wpc flooring

Alkaline copper quaternary (ACQ) preservative is commonly used for wood product applications requiring decay and insect attack protection. Sawn lumber preserved with ACQ can be used in locations ranging from interior dry uses to locations with permanent ground contact, exposed to severe environments, and extreme decay potential. Typical uses include decking, fencing, and various lumber applications.outdoor deck railing This life cycle assessment (LCA) addresses ACQ preserved lumber used for residential deck surface applications. The LCA was commissioned by the Treated Wood Council (TWC), which represents the national interests of the wood preserving industry. ACQ is a wood preservative standardized by the American Wood Protection Association (AWPA) utilizing copper and quaternary ammonium compound (quat) as active ingredients in a water solution. ACQ preservative was chosen to provide a benchmark for comparison and as a representative preservative system for treated wood decking material. This LCA has been completed in a manner as limited by the final Goal and Scope and consistent with the principles and guidance in ISO 14040 and 14044 and includes the four phases of an LCA; 1) Goal and scope definition, 2) Inventory analysis, 3) Impact assessment, and 4) Interpretation. Goal and Scope Definition The Goal and Scope was developed in cooperation with the TWC membership and internal and independent external reviewers and was revised iteratively as the LCA progressed. The goal is to identify the environmental impacts attributable to ACQ-treated lumber decking, identify opportunities to lessen impacts, to complete an LCA of wood plastic composite (WPC) decking (the primary alternative product), and make comparisons of the product impacts. The scope covers the full cradle-to-grave life cycle of ACQ-Treated Lumber and WPC decking. General Conclusions • outdoor balcony flooring If a family of three people installs an average deck using ACQ-treated lumber, their "footprint" for energy, greenhouse gas (GHG), fossil fuel, acidification, potential smog, ecological toxicity, and eutrophication forming air releases generally would be considered insignificant at less than one-tenth of a percent over the life of the deck; • If the same deck was constructed of WPC, the family "footprint" for energy, GHG, fossil fuel use, acidification, ecological toxicity, and smog would be low, but significantly greater than ACQ-treated lumber and about equal to ACQ for eutrophication; and • WPC requires approximately 14 times more fossil fuel and 8.5 times more total energy and results in emissions with potential to cause approximately three times more GHG, four times more acid rain, over two times more smog, approximately two times more ecological toxicity, and equal the eutrophication, when compared to ACQ-treated lumber. Inventory Analysis The cradle-to-grave life cycle inventory (LCI) was developed for life cycle stages of ACQtreated lumber including seedling production, planting and growth of trees, harvest of logs, milling of logs to dimensional lumber and drying of lumber, production of ACQ preservative, Life Cycle Assessment Procedures and Findings ACQ-Treated Lumber ES-2 Copyright 2011 Treated Wood Council pressure treatment of lumber with ACQ preservative, use of ACQ-treated lumber in decks (including maintenance of decking), demolition at the end of the useful life, disposal in landfills, and final fate in the landfill.marine board material A cradle-to-grave LCI also was developed for WPC to support product comparisons. LCI flows were first calculated on a per 1,000 board feet (Mbf) basis and then normalized to an average deck size of 320 square feet of deck surface per year of use life (average deck per year). The LCI was developed using publicly available data for most life cycle stages and a survey of wood preserving facilities for the preservative application stage. The primary source of public data was the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) LCI Database. The LCI was assembled in spreadsheet format and did not utilize proprietary software. Inclusion of the spreadsheet files as a part of the complete LCA report enhances the transparency of this overall LCA process.