLow Air Water Emissions
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Practical Implementation Green Building Rating
Systems

• Simplify specification by using points systems
• Excellent first step, if
• Each point has roughly the same sustainability
  value
• Each point is tied to an unbiased sustainability
  objective
• Consensus rules are followed

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LEED Vision
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LEED Vision
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Concerns expressed in the paper

• Buildings are not like food
• Designer/builder is not the consumer (or the
  occupant!)
• Occupants maintain remodel over time
• USGBC GBI are not governmental (i.e., FDA)
• Not structured to be responsive to all
  stakeholders
• Need consensus-based implementation (i.e., ANSI,
  etc.)
• Mixed agendas (i.e., environmental, social,
  cultural, economic) lead to inconsistent
  accounting

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Borrowing from Wayne Trusty
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Borrowing from Wayne Trusty
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Borrowing from Wayne Trusty
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Borrowing from Wayne Trusty
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Wood is your primary option

• Among biobased structural building products, most
  of your options will be wood-based
• The rest of this presentation is intended to help
  you to sort out the facts from the fallacies

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Biobased Building Products

• Other interesting definitions (perspectives)
• Biobased structural composite materials.are
  new, emerging materials. .combine fibers from
  non-woody plants with plastics made from plant
  materials
• As alternatives to products derived from
  wood-fiber or petroleum..
• Biobased product advantagesinclude saving
  forests

Its time to separate FACTS from FICTION!
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Real U.S. FactNo change in 100 years
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Real FactGrowth exceeds removals
1.5 Billion seedlings planted each year!
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Broader sustainability issues

• Corporate attention to sustainability is a common
  media theme
• I would like to provide some examples of my
  Companys track record and commitment to
  sustainability and environmental responsibility

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Examples of Weyerhaeusers Climate Change
Commitment

• Status and statistics
• 100 percent of our U.S. and Canadian forests are
  certified (SFI, CSA)
• In 2006, we sequestered 16.2 million metric tons
  of greenhouse gases (CO2 equivalent) in our
  forests products

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Examples of Weyerhaeusers Climate Change
Commitment

• Status and statistics
• We harvest only 1 to 3 of the forests we manage
  every year
• We plant more than 100,000,000 seedlings every
  year
• We use 99 of every log

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Examples of Weyerhaeusers Climate Change
Commitment

• By 2020, our greenhouse gas emissions will be 40
  percent less than they were in 2000
• To be accomplished by five key actions
• Manage forests sustainably
• Sequester carbon
• Use biomass energy
• Promote green building
• Develop biofuels

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Most of our process energy comes from biofuel
today
Wood Products Facilities
Pulp Paper Mills
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The FutureBiofuel from Cellulose

• Catchlight Energy, LLC is a new joint venture
  (Weyerhaeuser and Chevron)
• Goal Develop fuel from nonfood sources

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Nearing the finish line

• Specific questions that you might face related to
  biobased structural building materials

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Does It Come From A Sustainable Source?

• For forest products, certification is your best
  proof
• Some programs certify the forests
• Some certify the products
• Some certify the procurement process
• FSC, SFI, and CSA are most common
• For other biobased products, confirmation is not
  as well-defined

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Does It Come From A Sustainable Source?
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Does It Come From A Sustainable Source?
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What are the relative benefits of the triangle?

• Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
• Unfortunately, the recycle mantra seems to
  dominate many discussions
• Relative benefits can only be measured by
  comprehensive LCA
• But dont forget Biobased products (renewable)
  meet the intent of the 3Rs

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Long-rotation (wood) vs. Short-rotation
(agriculture)?

• Tough call
• Certainly, LCA says local beats offshore
• Whats better?
• Bamboo from China or Douglas fir from Oregon?
• Planting a crop and leaving the land
  undisturbed for 30 years (Southern Pine) or
  intensively farming it (corn)?

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Long-rotation (wood) vs. Short-rotation
(agriculture)?
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The impact of durability (increased service life)

• Improving durability is like getting free
  buildings!
• Some materials are naturally durable
• Some materials require more design attention than
  others to achieve equivalent durability
• Dont forget functional service life
• Some structural systems are more easily modified
  during building remodeling and reconfiguration
  than others

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Traditional (sawn) wood vs. Engineered wood

• Sawn lumber has lower embodied energy
• 1) Green 2) Air-dried 3) Kiln-dried
• Sawn lumber needs no adhesives
• Engineered wood offsets this by
• Less fiber does the same job
• More flexibility in tree size, species, quality
• And dont worry structural EWPs meet the
  indoor air quality requirements of rating systems

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Traditional (sawn) wood vs. Engineered wood

• Most importantly both products
• Are biobased (produced by the solar energy)
• Contribute oxygen to the air
• Sequester carbon
• Are biodegradable after their useful service lives

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Summary, Conclusions, Recommendations

• Biobased products are natures original
  structural materials
• Produced by solar energy
• Inhale carbon dioxide, Exhale oxygen
• Qualify for green building rating system credits
• Qualify for even more as LCA goes mainstream

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Thank you for your attention!