Grau Baquero

Forestry and wood-processing by-products, such as pine bark, offer promising opportunities for sustainable resource utilization within a circular economy. This study aimed to assess the environmental impact of an aqueous extraction process for polyphenolic compounds from various pine residues, including bark, cones, and pruning, using life cycle assessment (LCA). The analysis revealed that ground and sieved pine bark powder had the lowest environmental impact, attributed to its simpler extraction process without chemical modifications and reduced energy consumption compared to other pine-derived products. Electricity and natural gas were identified as the primary drivers of environmental impacts across all categories. Sensitivity analyses demonstrated that increasing the tannin concentration in pine-derived products and integrating renewable energy sources could further improve environmental performance. These findings highlight the potential of utilizing underutilized pine residues as sustainable feedstock for producing valuable polyphenolic extracts with a relatively low environmental footprint. The insights gained from this LCA study provide a comprehensive foundation for advancing sustainable extraction technologies. They emphasize the critical role of energy efficiency, tannin concentration, and renewable energy integration in minimizing environmental impacts. Furthermore, these findings offer actionable guidance for optimizing resource recovery from forestry by-products, enhancing their viability as eco-friendly alternatives to conventional tannin sources.

The aim of this paper was to develop a biopolymer based on raw materials not originating from petroleum chemistry to reduce the environmental impact. To this end, an acrylic-based retanning product was designed where part of the fossil-based raw materials was replaced with biomass-derived polysaccharides. Life cycle assessment (LCA) of the new biopolymer and a standard product was conducted to determine the environmental impact. Biodegradability of both products was determined by BOD₅/COD ratio measurement. Products were characterized by IR, gel permeation chromatography (GPC), and Carbon-14 content. The new product was experimented as compared to standard fossil-based product, and the main properties of leathers and effluents were assessed. The results showed that the new biopolymer provides the leather with similar organoleptic characteristics, higher biodegradability and better exhaustion. LCA allowed concluding that the new biopolymer reduces the environmental impact of 4 of the 19 impact categories analyzed. A sensitivity analysis was performed where the polysaccharide derivative was replaced with a protein derivative. The analysis concluded that the protein-based biopolymer reduced the environmental impact in 16 of the 19 categories studied. Therefore, the choice of the biopolymer is critical in this type of products, which may or may not reduce the environmental impact.