Life Cycle Assessment of MDF Production: Implementing Biobased Production Strategies

The environmental impact of MDF production was analyzed in three phases of the production: fiber preparation, board formation, and final processing. Five different scenarios were modeled to optimize production conditions, specifically regarding the use of materials and energy, and these scenarios are realistic and reflect a process improvement path toward optimal conditions. Environmental assessment results categorize impacts into four categories: human health, ecosystem quality, toxicity, and mineral resource depletion. Chemical substances were identified as the most detrimental contributors in this analysis. Furthermore, electricity consumption is also a significant factor whose impact on ecosystem quality and human health can be traced and analyzed due to its substantial environmental implications. The life cycle assessment LCA results show that MDF (MB), produced using bagasse and phenol formaldehyde resin, has the best environmental performance, with its impact on resource depletion reaching an equivalent of 10.1 (kg ore). In contrast, MDF (MM), which is made of melamine formaldehyde resin, performed the worst, with its ecotoxicity impact increasing to 1.5 (PDF. .d). Besides, results also show that in the human health impact category, MDF (MM) with a value of 0.0083 (DALY) and MDF (factory) with a value of 0.0082 (DALY) have the most damage. The findings suggest that replacing current resins, especially UF resin, can lead to a significant improvement in environmental outcomes. Finally, MDF (ML2), using wood waste and reduced electricity consumption, provides the best performance in the ecosystem quality category with an impact of 1.02 (PDF.year), demonstrating the potential for bio-based production with sustainable materials and reduced energy consumption.