Abstract
Due to increasing demand for utility poles and the banning of native forests logging in Australia, it is necessary to find sustainable alternatives to roundwood utility poles. Currently, steel and concrete are the most common alternatives. Veneer-based composite (VBC) is a newly developed product made from hardwood plantation mid-thinning. To assess the viability of VBC, comparative life cycle assessment (LCA) and life cycle costing (LCC) analysis were conducted. Two end-of-life scenarios for VBC pole were assessed: incineration with energy recovery and landfilling. Five impact categories were considered: global warming (GWP); acidification (AP); eutrophication (EP); fossil depletion (FDP) and human toxicity (HTP). VBC pole with incineration showed the best environmental performance, particularly on GWP (63.22 kg-CO2-eq), AP (0.29 kg-SO2-eq), FDP (30.78 kg-Oil-eq) and HTP (2.27 kg-1,4-DB-eq), which are less than half of concrete and steel poles. However, VBC had higher EP than concrete and steel due to use of adhesives and preservatives. VBC pole also had the lowest LCC ($1529), due to use of low-value materials and lower manufacturing cost. The LCC showed that both VBC scenarios performed equally on economic grounds. Sensitivity analysis showed that service life was the most sensitive parameter affecting both environmental and economic results, especially the VBC. Transportation distances and fossil fuel consumption also had significant effects on LCA result. Monte Carlo analysis further revealed that despite the high levels of uncertainties in the input parameters, the overall ranking of the options remained the same with VBC being the best performer and concrete the least.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
AGDE (Australian Government Department of the Environment) (2014) National greenhouse accounts factors—Australian national greenhouse accounts. http://www.environment.gov.au/system/files/resources/b24f8db4-e55a-4deb-a0b3-32cf763a5dab/files/national-greenhouse-accounts-factors-2014.pdf. Accessed 11 Aug 2016
Ausgrid (2015) Network standard NS128 specification for pole installation and removal. http://www.ausgrid.com.au/~/media/Files/Network/Documents/NS%20and%20NUS/NS128.pdf. Accessed 19 June 2016
AusLCI (2011) The Australian national life cycle inventory database initiative. http://alcas.asn.au/AusLCI/. Accessed 10 May 2016
Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) (2012) Manufacturing industry-economic contribution. http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Lookup/by%20Subject/1301.0~2012~Main%20Features~Manufacturing%20industry~147. Accessed May 16 2016
Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) (2014) 6306.0—Employee earnings and hours, Australia, May 2014. http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/mf/6306.0/. Accessed 22 Jan 2016
Australian Energy Statistics (2015) Australian energy update 2015. http://www.industry.gov.au/Office-of-the-Chief-Economist/Publications/Documents/aes/2015-australian-energy-statistics.pdf. Accessed 1 Aug 2016
Australian Government, Department of Agriculture Fisheries and Forestry (2014) Regional forest agreements. http://www.daff.gov.au.forestry/policies/rfa. Accessed 1 Aug 2016
Australian Institute of Petroleum (AIP) (2016) Representing Australia’s oil industry. http://www.aip.com.au/pricing/retail/diesel/. Accessed 28 May 2016
Australian/New Zealand Standard™ (AS/NZS 4065:2000) (2000) Concrete utility service poles. file:///C:/Users/s2741855/Downloads/4065%20(2).pdf. Accessed 11 Jan 2016
Australian/New Zealand Standard™ (AS/NZS 4676:2000) (2000) Structural design requirements for utility services poles, Standards Australia. file:///C:/Users/s2741855/Downloads/4676%20(1).pdf. Accessed 11 Jan 2016
AWPA (2010a) U1-10-Use category system for treated wood. American Wood Protection Association, Birmingham
AWPA (2010b) P5-09 e standard for waterborne preservatives. American Wood Protection Association, Birmingham
Barlaz MA (1998) Carbon storage during biodegradation of municipal solid waste components in laboratory-scale landfills. Global Biogeochem Cycles 12(2):373–380. doi:10.1029/98GB00350
Bengtsson J, Howard N (2010) A life cycle impact assessment part 1: classification and characterisation. Australian life cycle assessment society, the building products innovation council and BRANZ. http://edgeenvironment.com.au/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/A-Life-Cycle-Impact-Assessment-Method-for-Australia.pdf
Bolin CA, Smith ST (2011) Life cycle assessment of pentachlorophenol-treated wooden utility poles with comparisons to steel and concrete utility poles. Renew Sustain Energy Rev 15(5):2475–2486. doi:10.1016/j.rser.2011.01.019
Buchanan AH, John S, Love S (2012) LCA and carbon footprint of multi-storey timber buildings compared with steel and concrete buildings. World 15, 19. http://www.timberdesign.org.nz/files/00379%20Andrew%20H%20Buchanan.pdf
Chirenje T, Ma LQ, Clark C, Reeves M (2003) Cu, Cr and as distribution in soils adjacent to pressure-treated decks, fences and poles. Environ Pollut 124(3):407–417. doi:10.1016/S0269-7491(03)00046-0
Construction and Demolition Waste Guide (2012) Recycling and re-use across the supply chain. Australian Government Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities. https://www.environment.gov.au/system/files/resources/b0ac5ce4-4253-4d2b-b001-0becf84b52b8/files/case-studies.pdf. Accessed 26 March 2016
Deegan C (2008) Environmental costing in capital investment decisions: electricity distributors and the choice of power poles. Aust Account Rev 18(1):2–15. doi:10.1111/j.1835-2561.2008.0002.x
Diaz R, Warith M (2006) Life-cycle assessment of municipal solid wastes: development of the WASTED model. Waste Manag 26(8):886–901. doi:10.1016/j.wasman.2005.05.007
ELCD (European Life Cycle Database) (2013) European Commission. http://eplca.jrc.ec.europa.eu/. Accessed 13 May 2016
El Hanandeh A (2015) Energy recovery alternatives for the sustainable management of olive oil industry waste in Australia: life cycle assessment. J Clean Prod 91:78–88. doi:10.1016/j.jclepro.2014.12.005
El Hanandeh A, El-Zein A (2010) Life-cycle assessment of municipal solid waste management alternatives with consideration of uncertainty: SIWMS development and application. Waste Manag 30(5):902–911. doi:10.1016/j.wasman.2009.12.026
Eriksson E, Gillespie AR, Gustavsson L, Langvall O, Olsson M, Sathre R, Stendahl J (2007) Integrated carbon analysis of forest management practices and wood substitution. Can J For Res 37(3):671–681. doi:10.1139/X06-257
Francis LP, Norton J (2006) Australian timber pole resources for energy networks: a review. Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries, Queensland, Australia. http://era.daf.qld.gov.au/3071/. Accessed 15 June 2016
Gilbert BP, Underhill ID, Bailleres H, El Hanandeh A, McGavin RL (2014) Veneer based composite hollow utility poles manufactured from hardwood plantation thinned trees. Constr Build Mater 66:458–466. doi:10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2014.05.093
Gonzalez-Garcia S, Berg S, Moreira MT, Feijoo G (2009) Evaluation of forest operations in Spanish eucalypt plantations under a life cycle assessment perspective. Scand J For Res 24(2):160–172. doi:10.1080/02827580902773462
Google Maps Directions (2016) https://www.google.com.au/maps/search/south+east+queensland+forestry+gympie/@-27.0294017,151.1598617,8z. Accessed 11 Jan 2016
Grant T, Peters G (2008) Best practice guide to life cycle impact assessment in Australia. Australian Life Cycle Assessment Society (Revision draft v3), Melbourne. http://alcas.asn.au/AusLCI/Documents/Best_Practice_GuideLCIA_V3.pdf. Accessed 11 Jan 2016
GreenDelta (2014) OpenLCA. http://www.openLCA.org. Accessed 12 Feb 2016
Gustavsson L, Madlener R, Hoen HF, Jungmeier G, Karjalainen T, Klöhn S, Mahapatra J, Pohjola B, Spelter H (2006) The role of wood material for greenhouse gas mitigation. Mitig Adapt Strat Glob Change 11(5–6):1097–1127. doi:10.1007/s11027-006-9035-8
HCEC (Hyder Consulting, Encycle Consulting and Sustainable Resource Solutions) (2011) Construction and demolition waste status report: management of construction and demolition waste in Australia, Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and the Arts and Queensland Department of Environment and Resource Management, Canberra. https://www.environment.gov.au/protection/national-waste-policy/publications/construction-and-demolition-waste-status-report. Accessed 12 March 2016
Hedberg J, Le Bozec N, Wallinder IO (2013) Spatial distribution and formation of corrosion products in relation to zinc release for zinc sheet and coated pre-weathered zinc at an urban and a marine atmospheric condition. Mater Corros 64(4):300–308. doi:10.1002/maco.201106361
Higgins A, McFallan S, Laredo L, Prestwidge D, Stone P (2015) TRANSIT–A model for simulating infrastructure and policy interventions in agriculture logistics: application to the northern Australia beef industry. Comput Electron Agric 114:32–42. doi:10.1016/j.compag.2015.03.018
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) (2007) Climate change 2007: the physical science basis, contribution of working group I to the fourth assessment report of the intergovernmental panel on climate change. https://www.ipcc.ch/publications_and_data/publications_ipcc_fourth_assessment_report_wg1_report_the_physical_science_basis.htm. Accessed 11 March 2016
International Standards Organisation (ISO) (2006) Environmental management–Life Cycle Assessment–Principles and Framework (ISO 14040), 2nd edn. International Standards Organisation (ISO), Switzerland
Janin A, Coudert L, Riche P, Mercier G, Cooper P, Blais JF (2011) Application of a CCA-treated wood waste decontamination process to other copper-based preservative-treated wood after disposal. J Hazard Mater 186(2):1880–1887. doi:10.1016/j.jhazmat.2010.12.094
Kent H (2006) Options for the continued supply of power poles. Summary of research for the Power Poles and Cross Arms Committee, Energy Networks Association of Australia. Presentation for the March 2006 Australian Wood Pole Resources Workshop. Queensland Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries. Energy Networks of Australia, Brisbane
Kuenniger T, Richter K (1995) Life cycle analysis of utility poles. A Swiss case study. Document-the International Research Group on Wood Preservation (Sweden). http://agris.fao.org/agris-search/search.do?recordID=SE9511515
Lu H, El Hanandeh A (2016) Life cycle assessment of ACQ-treated Veneer Based Composite (VBC) hollow utility poles from hardwood plantation mid-thinning. Sustain Prod Consum 5:36–50. doi:10.1016/j.spc.2015.11.002
Meadows J, Coote D, Brown M (2014) The potential supply of biomass for energy from hardwood plantations in the Sunshine Coast Council Region of South-East Queensland, Australia. Small Scale For 13(4):461–481. doi:10.1007/s11842-014-9265-7
Nebel B, Zimmer B, Wegener G (2006) Life cycle assessment of wood floor coverings-a representative study for the german flooring industry (11 pp). Int J Life Cycle Assess 11(3):172–182. doi:10.1065/lca2004.10.187
NSW Environment Protection Authority (2012) Carbon benefits of not landfilling end-of-life wood pallets and packaging in New South Wales—Assumptions report. http://www.timberstewardship.org.au/calculator/calculator-assumptions.pdf. Accessed 11 March 2016
Paul KI, Reeson A, Polglase P, Crossman N, Freudenberger D, Hawkins C (2013a) Economic and employment implications of a carbon market for integrated farm forestry and biodiverse environmental plantings. Land Use Policy 30(1):496–506. doi:10.1016/j.landusepol.2012.04.014
Paul KI, Reeson A, Polglase PJ, Ritson P (2013b) Economic and employment implications of a carbon market for industrial plantation forestry. Land Use Policy 30(1):528–540. doi:10.1016/j.landusepol.2012.04.015
PE International (2016) GaBi life cycle inventory data documentation. http://www.gabi-software.com/support/gabi/gabi-database-2016-lci-documentation/. Accessed 16 July 2016
Petersen AK, Solberg B (2005) Environmental and economic impacts of substitution between wood products and alternative materials: a review of micro-level analyses from Norway and Sweden. For Policy Econ 7(3):249–259. doi:10.1016/S1389-9341(03)00063-7
Piao C, Monlezun CJ (2010) Laminated crossarms made from decommissioned chromated copper arsenate-treated utility pole wood. Part I: mechanical and acoustic properties. For Prod J 60(2):157. http://search.proquest.com/docview/763129189?pq-origsite=gscholar
Preschem Smarter Timber Protection (2014) Australian wooden pole standards. http://preschem.com/pole-management/australian-wooden-pole-standards/. Accessed 15 May 2016
Queensland Government Department of Energy and Water Supply (QGDEWS) (2015) https://www.dews.qld.gov.au/electricity. Accessed 11 Feb 2016
Ramseur JL, McCarthy JE, Folger P, Marples DJ (2009) Methane capture: options for greenhouse gas emission reduction. Congressional Research Service, Library of Congress. http://www.farmpolicy.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/CRS-Report-Methane-Capture-Options-for-Greenhouse-Gases.pdf
Rawlinsons (2010) Rawlinsons Construction Cost Guide 2010, 18th edn. Rawlinsons Publishing, Perth
Reserve Bank of Australia (2015) Inflation and inflation expectations. http://www.rba.gov.au/statistics/tables/. Accessed 11 Feb 2016
Rivela B, Moreira MT, Feijoo G (2007) Life cycle inventory of medium density fibreboard. Int J Life Cycle Assess 12(3):143–150. doi:10.1065/lca2006.12.290
Salman AM, Li Y (2016) Age-dependent fragility and life-cycle cost analysis of wood and steel power distribution poles subjected to hurricanes. Struct Infrastruct Eng 12(8):890–903. doi:10.1080/15732479.2015.1053949
Sathre R (2007) Life-cycle energy and carbon implications of wood-based products and construction. http://diva-portal.org/smash/record.jsf?pid=diva2%3A2032&dswid=8832
Sedjo RA (2002) Wood materials used as a means to reduce greenhouse gases (GHGs): an examination of wooden utility poles. Mitig Adapt Strat Glob Change 7(2):191–200. doi:10.1023/A:1022833227481
Senaratne S, Gerace D, Mirza O, Tam VW, Kang WH (2016) The costs and benefits of combining recycled aggregate with steel fibres as a sustainable, structural material. J Clean Prod 112:2318–2327. doi:10.1016/j.jclepro.2015.10.041
Shafieezadeh A, Onyewuchi UP, Begovic MM, DesRoches R (2014) Age-dependent fragility models of utility wood poles in power distribution networks against extreme wind hazards. IEEE Trans Power Deliv 29(1):131–139. doi:10.1109/TPWRD.2013.2281265
Sonnemann GW, Schuhmacher M, Castells F (2003) Uncertainty assessment by a Monte Carlo simulation in a life cycle inventory of electricity produced by a waste incinerator. J Clean Prod 11(3):279–292. doi:10.1016/S0959-6526(02)00028-8
Spencer N, Elder L (2009) Pole service life-an analysis of country energy data. Energy 21C. Melbourne, Australia. http://www.koppers.com.au/Utility-Poles/default.aspx. Accessed 11 March 2016
Stone H, Wood D (2010) Sustainable pole supply project. Aust For 73(4):220–226. doi:10.1080/00049158.2010.10676332
The Treasury Australian Government. (2016). Strong growth, low pollution modelling a carbon price. http://carbonpricemodelling.treasury.gov.au/content/update/Modelling_update.asp. Accessed 12 Feb 2016
Treasury NSW (2004) Life cycle costing guideline. New South Wales: NSW Treasury. http://www.treasury.nsw.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0005/5099/life_cycle_costings.pdf. Accessed 11 Jan 2016
Underhill ID, Gilbert BP, Bailleres H, McGavin RL, Patterson D (2014) Structural veneer based composite products from hardwood thinning—Part I: background and manufacturing. In: Materials and joints in timber structures. Springer, Netherlands, pp 577–588
U.S. Life Cycle Inventory Database (2012) National Renewable Energy Laboratory, 2012. https://www.lcacommons.gov/nrel/search. Accessed 11 Jan 2016
Voigt S, De Cian E, Schymura M, Verdolini E (2014) Energy intensity developments in 40 major economies: structural change or technology improvement? Energy Econ 41:47–62. doi:10.1016/j.eneco.2013.10.015
Werner F, Richter K (2007) Wooden building products in comparative LCA. Int J Life Cycle Assess 12(7):470–479. doi:10.1065/lca2007.04.317
Wright A (2000) Report of the alternative waste management technologies and practices inquiry, Government of New South Wales, Sydney. http://www.wrightstrategy.com/documents/Waste%20Inquiry%20Full%20Text.pdf. Accessed 12 Feb 2016
Ximenes F, Björdal C, Cowie A, Barlaz M (2015) The decay of wood in landfills in contrasting climates in Australia. Waste Manag 41:101–110. doi:10.1016/j.wasman.2015.03.032
Yellishetty M, Mudd GM, Ranjith PG, Tharumarajah A (2011) Environmental life-cycle comparisons of steel production and recycling: sustainability issues, problems and prospects. Environ Sci Policy 14(6):650–663. doi:10.1016/j.envsci.2011.04.008
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Appendix
Appendix
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Lu, H.R., El Hanandeh, A. Environmental and economic assessment of utility poles using life cycle approach. Clean Techn Environ Policy 19, 1047–1066 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10098-016-1299-4
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10098-016-1299-4