An assessment of the carbon footprint of tropical hardwood sawn timber production

The demand for sawn timber throughout the world is steady, as wood is one of the most important raw materials available to mankind. Yet, the production of sawn timber through sawmilling activities causes environmental issues and is perceived to have a potential effect on global warming. Studies on t...

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Main Authors: Ratnasingam, Jegatheswaran, Ramasamy, Geetha, Toong, Weiching, Senin, Abdul Latib, Kusno, Mohd Ashadie, Muttiah, Neelakandan
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: North Carolina State University 2015
Online Access:http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/43707/
http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/43707/1/An%20assessment%20of%20the%20carbon%20footprint%20of%20tropical%20hardwood%20sawn%20timber%20production.pdf
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author Ratnasingam, Jegatheswaran
Ramasamy, Geetha
Toong, Weiching
Senin, Abdul Latib
Kusno, Mohd Ashadie
Muttiah, Neelakandan
author_facet Ratnasingam, Jegatheswaran
Ramasamy, Geetha
Toong, Weiching
Senin, Abdul Latib
Kusno, Mohd Ashadie
Muttiah, Neelakandan
author_sort Ratnasingam, Jegatheswaran
building UPM Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description The demand for sawn timber throughout the world is steady, as wood is one of the most important raw materials available to mankind. Yet, the production of sawn timber through sawmilling activities causes environmental issues and is perceived to have a potential effect on global warming. Studies on this aspect is very limited, especially for tropical hardwoods. The intention for this study was to evaluate the carbon footprint of manufacturing sawn timber from round wood using a gate-to-gate life cycle approach. The functional unit used was 1 m3 of rough green sawn timber. Primary data on yield and energy consumption during the sawmilling process were collected on a monthly basis throughout 2013. Greenhouse gas emissions, which include CO2, CH4, and N2O, were determined using emission factors. The carbon footprint was then calculated on the basis of the equivalency factor, described as CO2-eq. The carbon footprint assessment shows a result of 499 kg CO2-eq/m3 and 696 kg CO2-eq/m3 for Light Red Meranti and Dark Red Meranti sawn timber, respectively. The results showed that there were no significant differences in the carbon footprint of Light Red Meranti and Dark Red Meranti sawn timber production.
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spelling upm-437072016-08-09T09:40:30Z http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/43707/ An assessment of the carbon footprint of tropical hardwood sawn timber production Ratnasingam, Jegatheswaran Ramasamy, Geetha Toong, Weiching Senin, Abdul Latib Kusno, Mohd Ashadie Muttiah, Neelakandan The demand for sawn timber throughout the world is steady, as wood is one of the most important raw materials available to mankind. Yet, the production of sawn timber through sawmilling activities causes environmental issues and is perceived to have a potential effect on global warming. Studies on this aspect is very limited, especially for tropical hardwoods. The intention for this study was to evaluate the carbon footprint of manufacturing sawn timber from round wood using a gate-to-gate life cycle approach. The functional unit used was 1 m3 of rough green sawn timber. Primary data on yield and energy consumption during the sawmilling process were collected on a monthly basis throughout 2013. Greenhouse gas emissions, which include CO2, CH4, and N2O, were determined using emission factors. The carbon footprint was then calculated on the basis of the equivalency factor, described as CO2-eq. The carbon footprint assessment shows a result of 499 kg CO2-eq/m3 and 696 kg CO2-eq/m3 for Light Red Meranti and Dark Red Meranti sawn timber, respectively. The results showed that there were no significant differences in the carbon footprint of Light Red Meranti and Dark Red Meranti sawn timber production. North Carolina State University 2015 Article PeerReviewed application/pdf en http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/43707/1/An%20assessment%20of%20the%20carbon%20footprint%20of%20tropical%20hardwood%20sawn%20timber%20production.pdf Ratnasingam, Jegatheswaran and Ramasamy, Geetha and Toong, Weiching and Senin, Abdul Latib and Kusno, Mohd Ashadie and Muttiah, Neelakandan (2015) An assessment of the carbon footprint of tropical hardwood sawn timber production. BioResources, 10 (3). pp. 5174-5190. ISSN 1930-2126 https://www.ncsu.edu/bioresources/BioRes_10/BioRes_10_3_5174_Ratnasingam_Carbon_Footprint_Hardwood_Sawn_Timber_Prod_7331.pdf
spellingShingle Ratnasingam, Jegatheswaran
Ramasamy, Geetha
Toong, Weiching
Senin, Abdul Latib
Kusno, Mohd Ashadie
Muttiah, Neelakandan
An assessment of the carbon footprint of tropical hardwood sawn timber production
title An assessment of the carbon footprint of tropical hardwood sawn timber production
title_full An assessment of the carbon footprint of tropical hardwood sawn timber production
title_fullStr An assessment of the carbon footprint of tropical hardwood sawn timber production
title_full_unstemmed An assessment of the carbon footprint of tropical hardwood sawn timber production
title_short An assessment of the carbon footprint of tropical hardwood sawn timber production
title_sort assessment of the carbon footprint of tropical hardwood sawn timber production
url http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/43707/
http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/43707/
http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/43707/1/An%20assessment%20of%20the%20carbon%20footprint%20of%20tropical%20hardwood%20sawn%20timber%20production.pdf