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Progress towards Sustainable Production: Environmental, Economic, and Social Assessments of the Cellulose Nanofiber Production Process

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  • Dami Moon

    (National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, 16-1 Onogawa, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8569, Japan
    Current address: Department of Chemical System Engineering, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8656, Japan.)

  • Masayuki Sagisaka

    (National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, 16-1 Onogawa, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8569, Japan)

  • Kiyotaka Tahara

    (National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, 16-1 Onogawa, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8569, Japan)

  • Kenichiro Tsukahara

    (National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, 16-1 Onogawa, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8569, Japan)

Abstract

We assessed the environmental, economic, and social impacts of the process for producing cellulose nanofibers (CNFs), which are considered to be a valuable sustainable woody biomass feedstock. The greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions associated with CNF production are greater than the emissions associated with producing most plastic materials used in vehicle components because the grinding process during CNF production generates significant GHG emissions. The cost of CNF production is also higher than the cost of producing comparable plastics for automotive use because of the high cost of the pulverization process. The sensitivity analysis in this study suggested that GHG emissions and manufacturing costs could be reduced by 19.1–76.4% and 3.6–12.2%, respectively, by improving the energy efficiency of CNF production by two to five times. We compared the potential social risks associated with CNF production between Japan and Vietnam using a product social impact life cycle assessment database. It is desirable to reduce the social risk on the fair salary and child labor, and to improve the safe and healthy living conditions in the local communities that import wood chips harvested in Vietnam.

Suggested Citation

  • Dami Moon & Masayuki Sagisaka & Kiyotaka Tahara & Kenichiro Tsukahara, 2017. "Progress towards Sustainable Production: Environmental, Economic, and Social Assessments of the Cellulose Nanofiber Production Process," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(12), pages 1-16, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:9:y:2017:i:12:p:2368-:d:123402
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Catherine Benoît Norris & Gregory A. Norris & Deana Aulisio, 2014. "Efficient Assessment of Social Hotspots in the Supply Chains of 100 Product Categories Using the Social Hotspots Database," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 6(10), pages 1-12, October.
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    2. José Adolfo Lozano-Miralles & Manuel Jesús Hermoso-Orzáez & Carmen Martínez-García & José Ignacio Rojas-Sola, 2018. "Comparative Study on the Environmental Impact of Traditional Clay Bricks Mixed with Organic Waste Using Life Cycle Analysis," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(8), pages 1-17, August.
    3. Zhaoxia Wang & Jing Zhao, 2018. "Optimization of Passive Envelop Energy Efficient Measures for Office Buildings in Different Climate Regions of China Based on Modified Sensitivity Analysis," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(4), pages 1-28, March.
    4. Kamalakanta Sahoo & Richard Bergman & Sevda Alanya-Rosenbaum & Hongmei Gu & Shaobo Liang, 2019. "Life Cycle Assessment of Forest-Based Products: A Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(17), pages 1-30, August.

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