Bachelor´s thesis: Common Reed-based Material Cradle-to-Gate Life Cycle Assessment
Toikkanen, Erkka (2025)
Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2025053018442
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2025053018442
Tiivistelmä
This thesis presents a cradle to gate Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of a reed based material developed at Arcada University of Applied Sciences within the three year Central Baltic Interreg project, Baltic Reed, led by the John Nurminen foundation. The aim of this study is to evaluate the environmental performance of the material in order to understand the environmental effects of the necessary steps in making this type of material. The assessment follows ISO 14040 and ISO 14044 guidelines, focusing on the climate change impacts associated with producing 1 kg of final reed based material.
Primary and secondary data was collected for three key life cycle stages: reed harvesting, potato starch binder production, and material production. Emissions were then estimated using literature based emission factors that were combined with the real world data which was gathered. The calculations were done manually by usage of spreadsheets.
The results identify the potato starch that is used as a binder as the dominant contributor to greenhouse gas emissions, followed by diesel use in harvesting and electricity consumption during production of the material. A sensitivity analysis explored the potential climate benefits of utilizing reed waste from production as a renewable energy source, suggesting possible minimalization of emission from the production of the material.
Despite limitations related to approximated data, simplified assumptions, and the exclusion of end of life modeling, the study provides a transparent and structured screening level assessment. The findings offer insights into the early stage product development and sustainability planning. It also highlights priority areas for future research, including refined LCA modeling in a specialized software, a broader scope which could include the use phase and end of life phase, larger number of used impact categories, and generally more detailed data.
Primary and secondary data was collected for three key life cycle stages: reed harvesting, potato starch binder production, and material production. Emissions were then estimated using literature based emission factors that were combined with the real world data which was gathered. The calculations were done manually by usage of spreadsheets.
The results identify the potato starch that is used as a binder as the dominant contributor to greenhouse gas emissions, followed by diesel use in harvesting and electricity consumption during production of the material. A sensitivity analysis explored the potential climate benefits of utilizing reed waste from production as a renewable energy source, suggesting possible minimalization of emission from the production of the material.
Despite limitations related to approximated data, simplified assumptions, and the exclusion of end of life modeling, the study provides a transparent and structured screening level assessment. The findings offer insights into the early stage product development and sustainability planning. It also highlights priority areas for future research, including refined LCA modeling in a specialized software, a broader scope which could include the use phase and end of life phase, larger number of used impact categories, and generally more detailed data.