Energy Use in the Production of Flax Fiber for the Reinforcement of Composites

A comparative quantitative life cycle assessment (LCA) should consider the eight environmental impact classification factors listed in ISO/TR 14047:2003. This paper reports on the energy requirement for production of flax fibers to be used as reinforcement in composite materials. Data are compiled from a number of published sources. Only 5% of the harvested plant mass is converted into long fibers, while the other 95% could be regarded as waste; the respective coproducts (short fiber for paper manufacture, shives for animal bedding, and dust for fuel) can be collected, processed, packaged, and sold. The analysis here assumes that these coproducts are disposed of at a cost that covers the postseparation handling and hence they are not included in the flax burdens. The analysis suggests that sliver (postcarding fiber) has an embodied energy comparable to glass fiber reinforcement mat at approximately 55 GJ/tonne. Spinning fibers to produce yarn for weaving dominates the embodied energy. In the event that best agricultural practice is taken into account, and that some energy usage is apportioned to coproduct, then the claim that flax is a sustainable "green" alternative may be justified for random mat reinforcement. If the fiber is spun to yarn, then the embodied energy for flax exceeds that of the glass fiber equivalent. KEYWORDS: flaxenergyreinforcementlife cycle assessment ACKNOWLEDGMENTS N.P.J.D. is grateful to University of Plymouth, Faculty of Technology, for their contribution to research degree fees. The authors are grateful to Wayne Hall for his comments on this paper. An initial analysis was presented at International Conference on Flax and Other Bast Plants 2008 at Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada (CitationDissanayake 2008). This version of the paper recognizes the full implications of mass loss during the process and hence reports higher embodied energies than those in the conference paper. Notes Anon. 2000. Energy for agriculture—Chemical inputs. In Environment and Natural Resources Working Paper No. 4. Rome: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. ISO/TR 14049:2000. 2000 Technical report: Environmental management–life cycle assessment—examples of applications of ISO 14041 to goal and scope definition and inventory analysis. ISO/TS 14048:2002. 2002. Environmental management–life cycle assessment—data documentation format. ISO/TR 14047:2003. 2003. Technical report: Environmental management–life cycle assessment—examples of application of ISO 14042. ISO 14044:2006. 2006a. Environmental management–life cycle assessment—requirements and guidelines. ISO 14040:2006. 2006b. Environmental management–life cycle assessment—principles and frameworks.