Assessing environmental burdens of China's wooden flooring production based on life-cycle assessment

Abstract

After over 30 years of rapid development in the wooden flooring industry in China, there is an imperative need to address the resulting environmental impacts. Therefore, this study analyzed the environmental impacts of the four most common types of wooden flooring in China, such as solid wood flooring, multi-layer engineered wood flooring, three-layer engineered wood flooring, and laminated flooring, utilizing the life-cycle assessment approach. This study assessed 12 environmental indicators, the comprehensive index of energy conservation and emission reduction (ECER), and the eco-efficiency of the four wooden flooring types. A trade-off was observed among the various impact categories, making it challenging to rank the environmental performance of the four types of wooden flooring. Contribution analysis revealed that woody raw materials and electricity consumption in the production process were the primary environmental hotspots of wooden flooring. The ECER index indicated that the multi-layer engineered wood flooring exhibited the highest environmental impacts, followed by laminated flooring, three-layer engineered wood flooring, and solid wood flooring. The eco-efficiency of solid wood flooring was 237%, 767%, and 1454% higher than that of three-layer engineered wood flooring, multi-layer engineered wood flooring, and laminated flooring, respectively. Sensitivity analysis revealed that enhancing the environmental performance of wooden flooring lies in reducing power consumption and woody raw material consumption during the production process. These findings contribute to a comprehensive understanding of the environmental impacts associated with wooden flooring manufacturing, while also serving as a reference for further improvements in reducing their environmental impacts.